Doc McStuffins

Season 1 SABC2 (*192) 15:00 Animation

Animated series Doc McStuffins (2012current) follows seven-year-old Dottie, who brings her toys to life with her magical stethoscope. Dottie, who goes by the name Doc, was created by writer Chris Nee to help her asthmatic son not be afraid of the doctor and Chris jokes that “I went into the shower, worrying about how to help my child – and boom! Fifteen minutes later, I had the show worked out in my head!”

“It was the first discussion I had 1

with Disney and we were both in agreement: we wanted a female lead character with ethnicity,” says Chris.

Doc McStuffins was the premiere 2

show for the Disney Junior channel, the newly rebranded version of the old Playhouse Disney Channel.

Dottie is voiced by two actresses: 3

13-year-old Laya DeLeon Hayes in the United States version, with 14-yearold Abriella Bierer voicing the character in the United Kingdom.

Local singer, DJ and TV per4

sonality Unathi Msengana joined the show in 2014 to voice Rita The Cheetah. “I’m thrilled and humbled! I can’t wait to see my childrens’ faces as they hear my voice in Doc Unathi McStuffins,” said Unathi. Msengana.

A “watchdog” group lashed out 5

because Dottie has two moms, but Chris responded and said, “I envision it as a show about accepting everyone as part of our communities. As part of a two-mom family, I’m proud to have an episode reflect my son’s world.”

Disney has pulled strings to get 6

stars from other shows that it owns to voice characters on Doc McStuffins, like Loretta Devine, Adele on Grey’s Anatomy (2005-current).