In November 2006 Jackanory briefly returned with comedian John Sessions as the revived programme's first narrator reading the Lord of the Rings parody Muddle Earth, written by Paul Stewart (and illustrator Chris Riddell). The second narrator was Sir Ben Kingsley, reading The Magician of Samarkand by Alan Temperley.

They were broadcast in three 15-minute slots on CBBC and BBC One and later repeated in their entirety on BBC One on consecutive Sundays.

The readings of Muddle Earth were heavily accompanied by animation and featured John Sessions speaking the lines of all the animated characters (and occasionally reading those of Joe whenever he was not on-screen), leading to criticism that the spirit of the original programme, a single voice telling a tale with minimal distractions, had been lost. (The original series had occasionally included dramatised material, in e.g. 1984's Starstormers by Nicholas Fisk and increasingly so towards the end of its run in 1996).

The Magician of Samarkand was a similar production, albeit without the actors speaking additional lines; Ben Kingsley read both the story and the lines of all the characters. Both of these stories were produced and directed by Nick Willing.

Both stories were released in their entirety on DVD later that year, with added bonus features (galleries with images from the stories and a behind-the-scenes film for Muddle Earth).

While no further stories were made, Muddle Earth would be adapted for television again a few years later.

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