50 Fun Facts About Teletubbies

Who created Teletubbies with Andrew Davenport?

Anne Wood, a former teacher, got the idea while testing how small children reacted to her earlier shows and seeing that television still wasn't reaching the very youngest.

For which broadcaster was Teletubbies originally made?

The BBC sold the show around the world through its commercial arm, and a 2005 Daily Telegraph report on overseas sales called it the most lucrative show in the broadcaster's history.

What do the Teletubbies have set into their bellies?

Television screens play short films of real children, a device the makers used to link the Teletubbies' fantasy land to the real world.

What color is Tinky Winky?

Purple Tinky Winky changed performers early on: the first actor was dropped after 70 episodes, told that his 'interpretation of the role was not acceptable'.

What shape is Tinky Winky's antenna?

Triangle: in 1999 a US preacher called that shape a gay-pride symbol and warned parents that Tinky Winky was a gay role model.

Which Teletubby is green?

Dipsy was played for the whole original run by stand-up comedian John Simmit, who went back to the comedy circuit once the suit came off.

Dipsy is named after his antenna, which resembles what?

The creators have said Dipsy is of African descent; his face is darker than the others'.

What color is Laa-Laa?

Yellow Laa-Laa, like each of the four, has baby talk all her own: the performers built their characters' speech by recalling how they talked as small children.

What is Laa-Laa's favorite toy?

An orange ball: the four favourite things are simple playthings, though Tinky Winky's red bag ended up in the headlines when commentators took it for a handbag.

Which Teletubby is the smallest of the four?

Po, the smallest, zips around on a scooter; her original performer, Pui Fan Lee, went on to become a children's TV presenter in her own right.

Po's antenna is shaped like what?

A bubble wand: the ring on a stick is one of four differently shaped antennae, each of which glows when something is about to happen.

Which language does Po sometimes speak?

Cantonese: Po's cry of 'fidit, fidit' comes from the words for 'faster, faster'; her first performer, who has Hong Kong heritage, drew on her background for the character's baby talk.

What is the name of the Teletubbies' home?

The Tubbytronic Superdome was a real structure built into a farmer's field, and while it went up, locals protested to the council about the strange construction.

What kind of appliance is Noo-Noo?

A vacuum cleaner: Noo-Noo is the Teletubbies' tidy housekeeper, yet he also sucks up their things until they cry 'Naughty Noo-Noo!' and give chase.

What color was Noo-Noo in the original 1997 Teletubbies series?

Blue Noo-Noo's chases with the Teletubbies were filmed slowly and speeded up afterwards, a trick co-creator Andrew Davenport borrowed from Benny Hill.

What are the periscope-like devices that rise from the ground in Teletubbyland called?

Voice Trumpets exist because co-creator Andrew Davenport found that very young children struggle to watch and listen at once, so a rising trumpet tells them a voice is coming.

Which phrase do the Teletubbies call out before piling into a group cuddle?

Big hug! With that call the four pile into a squeeze, and the phrase stuck: the brand's official site still promises visitors 'big hugs'.

What appears inside the sun that rises over Teletubbyland in each episode?

A baby's face: the makers reasoned that babies love looking at babies, and the Sun Baby's gurgles and laughs tell small viewers when to laugh along.

Which real animal shares Teletubbyland with the Teletubbies?

The rabbit: the makers chose a giant breed so the animals would look in scale beside the outsized Teletubbies.

Which phrase do the Teletubbies shout when they want to see something a second time?

Again, again! Co-creator Andrew Davenport saw that toddlers like the security of repetition, so after the shout each short film is played a second time.

Which star voices the Tubby Phone in the 2015 Teletubbies revival?

Jane Horrocks, of Absolutely Fabulous fame, voices a smartphone-style gadget that was added to bring the revived show up to date.

What are the baby Teletubbies introduced in the 2015 revival called?

Tiddlytubbies: the babies, among them Mi-Mi, Daa Daa and Umby Pumby, were spun off in 2018 into an animated web series of their own.

What do the Teletubbies eat along with Tubby toast?

Tubby custard caused a row of its own: the Teletubbies call it 'Tubby tustard', and critics worried such baby talk would teach toddlers to mispronounce words.

Which programme's time slot did Teletubbies take over, upsetting some parents?

Playdays: parents' letters complaining that 'gibberish' had replaced it were seized on by national newspapers, which turned the new show into a row about teaching styles.

What starts spinning in Teletubbyland to signal that something special is about to happen?

A windmill: the show runs on signals like this so toddlers know what to expect, and when it spins and sparkles the Teletubbies rush off to see what's coming.

Which US network first brought Teletubbies to American television in 1998?

PBS launched it in April 1998 with a campaign billing the show as 'PBS for Beginners', pitched at parents of children as young as one.

Who narrates the Teletubbies series that Netflix launched in 2022?

Tituss Burgess, star of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, narrates the Netflix version, which arrived in November 2022 as part of the streamer's push into preschool shows.

What inspired co-creator Andrew Davenport's toddler-like Teletubbies characters?

The Moon landings: Davenport thought astronauts in bulky spacesuits, bouncing about on a new world, looked just like toddlers.

In which English county was Teletubbies filmed, on a farm a few miles from Stratford-upon-Avon?

Warwickshire: unable to find a natural bowl-shaped dip, the makers rented a farmer's field and dug the hollow for the set themselves.

What became of the original Teletubbyland set after filming ended?

It was flooded into a pond: the farm's owner said she was tired of fans jumping fences and crossing cattle fields to find the spot.

On which TV show were the original Teletubbies character drawings given a five-figure valuation?

Antiques Roadshow: the sketches were by illustrator Jonathan Hills, a co-founder of the visual-effects company Framestore, whose widow told the expert she had about 80 of them.

With Teletubbies dolls scarce before Christmas 1997, what did some UK shops do?

Rationed them to one per customer: maker Golden Bear couldn't supply the dolls fast enough, and fights over them were reported in some stores.

Teletubbies dolls were Britain's must-have toy of Christmas 1997; which toy held that spot a year earlier?

Buzz Lightyear: the Toy Story figure had caused the same shortages a year earlier, so one headline called the Teletubbies rush 'bigger than Buzz'.

Which fast-food chain offered Teletubbies toys with its kids' meals in 1999?

Burger King reported a jump in sales well beyond its kids' meals, and the Teletubbies tie-in was said to be on track to become its most successful promotion ever.

Which tech company launched talking, interactive Teletubbies toys in 1999?

Microsoft: its ActiMates toy division, which had started with a talking Barney, packed each Teletubby with sensors so it giggled and spoke when squeezed.

Which star-studded charity single did the Teletubbies knock off the UK number-one spot in 1997?

Perfect Day, the all-star Lou Reed song released for Children in Need, gave way in December 1997, and bookmakers at once made the Teletubbies favourites for Christmas number one.

Which act kept the Teletubbies off the 1997 Christmas top spot?

Spice Girls: 'Too Much' entered at number one for Christmas, their second festive chart-topper running, and pushed the bookmakers' favourites down to second.

Which future Pop Idol judge signed the Teletubbies for their chart-topping 1997 single?

Simon Cowell, then a record-company executive, signed the Teletubbies in 1997; a quarter of a century on, they turned up to audition in front of him on television.

What are the Teletubbies saying when they call out 'Eh-oh!'?

Hello: 'Eh-oh!' is the Teletubbies' baby-talk greeting, and it became so familiar that it supplied the title of their 1997 hit single.

Which US televangelist claimed in 1999 that Tinky Winky was a 'gay role model'?

Jerry Falwell made the claim in his National Liberty Journal; the show's US licensee called it absurd, and the broadcaster replied that Tinky Winky was simply 'a sweet, technological baby'.

Which country's children's ombudsman said in 2007 that psychologists should examine Tinky Winky?

Poland: ombudsman Ewa Sowińska said she had noticed Tinky Winky carrying a woman's handbag, then backed away from the probe within days.

Which Teletubbies 'magical event' sketch was banned in several countries as too unsettling for children?

The lion and the bear: a cut-out lion chased a cut-out bear to eerie music, and the makers later re-edited the sketch with gentler voices and laughing Teletubbies.

Which city's mayor declared 28 March 2007 'Teletubbies Day'?

New York: the declaration came as the Teletubbies marked their tenth anniversary with a tour of the city's landmarks, including Grand Central and Harlem's Apollo Theater.

On which UK children's channel did the Teletubbies revival premiere in 2015?

CBeebies commissioned the revival in 2014, more than a decade after the original run ended, and added touches such as a Tubby Phone to bring it up to date.

Which American toy giant made the Teletubbies dolls sold in US stores from 1998?

Hasbro took the American licence as the show headed for US television, after the British dolls had sold out the previous Christmas.

As of 2025, which company owned the Teletubbies brand?

WildBrain: the Canadian company, then called DHX Media, bought the brand in 2013 and was behind the 2015 revival.

Which 2025 horror film opens with children watching Teletubbies?

28 Years Later has the show playing as the outbreak begins, and a cover of its theme tune returns at the end, over a gang's fight with the infected.

On which reality show did the Teletubbies 'audition' in 2022 for their 25th anniversary?

Britain's Got Talent: the Teletubbies danced to Beyoncé and One Direction at the London Palladium and won a unanimous yes from the four judges.

Which production company made the original Teletubbies?

Ragdoll ran a shop in Stratford-upon-Avon with a play area, where its writers watched how small children reacted to programmes while developing the show.

Which puppet star was launched in 1983 by a future Teletubbies co-creator?

Roland Rat arrived at the breakfast station TV-am to brighten up the Easter holidays, proved a hit with younger viewers and was soon touring the country in his Ratmobile.