Halifax company bringing Teletubbies back to BBC
The Teletubbies are headed back to television after more than a decade’s absence, with the help of a Halifax-based production company.
Children’s-programming company DHX Media will resurrect the series that was once a sensation with preschoolers.
DHX Media said Friday that it will produce 60 new Teletubbies episodes for BBC’s CBeebies channel in the U.K., though financial terms of the agreement weren’t released.
Producers say Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po will remain as characters, but the series will be updated with new CGI effects and shot on replica models of the sets.
The original episodes were filmed outdoors at a farm in England, but after the series wrapped production several years ago, the Teletubbies house was torn down and replaced with a pond.
When it first aired, Teletubbies was one of the rare children’s television shows that crept into the mainstream consciousness with a line of plush toys, a topselling series of VHS tapes, and a song that reached No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart.
In 1999, Rev. Jerry Falwell accused the character Tinky Winky of being “a gay role model” for children because he carried a handbag and had triangular antenna, which he suggested represented the gay pride symbol.
Falwell’s comments led both the BBC and the show’s production company to issue statements denouncing the suggestions.
After the controversy faded, Teletubbies remained popular in repeat screenings around the world, where it has been shown in more than 120 territories and translated into 45 languages.
“Kids’ entertainment of this calibre captivates generation after generation, so we believe there is considerable demand for an enhanced, contemporary version,” said Steven DeNure, president of DHX Media.
Over the past year, DHX has been bulking up its assets with several popular children’s properties. It grabbed the rights to the Teletubbies franchise last year when it purchased Ragdoll Worldwide from BBC Worldwide and other investors for about $28 million. The acquisition included 365 episodes of the original Teletubbies series, produced between 1997 and 2001, and another 52 episodes of followup series Teletubbies Everywhere, and 10 other kids’ series.
The company also bought the popular Family Channel from Bell Media, giving it a platform to create and sell more shows globally, and the Epitome group of companies, producer of the hit Degrassi TV franchise.
DHX Media creates, sells and licenses other children’s programs such as Caillou and Yo Gabba Gabba.