Teletubbies
Teletubbies is a British children's television series created by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport for the BBC. The programme focuses on four differently coloured characters known as the Teletubbies, named after the television screens on their bellies. Recognised throughout popular culture for the uniquely shaped antenna protruding from the head of each character, the Teletubbies communicate through gibberish and were designed to bear resemblance to toddlers.
| Teletubbies | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Anne Wood Andrew Davenport |
| Developed by | Ragdoll Productions (original series) Darrall Macqueen (revival series) |
| Written by | Andrew Davenport Catherine Williams |
| Directed by | David G Hillier Vic Finch Nigel P Harris Bob Jacobs Martin Scott Paul Gawith Nicky Hinkley Jack Jameson Richard Bradley Dermot Canterbury Iwan Watson Matt Rene |
| Starring | Original series: Dave Thompson Simon Shelton John Simmit Nikky Smedley Pui Fan Lee Mark Dean Jess Smith Robin Stevens Toyah Willcox Revival series: Jeremiah Krage Nick Kellington Rebecca Hyland Rachelle Beinart Olly Taylor Berry Smith Victoria Jane Luisa Guerreiro |
| Voices of | Original series: Toyah Willcox Penelope Keith John Simmit Gary Stevenson Alex Hogg Alex Pascall Rudolph Walker Eric Sykes Mark Heenehan Sandra Dickinson (US) John Schwab (US) Toni Barry (US) Rachael Lillis (US) Dena Davis (US) Revival series: Jane Horrocks Jim Broadbent Fearne Cotton Antonia Thomas Teresa Gallagher Rob Rackstraw David Walliams Rochelle Humes Ralph Reay |
| Narrated by | Original series: Tim Whitnall Toyah Willcox (titles and credits only) Rolf Saxon (US) Revival series: Daniel Rigby Antonia Thomas (titles and credits only) Tituss Burgess (US version of 2015 reboot) |
| Opening theme | "Teletubbies say 'Eh-oh!'" |
| Composers | Andrew McCrorie-Shand (original series) Robert Hartley BBC Philharmonic Richie Webb Matt Katz (revival series) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 5 (original series) 4 (revival series) |
| No. of episodes | 365 (original series) 120 (revival series) Total: 485 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Anne Wood David G Hillier Vic Finch (original series) Maddy Darrall Billy Macqueen (revival series) |
| Production locations | Wimpstone, England (1997–2001) Twickenham Studios, West London, England (2015–18) |
| Running time | Original series: 25 minutes (series 1-5) Revival series: 15 minutes (series 1-4) |
| Production companies | Original series: Ragdoll Productions BBC Revival series: DHX Media Darrall Macqueen Ingenious |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Two |
| Release | 31 March 1997 – 16 February 2001 |
| Network | CBeebies |
| Release | 9 November 2015 – 12 October 2018 |
The series rapidly became a commercial success in Britain and abroad. It won multiple BAFTA awards and was nominated for two Daytime Emmys throughout its run. A single based on the show's theme song reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in December 1997 and remained in the Top 75 for 32 weeks, selling over a million copies. By October 2000, the franchise generated over £1 billion ($1.6 billion) in merchandise sales.
Though the original run ended in 2001, a rebooted series was green-lit in 2014. The reboot premiered on CBeebies in the United Kingdom and on the Nick Jr. Channel in the United States. The reboot ran for 120 episodes, with the last episode airing on the Nick Jr. Channel on 17 August 2018.
The original series returned to the United States on 25 May 2016, when every episode was added to the Noggin streaming service, including episodes that had never aired in America before.