''Hey Duggee'' is a British

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

educational

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...

television series aimed at two to five year olds. Created by

Grant Orchard Grant Orchard is a British animation director and designer who lives and works in London. He is the creator of the CBeebies series '' Hey Duggee''. Based at Studio AKA, he has created many eye-catching spots for a wide range of clients. On 24 Jan ...

, it is produced by

Studio AKA Studio AKA is a British animation studio producing television commercials, TV programmes and short films. The company was founded in 1989 (as Pizzaz Pictures). Notable productions include ''Hey Duggee'', a TV series aimed at 2 to 5 year olds produ ...

, in association with

BBC Studios BBC Studios is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Worldwide. ...

(formerly

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...

). The show is narrated by

Alexander Armstrong Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong (born 2 March 1970) is an English actor, comedian, radio personality, television presenter and singer. He is the host of the BBC One game show ''Pointless'', as well as the morning show on Classic FM. He is ...

. The programme's characters are talking

anthropomorphic animals Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

, with Duggee communicating in woofs. The episodes are based around The Squirrel Club, an activity club for children that Duggee leads. The childrenthe club's Squirrelstake part in all kinds of activities, have adventures and earn badges for their accomplishments. Each episode shows the Squirrels completing an activity or adventure relating to a badge that they earn at the end of each episode. There is no set formula for every episode, with many referencing or parodying pop culture. ''Hey Duggee'' has three series. It was first shown in December 2014. BBC and Studio AKA produced a second series in early 2016, with the first episode airing in the United Kingdom on 26 September 2016. A third series was commissioned in October 2017, with the first episode due to be broadcast in Autumn 2018, but was pushed back to 4 March 2019. It aired until September 2021 with a Christmas episode shown in December 2020. The third series received increased acclaim and popularity amongst children and adults alike during the 2020 pandemic lockdowns. It has been renewed for a fourth series on 5 September 2022.

Production

The programme is animated using the computer program

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid ...

, with a minimalist style using filled shapes with no outlines, and only effects that Flash is capable of, and only the Duggee character regularly uses gradients. For example, if there is a frog character, then it usually bears the appearance of a plain green triangle. The production team consists of around 16 in-house animators, with six to eight scriptwriters.

Characters

Main

* Narrator – the narrator of the show. * Duggee – a friendly big brown male

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

and the leader of the Squirrel club. * Betty – a talkative and intelligent purple

octopus An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttle ...

. * Norrie – a sweet-natured and curious brown

mouse A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

. * Roly – an enthusiastic, loud and hyperactive grey

hippo The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant ...

. * Tag – a gentle, clumsy blue

rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

. * Happy – a tall, easy-going green

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

, with a love of water and splashing in puddles.

Recurring

Sander Jones as: * Enid – Duggee's pet

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

. * The

Rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

s – live in the field near the clubhouse and all sound like

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

s, apart from one who speaks French. * Diesel – an angry

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

who often chases Duggee and the Squirrels. * Frog Phillip Warner as: * Naughty Monkey – a

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

who loves to cause chaos. * King

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

– local royalty whose favourite entertainment is the "jelly-belly dancers". * The

Chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

s – live in the hen-house and enjoy watching episodes of a Spanish hospital-drama. * Ladybird

as: * Naughty Mice – a gang of three trouble-making mice styled like a 1950s biker gang; they usually leave the scene with the phrase "Let's bounce". * Whooooo – a

shamanistic Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

. *

Mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...

– a short-sighted animal who has dreams of being a stunt-mole. * The Rabbits Adam Longworth as: * Lord Fingal of Skye Castle – a

Scottish Terrier The Scottish Terrier ( gd, Abhag Albannach; also known as the Aberdeen Terrier), popularly called the Scottie, is a breed of dog. Initially one of the highland breeds of terrier that were grouped under the name of ''Skye Terrier'', it is one o ...

with a Scottish accent and a kilt. * Tino the Artistic Mouse – a perfectionist mouse whom Roly describes as grumpy. * Hedgley – a

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...

who has an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

accent. * Mr. (John) Crab – a dramatic orange

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

, married to a non-speaking crab named Nigel. * Eugene – an anxious

chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks may be classified either as ...

involved in leading various theatrical events. * Wilburt the Delivery Chipmunk – a

postman A mail carrier, mailman, mailwoman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, or letter carrier (in American English), sometimes colloquially known as a postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), is an employee of a post ...

who has difficulty pronouncing names. * Thora and Agnes, the two old

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

. * Penguins Lucy Montgomery as: * Hennie – a tall, sports-loving

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There are ...

. * Chew Chew the Panda – a confectionery-loving

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 animal coat, coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is ...

. * Fox

Morgana Robinson Morgana Robinson (born 7 May 1982) is an Australian-born English impressionist, comedian, writer and actress, who is best known for her comedy sketch programme ''The Morgana Show'', ''Morgana Robinson's The Agency'', appearances on ''The TNT Sho ...

as: * Katarina the

Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of Wader, wading bird in the Family (biology), family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas ...

– the lead swimmer of a

synchronised swimming Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédérati ...

team. * Buggee – a small insect who feels useless due to her small size until the Squirrels show her otherwise. * Peggee – a

wildebeest Wildebeest ( , , ), also called gnu ( or ), are antelopes of the genus ''Connochaetes'' and native to Eastern and Southern Africa. They belong to the family Bovidae, which includes true antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep, and other even-toe ...

who leads the Hummingbirds Club. Masami Eagar as: * Hatsu Anelisa Lamola as: * Mrs. Weaver Tim Digby-Bell as: * Mr. (Nigel) Crab – Mr. Crab's husband.

Other characters

* The Hummingbirds – The other group of older animals in the episode ''The Making Friends Badge'', with their very own version of Duggee. They are: ** Finbar (10 years old) (voiced by Charley Orchard in "''The Making Friends Badge''" and Ferris Hicks-Little-Jones in "''The Same Badge''") ** Merry (10 years old) (voiced by Charley Orchard in "''The Making Friends Badge''" and Avalon McNamara in "''The Same Badge''") ** Chad (9 years old) (voiced by Bastian Varrall in "''The Making Friends Badge''" and Bram Hicks-Little-Jones in "''The Same Badge''") ** Rochelle (11 years old) (voiced by Poppy Green in "''The Making Friends Badge''" and Mio Eagar in "''The Same Badge''") ** Ottie (12 years old) (voiced by Sean Orchard in "''The Making Friends Badge''" and Magdalena Beardsmore in "''The Same Badge''") * Duglee – Duggee's little nephew, voiced by Poppy Green and Charley Orchard. * Ethel the elephant

Merchandise and licensing deals

In the UK, the BBC Children's Books imprint published books based on the series. Golden Bear Toys manufactures Hey Duggee toys sold in the UK. In 2015, ''Hey Duggee'' was adapted into several videogame apps for mobile devices. These include: * The Big Badge App * The Big Outdoors App * We Love Animals * Colouring * Jigsaw Puzzles * The Counting Badge * The Exploring App * The Squirrels Club * The Christmas Badge As of May 2015, Jasnor holds the master toy licence in Australia and New Zealand.

"The Stick Song"

"The Stick Song" premiered in the series 2 episode, ''Hey Duggee: The Stick Badge'', which was first broadcast in the UK on 7 December 2017. Duggee and the Squirrels are making a campfire when Roly discovers one of his sticks can talk. The stick turns out to be a stick insect, and starts singing "stick" repeatedly to a catchy dance tune. As of 2020, the song has been viewed over 7 million times on YouTube. The track has been featured on

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

and

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

's ''

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...

''. Many remixes have been produced, by both the BBC and others, including a heavy metal remix by children's heavy metal band

Slay Duggee Slay Duggee is an English heavy metal band for children. They play 'My First Metal Gig' concerts to give kids their first experience of live heavy metal music. History Slay Duggee formed in January 2018 to release a heavy metal version of " The ...

Episodes

Series overview

Pilot (2013)

Series 1 (2014-2015)

Series 2 (2016-2018)

Series 3 (2019-2021)

This series aired episodes every day at 12:00 pm on the CBeebies channel instead of on the morning block. It was the first to feature new voice actors included in the episode particle. There was also a new theme song.

Series 4 (2022-present)

Reception

Stuart Heritage, writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', described the series as being "peerless." On Twitter, the

London Fire Brigade The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865, under the leadership of superintendent Eyre Massey Shaw. It has 5,992staff, in ...

(LFB) in Greenwich complained about "The Dressing-Up Badge". In the episode, Roly dresses up as a firefighter, but is described as being a ''fireman'', which Greenwich LFB described as being outdated whereas the term ''firefighter'' is "the preferred respectful, inclusive, non-sexist, non-gendered term that should be being widely used by all media but especially the BBC".

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * *
Hey Duggee
' at

* {{IMDb title , tt4291050
Page from Studio AKA
BBC children's television shows English-language television shows British children's animated adventure television series British children's animated comedy television series Animated preschool education television series 2014 British television series debuts 2010s British children's television series 2020s British children's television series British flash animated television series British preschool education television series 2010s British animated television series 2020s British animated television series 2010s preschool education television series 2020s preschool education television series Nick Jr. original programming Animated television series about dogs Animated television series about children CBeebies Television series by BBC Studios