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. 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 £1billion () in merchandise sales. Though the original run ended in 2001, a rebooted series was green-lit in 2014. The reboot premiered on CBeeb ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Andrew Davenport
Andrew Davenport (born 10 June 1965) is an English writer, puppeteer, producer, composer, and actor, specialising in creating television, music, and books for young children. He is known as co-creator and writer of ''Teletubbies'' and writer, voice artist and puppeteer of "Tiny" on '' Tots TV''. He is also the creator, writer, and composer of both '' In the Night Garden...'' and '' Moon and Me''. Davenport co-created ''Teletubbies"Andrew Davenport: Ooo, what's all the fuss? – Telegraph" ''The Telegraph'', 17 January 2008.'' (first broadcast ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ragdoll Productions
Ragdoll Productions Limited, or simply Ragdoll, is a British television production company founded in 1984 by Anne Wood, who had previously worked for Yorkshire Television and TV-am. It is located in Bloxham, Oxfordshire, and has produced a number of children's programmes, most notably '' Teletubbies'', '' Pob's Programme'', '' Rosie and Jim'', '' Brum'', '' Boohbah'', '' Tots TV'', and '' In the Night Garden...,'' most of which are now owned by WildBrain. History Ragdoll Productions was founded on 26 July 1984 by Anne Wood, who produced shows for the ITV network. It was incorporated as Ragdoll Productions (U.K.) Limited in April 1985 and was originally based in Birmingham. The company's first show, '' Pob's Programme'', premiered on Channel 4 later that year. The company was later commissioned by Central Independent Television to produce '' Playbox'', which demonstrated the ability for the company to produce their own characters. In 1989, ''The Magic Mirror'' and ''BOOM!' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anne Wood
Anne Wood, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 18 December 1937) is an English children's television producer, responsible for creating shows such as ''Teletubbies'' with Andrew Davenport. She is also the creator of ''Tots TV'', ''Boohbah'' and ''Rosie and Jim''. She was a recipient of the Eleanor Farjeon Award. Early years She was born in Spennymoor, County Durham, England, and grew up in Tudhoe Colliery, a small coal-mining village nearby. Career She qualified as a secondary school teacher through the Bingley Training College in Yorkshire and took up her first teaching post back home in Spennymoor. She married Barrie Wood in 1959 and moved to Surbiton in Surrey where she took up a teaching role at Hollyfield Road Secondary School. This was the era of the first children's paperback book and Anne became an early pioneer of a children's paperback book club scheme for schools set up by Scholastic Corporation, Scholastic Publications. She retired from teaching on the birth of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Simmit
John Simmit is a British actor and stand-up comedian, he is best known for playing Dipsy in BBC TV's global hit ''Teletubbies'' from 1997 to 2001. Career His many other TV credits include '' The Real McCoy'', ''The Gadget Show'' and '' The Big Fat Quiz of the '90s'', whilst live he has performed internationally from Bahrain to Budapest. As a producer through Upfront Comedy he has put comedy shows into UK theatres nationwide for 25 years, including two major shows in London's west End, in New York & North Carolina. Previewing Upfront's 10th anniversary show, ''The Guardian'' noted, " is anniversary show is yet another excellent standup bill from the most enterprising black comedy promoters in the country. Upfront's first Croydon gig featured Felix Dexter (the first black comic to become a regular performer at Jongleurs and the Comedy Store), plus lapsed Pentecostal choir boy Junior Simpson and Nigerian cockney Gina Yashere. Also on that first bill was the brains behind Upfront ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rolf Saxon
Rolf Saxon (born July 7, 1955) is an American stage, film, and television actor. He is known for his role as William Donloe in '' Mission: Impossible'' and '' Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning'', as well as for his voice-over work in numerous video games, movies and TV shows, including as the narrator for the US dub of the BBC children's series ''Teletubbies''. Life and career Rolf Saxon was born at Fort Belvoir in Alexandria, Virginia on 7 July 1955. He has worked with the American Conservatory Theater, Cal Shakes, Berkeley Mime Troupe, and Omphalos Street Theatre Company. After training as an actor, Saxon immediately began appearing on the stage and on television; he made his film debut as Dick Tipton in a BBC adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (1980). Initially known as a television actor, he appeared as attorney Hudson J. Talbot III in the ITV drama ''Capital City'' (1989–1990).'Second Quarter Figures', Director: Paul Seed ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes (4 May 1923 – 4 July 2012) was an English radio, stage, television and film writer, comedian, actor and director whose performing career spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Tommy Cooper, Peter Sellers, John Antrobus and Johnny Speight. Sykes first came to prominence through his many radio credits as a writer and actor in the 1950s, which include collaboration on some scripts for '' The Goon Show''. He became a TV star in his own right in the early 1960s when he appeared with Hattie Jacques in several popular BBC comedy television series. Early life Sykes was born on 4 May 1923 in Oldham, Lancashire; his mother died three weeks later, leaving him and his two-year-old brother Vernon motherless. Their father was a labourer in a cotton mill and a former army sergeant. When Sykes was two, his father remarried and he gained ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tim Whitnall
Timothy Charles Whitnall (born 27 June 1961) is an English actor, playwright and screenwriter. He is known for playing Angelo in the long-running CITV series ''Mike and Angelo'' and narrating the BBC Children's Television programme ''Teletubbies'' from 1997 to 2001. As a writer, he has won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts, BAFTA and an Laurence Olivier Awards, Olivier Award for his work on television movie ''Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story'' and play ''Morecambe (play), Morecambe''. He is also a voice actor, providing voices on characters from television shows such as ''Fifi & the Flowertots'', ''Roary the Racing Car'', and ''Thomas & Friends''. Career Whitnall began his career in West End theatre, West End musical ''Elvis (musical), Elvis'' in 1977 after winning the role in an open call audition. He has starred in many West End musicals including ''Grease (musical), Grease'', ''The Rocky Horror Show'', and ''Good Rockin' Tonight''. After making TV ap ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pui Fan Lee
Pui Fan Lee (born ) is an English actress and television presenter. She is known for portraying Po in the original run of the children's television series ''Teletubbies'' between 1997 and 2001, and for presenting the CBeebies preschool education series ''Show Me Show Me''. Early life and education Lee's family came from Hong Kong. She was born in Birmingham, and grew up in Nottingham, where her family helped to run a Chinese take-away. Career She studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), and once qualified, appeared in a number of TV shows before successfully applying and securing the role of Po in a new CBBC show called Teletubbies. Lee was not only the voice of the character, but also was inside the costume for 365 episodes between 1997 and 2001. Along with Sue Monroe, Chris Jarvis, and Sidney Sloane, Lee was one of the first presenters on CBeebies, the BBC digital television channel for younger children. Lee, alongside Chris Jarvis, were the first ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Simon Shelton
Simon Barnes Shelton (13 January 1966 – 17 January 2018) was an English actor. Biography Shelton was born in the Bethnal Green area of London on 13 January 1966. Shelton was best known for his children's television work. He portrayed Tinky Winky on ''Teletubbies'' from 1997 to 2001, replacing the original actor Dave Thompson. He also played Dark Knight on '' Incredible Games'' from 1994 to 1995. Shelton was married to Emma Robbins. They had two children and lived in Ampthill, Bedfordshire. Shelton went on to have a further child with another partner. Shelton's niece is actress Emily Atack. Shelton had a history of alcoholism. On 17 January 2018, four days after his 52nd birthday, he was found dead in a car park stairwell near the Port of Liverpool Building in Liverpool. His cause of death was hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jeremiah Krage
Jeremiah Krage is a British-American actor who appears in television, including the 2015 reboot of ''Teletubbies'' as Tinky Winky. Career Among his many credits he appeared in the eighth series ''Doctor Who'' as a Cyberman, portrayed Zak in '' ZingZillas'', and in 2015, Krage was chosen to portray Tinky Winky the purple Teletubby in the new series of ''Teletubbies''. He is the third actor, after Dave Thompson and Simon Shelton, to play the character. He reprised the role as Tinky Winky in the upcoming Netflix reboot series. Filmography TV series *''Doctor Who'' – Cyberman *'' Nuzzle and Scratch: Frock and Roll'' - Prince *'' Pixelface'' – Twin Robot, The Bug *''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 t ...'' – Tinky Winky (2015–2018) *'' ZingZillas'' � ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nick Kellington
Nicholas Chee Ping Kellington (born 5 June 1975) is a British actor and musician. He is best known for his roles in children's television series, the new ''Star Wars'' films and '' The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance''. His television acting career began in 2007, when he portrayed Igglepiggle in the CBeebies show '' In the Night Garden...''. In 2010, he played Tang in " ZingZillas" also for CBeebies and in 2015, he took on the role of Dipsy in the reboot of ''Teletubbies'', previously portrayed by John Simmit before it went into a 14-year hiatus. He reprised his role as Dipsy in the upcoming Netflix reboot of Teletubbies. Kellington appeared in the 2016 ''Star Wars'' film ''Rogue One'' as Bistan, a Rebel Alliance gunner. He also appears in 2017's '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'' as Snook Uccorfay, a mole-like playboy in the casino city of Canto Bight. In 2018, Kellington played ''Ned'' the Neanderthal in the two-part documentary series ''Neanderthals : Meet Your Ancestors'', prese ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Daniel Rigby
Daniel Rigby (born 6 December 1982) is an English actor and comedian. He received a BAFTA TV Award for his leading role as Eric Morecambe in the 2011 BBC television film '' Eric and Ernie''. Early life Rigby was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester. He attended Cheadle Hulme School and, after studying performing arts at Stockport College, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He is the cousin of Blossoms frontman Tom Ogden. Career Rigby has worked as a stand-up comedian, having appeared at the Latitude Festival, won the 2007 '' Laughing Horse New Act of the Year'', and been a nominee for winner of the 2007 So You Think You're Funny competition. In 2007, he moved to television roles with the BBC period drama '' Lilies''. In 2011, Rigby won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for his performance as the late comedian Eric Morecambe in '' Eric and Ernie'', beating both Matt Smith and Benedict Cumberbatch for their roles as the Doctor and Sherloc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |