''Little Howard's Big Question'' (2009–11) is a British

children's A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child ...

edutainment Educational entertainment, also referred to by the portmanteau edutainment, is media designed to education, educate through entertainment. The term has been used as early as 1933. Most often it includes content intended to teach but has inciden ...

programme starring

Howard Read Howard Oliver Drinkwater Read is a British screenwriter, comedian, and animator best known for his work with his animated sidekick, Little Howard. His other creations include an angry manager with a conversational style and the worldview of Berna ...

as Big Howard and his six-year-old

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

friend, Little Howard. The programme was first broadcast on 8 January 2009, running for a series of 13 episodes. Series 2 began airing on 6 October 2010, and series 3 began on 18 May 2011 on

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

Format

Animated boy Little Howard and his

live-action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games or ...

guardian Big Howard live together in

Purley, London Purley is an area of the London Borough of Croydon in London, England, south of Charing Cross, with a history going back at least 800 years. It was originally granted as an estate from holdings at Sanderstead and until as a district of Surrey ...

. Each episode typically begins with a short comedy sketch, which inspires Little Howard to blow a loud animated klaxon and ask a "big question" on a related topic. After a credit sequence involving an animated

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

song-and-dance routine, the remainder of the programme investigates possible answers to the big question, using a combination of research, expert advice, fantasy, and song. Further assistance is provided by Mother, a pink (series 1) or orange (series 2/3)

anthropomorphic 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 to ...

personal computer A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as Word processor, word processing, web browser, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and PC ...

that wears clothes and feels emotions. Although the programme is broadcast on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, which does not show commercial advertising, each episode features a comedy " advertising break" with imaginary products vaguely related to the big question. Similarly, a frequent element throughout the series is the use of humorous pop culture references to appeal to an adult audience, and which would fly over younger viewers' heads.

Awards

On 16 November 2011, the episode ''Why do Things Have to Die?'' from series 2 won a

Writers' Guild of Great Britain The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG). History The u ...

award for Best Children's Television Script.

List of episodes

Series 1

Series 1 began airing on 8 January 2009. Performers who appeared in series 1 included: Kirsten O'Brien, Lucy Porter, Justin Edwards, Ishia Bennison, and David Penn.

Series 2

Series 2 began airing on 6 October 2010. The first two episodes were shown on BBC Two (because the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

were being aired on BBC One), and the rest of the series on BBC One. The series introduced many new characters, real and cartoon, including Little Howards "Sort-of half-brother, kind-of" Little Albert. Actors who appeared in series 2 included David Schneider, Sy Thomas, Lucy Porter, Siân Lloyd,

Jarred Christmas Jarred Christmas (born 1980) is a comedian from New Zealand who now lives and works in the United Kingdom. He won the Chortle Awards, Chortle Comedy Award for Best Master of Ceremonies, Compère in 2010, and the Fred Award in 2013. Early life ...

Tim Brooke-Taylor Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor (17 July 194012 April 2020) was an English actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of The Goodies. Brooke-Taylor became active in performing in comedy sketches while at the University of Cambridge and beca ...

, Marek Larwood,

Barney Harwood Barnaby John Harwood (born 7 November 1979) is a British actor and television presenter. He is known for his work with CBBC beginning in 2002. Career Television For CBBC, Harwood presented '' Prank Patrol'' and was a voice-over commentator for ...

, and Andre Vincent. Helen Lederer featured in more than one episode as Big Howard's Mum.

Series 3

Series 3 began airing on 18 May 2011. Actors who appeared in series 3 included: Rusty Goffe, Ben Moor, Daniel Hill, Chris Cox, Doc Brown, Trevor Neal, and Thomas Nelstrop.Series 3 Episode 10 Where is Big Howard?
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References

External links

Official website at www.littlehoward.co.uk
* *{{IMDb title, 1360434 BBC children's television shows British children's comedy television series British television series with live action and animation 2010s British television series 2009 British television series debuts