End of a Tween sensation
The Tweenies waved goodbye to young fans 20 years ago. MARION McMULLEN looks back at the hugely popular kids’ series
JAKE, Fizz, Milo and Bella were known to children everywhere as the Tweenies.
The BBC show for pre-school youngsters was a massive television hit and saw the advent of Tweeniemania.
The quartet starred in almost 400 episodes, happily singing out the theme tune “Hey, hey are you ready to play?”
They offered music, dancing and a bit of mischief at their playgroup nursery and even found themselves in the UK music charts with songs like Number 1 – which reached number five – and I Believe In Christmas. The success led to Tweenies toys, merchandise and even arena shows. Young fans could also visit the Tweenies theme park at Alton Towers.
The show launched in 1999 and ran for seven series, but all good things must ust come to an end and the BBC broadcast the e final episode of the Tweenies 20 years ago on July 25, 2002.
The Bafta award-winning series was the creation of performers and writers Will Brenton and Iain Lauchlan, who set up Tell-Tale productions and Wish Films.
They first met working on BBC children’s show Playbus and d were later responsible for Fun Song Factor and nd Boo!, as well as Jim Jam And Sunny ITV.
The pre-schooler Tweenies were cared d for by playgroup managers Max and Judy, along ng with their pet dogs Doodles and Izzles.
Bringing the characters to life was a joint effort, with each one being operated by y someone in the suit and a different voice actor. r.
While we didn’t actually ever get to see ee them on screen, the show helped launch the careers of some famous children’s TV stars.