''Bing'' is a CGI-animated

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

based on the books by

Ted Dewan TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depart ...

. The series follows a pre-school bunny named Bing as he experiences everyday issues and conundrums. It airs on CBeebies in the UK and Ireland and

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaki ...

in Wales. In the United States, the series started airing on the

Cartoonito Cartoonito is a brand name used by Warner Bros. Discovery for a collection of television networks and programming blocks that target preschool-age children. The name combines the "cartoon" with the Spanish suffix "ito", meaning "small". As of ...

block on September 13, 2021 on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...

, with an American voice cast, replacing their original British voices.

Characters

* Bing (voiced by Elliot Kerley in series 1 and Rafferty Railton in series 2 of the original version, Santino Barnard in the American English dub) is the titular protagonist of the programme. Bing is a 3-year-old black anthropomorphic bunny. His favourite toy is Hoppity Voosh, a rabbit superhero. Bing wears a green shirt, red and black chequered dungarees and black and white sneakers and Bing loves to hum, whistle, pretend and do untroubling childlike things. * Flop (voiced by

Mark Rylance Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (born 18 January 1960) is a British actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Laurence ...

in series 1 and

David Threlfall David John Threlfall (born 12 October 1953) is an English stage, film and television actor and director. He is best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series '' Shameless''. He has also directed several episodes of the show. In Ap ...

in series 2) is Bing's carer, guiding Bing through his toddler life, entertaining him and soothing him when Bing faces a problem. Flop is a short orange-skinned creature and is presumably a stuffed rabbit toy. * Sula (voiced by Eve Bentley in the original version, Annabelle Chow in the American English dub) is a brown, female anthropomorphic elephant and one of Bing's best friends. Sula wears a pink and yellow dress with trousers, hot pink socks and golden sparkly shoes. Her favourite toy is Fairy Hippo (as revealed in 'Hearts'), a hippo dressed up as a fairy. * Amma (voiced by Akiya Henry), is Sula's guardian. Amma runs the creche and park café. The programme's

child A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

characters sometimes visit. Amma is a short blue-skinned elephant-like creature and is also presumed to be a stuffed elephant toy. * Pando (voiced by Shai Portnoy in series 1 and Noah Hicks in series 2 of the original version, Micah Gursoy in the American English dub) is an anthropomorphic male

panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes use ...

who is also Bing's second best friend, and lives next door to him. Pando shares his catchphrase, "Hoppity-voosh! " with Bing. Pando wears a white shirt, belly black sneakers and white

briefs Briefs (or a brief) are a type of short, form-fitting underwear and swimwear, as opposed to styles where material extends down the thighs. Briefs have various different styles, usually with a waistband attached to fabric that runs along the pel ...

. He is often seen wearing yellow shorts, before taking them off at the earliest possible opportunity, remaining in his underwear. * Padget (voiced by

Bryony Hannah Bryony Hannah (born 1984) is a British actress, best known as Cynthia Miller in BBC One's ''Call the Midwife''. Personal life The daughter of a teacher and a retired Royal Navy lieutenant-commander, Hannah comes from Portsmouth, and after leavin ...

in the original version, Molly Wurwand in the American English dub) is Pando's guardian. Padget runs the corner shop near to where Bing lives. Padget can sometimes be spotted out jogging or else driving her yellow tuk-tuk. Padget is a short green-skinned creature, also presumed to be a stuffed animal. * Coco (voiced by Jocelyn Macnab in the original version, Alivia Clark in the American English dub) is a white anthropomorphic bunny who is Bing's cousin and Charlie's older sister. Coco is the oldest of the child characters at age 10. * Charlie (voiced by Poppy Hendley), is a white anthropomorphic bunny who is Coco's 1-year-old baby brother and Bing's cousin who cannot talk. Charlie puts everything in his mouth and the others say, "Don't chew it, Charlie!" * Molly (voiced by

Tamsin Greig Tamsin Margaret Mary Greig (; born 12 July 1966) is an English actress, narrator and comedian. She played Fran Katzenjammer in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Black Books'', Dr Caroline Todd in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Green Wing'', Beverly Lincoln in B ...

), is Coco and Charlie's carer. Molly also works as a doctor. Molly is a small red-skinned creature often seen wearing glasses and a white lab coat. * Nicky (voiced by Xavi Nixon), is a small anthropomorphic brown elephant who is Sula's younger cousin. Nicky wears glasses, an orange t-shirt, blue & white sneakers and blue dungarees. Nicky makes his first appearance in series 2. Nicky is often the source of disagreement between Bing and Sula.

Production

''Bing'' was based on the '' Bing Bunny'' book series, written and illustrated by

. Acamar Films acquired the rights to ''Bing Bunny'' and produced the programme in conjunction with Brown Bag Films and Tandem Films. The series was developed for CBeebies though initial episodes were viewable at MIPTV.

Episodes

The first series of 78 seven-minute episodes show the "mishaps, mess, energy and wonder of being a relatively new human being". The programme focuses on real-life situations experienced by many toddlers and their parents. Every episode starts off with Flop saying "Round the corner not far away." Whatever Bing is doing at the start of the episode. At the end, Bing summarizes what he has learnt in the episode, with Flop intoning "It's a Bing thing". The second season began airing on CBeebies on 31 October 2019.

Awards and nominations

Other media

Home media

DVDs of the series are released by

StudioCanal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., Canal+ Production, and Canal+ Image and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film production and distribution company that owns ...

in the UK. The first DVD "Swing... and other episodes" was released on 31 March 2015 and features 10 episodes - Bye Bye, Swing, Blocks, Ducks, Smoothie, Frog, Car Park, Shadow, Musical Statues, and Voo Voo. A second DVD was released on 15 June 2015 and is titled "Storytime... and other episodes", featuring a further 10 episodes - Storytime, Growing, Atchoo, Hide & Seek, Bake, Train, Say Goodbye, Lost, Picnic, and Balloon.

Merchandise

HarperCollins Children's Books signed a deal with Acamar and The Licensing Company to re-publish the stories to link with the TV programme. The books were re-issued in 2013–14.

Fisher Price Fisher-Price is an American company that produces educational toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. The company was founded in 1930 during the Great Depression by Herman Fisher, Irving Price, Helen ...

have developed a range of ''Bing'' toys, which were released in July 2015, including "play sets, figurines, role play items, ride-ons, musical toys, wooden toys, and soft toys", at some point Fisher Price lost the license and now toys are currently manufactured by Golden Bear Toys.

References

External links

Bing on CbeebiesBing Bunny
*
The Bing StoreBing: Watch, PLay, Learn appProduction website
{{Cartoon Network co-productions 2014 British television series debuts 2010s British children's television series 2010s British animated television series 2019 British television series endings British children's animated comedy television series British computer-animated television series British preschool education television series British television shows based on children's books Irish children's animated comedy television series Irish preschool education television series English-language television shows Animated television series about children Animated television series about rabbits and hares CBeebies Cartoon Network original programming Cartoonito original programming Animated preschool education television series 2010s preschool education television series