LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, March 31, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Icons of British popular culture and the original disruptors of children’s television, the Teletubbies, are today celebrating their 25th anniversary. Quite unlike anything the industry had ever seen before, Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po changed the face of preschool programming when they made their broadcast debut on BBC Two in the UK on 31 March 1997. Twenty-five years later and there are still no signs of the colourful quartet stopping.

To kick off the celebrations, below you will find 25 facts in honour of 25 years of unbridled joy and Eh-Oh’s:

1. The Teletubbies were originally going to be called the ‘Teleteddies’ due to their cuddly appearance.

2. Co-creator, Andrew Davenport, was inspired to create the movement and appearance of the Teletubbies by the astronauts in the 1969 moon landings.

3. The Tubby Custard used on set was originally made from a mixture of mashed potatoes and red and yellow acrylic paint with an overpoweringly strong smell. In the more recent series, Tubby Custard was made from a food thickener with pink dye.

4. UK grocer, Marks and Spencer, used to stock a line of Tubby Toast. Made with a top-secret recipe, the product was so popular that suppliers had to work around the clock to meet demand.

5. In 2002, it was revealed that police officers applying to join the Metropolitan Police Special Branch were asked to name all four Teletubbies as part of their entrance exam to demonstrate knowledge of popular culture.

6. The Teletubbies were signed to their first record label by a young A&R executive, Simon Cowell. He helped them achieve a UK number-one hit single with “Teletubbies Say ‘Eh-oh!’”, which sold over one million copies and stayed in the top 75 for 29 weeks. The smash hit also ignited an epic chart battle with The Spice Girls for Christmas #1 in 1997.

7. The rabbits in Teletubbies are a breed called Flemish Giant and were used for their size as not to give away the scale of the filming site or the Teletubbies themselves. They were notorious for breeding on set due and there were several scenes that had to be re-filmed due to them getting frisky on camera.

8. The original “Baby Sun”, Jess Smith, turns 26 this year. She was put forward for the role by her health visitor because she was such a super smiley baby.

9. There are different “Baby Suns” that have been featured over the years including regionally-specific that reflect the diversity of broadcast audiences around the world.

10. The Teletubbies live in the Home Dome in Teletubbyland, but it was originally called the Tubbytronic Superdome.

11. Teletubbies merchandise was the craze of Christmas 1997. It sold more than double all the other hot toys that Christmas, such as the Nintendo 64, Tamagotchi and Spice Girls Girl Power Dolls.

12. Famous voices that can be heard in WildBrain’s 2015 series of the show include David Walliams, Rochelle Humes, Jane Horrocks, Jim Broadbent and Fearne Cotton.

13. As a young girl, singing sensation Taylor Swift once dressed up as Laa-Laa for Halloween. In 2022, ex-One Direction member, Niall Horan, recreated his childhood Halloween costume by dressing up as Po once again.

14. The Teletubbies are a favourite of the stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race with queens such as Baga Chipz, Lawrence Chaney, Cheryl Hole, Crystal Methyd, Jaida Essence Hall, Priyanka and Boa all being fans of the brand and its proud history of celebrating diversity and inclusion.

15. Other A-Listers who have shown love for the Teletubbies brand in pop culture and social media over the years include Joe Jonas, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Kylie Jenner, Lil Nas X, Sam Smith, BTS, Doja Cat.

16. The Teletubbies launched their first ever Pride fashion collection in 2021 which included face masks, bucket hats, bum bags, socks, shorts, tees and tanks. The proceeds from the limited-edition collection of 90s-inspired streetwear were donated to GLAAD to support the LGBTQ+ community.

17. The famous theme tune for Teletubbies was specially recorded for the new series in 2015 by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

18. In 2021, the Teletubbies re-entered the music scene with a brand-new album titled Ready, Steady, Go!. The album release saw them go head-to-head in a chart battle with Coldplay. The music videos associated with this album have received over fifteen million views to date.

19. The Teletubbies became TikTok sensations in 2022, amassing over 386,000 followers, 22 million views and 4 million likes (as of March 2022) for their verified account.

20. The Teletubbies have become entertainment show favourites, with their first live TV appearance being on Channel 4’s Paul O’Grady Show in 2009. Their most recent live TV appearance was in 2021 on ITV’s This Morning with Holly and Phil to promote their new album. They have also been featured on The One Show, Lorraine and Strictly Come Dancing.

21. The Teletubbies have been featured in a number of iconic comedy series, including Michael Macintyre’s Midnight Game Show, The Vicar of Dibley, Absolutely Fabulous and The Simpsons.

22. The press went wild with Tubby-mania that would rival the hysteria experienced by The Beatles and One Direction when the show first aired. Photographers would hide in hedges and follow actors’ cars home, with the Holy Grail being a photo of the Teletubbies with their ‘heads off’. One photographer even hired a helicopter to fly over the set.

23. Even before the new series started in 2015, Teletubbies was attracting nearly 50 million views on YouTube a month with over one million views per day! In 2022, the Teletubbies YouTube channels have banked over 180-million minutes of watch time thus far.

24. The Teletubbies hoover-like pet, Noo-Noo, was originally sky blue in colour but recently had a glow-up which saw him transform into a lovely orange-pink-gold combination.

25. Teletubbies has been nominated for awards at least eighteen times for top achievements in children’s programming and won the prestigious BAFTA Children’s Award in 1998 and in 2002.

Jessica Spillane
License to PR
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