Teletubbies is a British children's television series created by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport for the BBC. The programme focuses on four differently coloured characters known as the Teletubbies, named after the television screens on their bellies. Recognised throughout popular culture for the uniquely shaped antenna protruding from the head of each character, the Teletubbies communicate through gibberish and were designed to bear resemblance to toddlers.
The series rapidly became a commercial success in Britain and abroad. It won multiple BAFTA awards and was nominated for two Daytime Emmys throughout its run. A single based on the show's theme song reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in December 1997 and remained in the Top 75 for 32 weeks, selling over a million copies. By October 2000, the franchise generated over £1 billion ($1.6 billion) in merchandise sales.
Though the original run ended in 2001, a rebooted series was green-lit in 2014. The reboot premiered on CBeebies in the United Kingdom and on the Nick Jr. Channel in the United States. The reboot ran for 120 episodes, with the last episode airing on the Nick Jr. Channel on 17 August 2018.
The original series returned to the United States on 25 May 2016, when every episode was added to the Noggin streaming service, including episodes that had never aired in America before.
In 2022, the series returned for yet another reboot on Netflix, where it remains today. This new series is narrated by Tituss Burgess and premiered on the streaming service on November 14, 2022.
Cast and characters[]
| Character | Original series | Revival series |
|---|---|---|
| Tinky Winky | Dave Thompson Simon Shelton |
Jeremiah Krage |
| Dipsy | John Simmit | Nick Kellington |
| Laa-Laa | Nikky Smedley | Rebecca Hyland |
| Po | Pui Fan Lee | Rachelle Beinart |
| Noo-noo | Mark Dean | Victoria Jane Olly Taylor |
| The Voice Trumpets | Eric Sykes Toyah Willcox John Simmit Gary Stevenson Alex Hogg Alex Pascall Tim Whitnall Rudolph Walker |
Fearne Cotton Jim Broadbent Antonia Thomas Teresa Gallagher David Walliams Rochelle Humes |
| Sun Baby | Jess Smith | Berry |
| Tubby Phone | Jane Horrocks | |
| Tiddlytubbies | Teresa Gallagher | |
International broadcast[]
| Country | Network | Local title |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | BBC Two (CBBC), CBeebies | Teletubbies |
| Worldwide | CBeebies | |
| Latin America | Discovery Kids | |
| Australia | ABC Kids | |
| Austria | ORF 1 | |
| Brazil | Discovery Kids, Rede Globo, TV Cultura | |
| Canada (English) | TVOKids, BBC Kids, Family Jr., Treehouse TV | |
| Chile | Chilevision | |
| Colombia | Caracol Televisión, Señal Colombia | |
| Czech Republic | TV Nova, TV Barrandov, Nickelodeon | |
| Denmark | TV 2, DR Ramasjang | |
| Dominican Republic | Telecentro, Telesistema 11 | |
| Ecuador | Red TV Ecuador | |
| Germany | KiKa, Das Erste, MDR Fernsehen, Südwest Fernsehen, hr-fernsehen, BBC Entertainment, ZDF, BR | |
| Indonesia | Indosiar, antv | |
| Ireland | RTÉ Two, TG4 | |
| Italy | Rai 2, Rai 3, Rai YoYo, DeA Kids, DeA Junior, JimJam | |
| Malaysia | TV2 | |
| Mexico | Azteca 7 | |
| Peru | ATV | |
| Philippines | GMA Network | |
| Portugal | SIC, Canal Panda | |
| Romania | TVR 1 | |
| South Africa | M-Net, K-T.V., SABC 2, e.tv, eToonz | |
| Slovakia | TV JOJ, RiK | |
| Spain (Spanish) | Jetix, Playhouse Disney, Clan | |
| Spain (Valencian) | Canal Nou 2 | |
| Sweden | TV4, Sjuan, SVT Barn | |
| United States | PBS Kids, PBS Kids Sprout, Nick Jr., Noggin | |
| Venezuela | Venevisión | |
| Vietnam | HTV3 | |
| Wales | S4C | |
| Belgium (French) | RTBF | Les Télétubbies |
| Canada | Television de Radio-Canada, Télé-Québec, Télémagino | |
| France | Canal+, TiJi, Playhouse Disney, Gulli | |
| Switzerland | TSR | |
| Belgium (Dutch) | JimJam, VTM, VTM Kids | De Teletubbies |
| Netherlands | JimJam, NPO 3 (EO, TROS, Teleac/NOT), NPO Zappelin (NTR) | |
| Arab World | Future Television, Spacetoon, MBC 3, ART Teenz, Baraem | تيليتابيز |
| Bulgaria | bTV, SuperToons | Телетъбис |
| China | CCTV, iQIYI | 天线宝宝 |
| Croatia | HRT 1, HRT 2, Nova TV, HBO Go | Teletabisi |
| Estonia | ETV, Kanal 2 | Teletupsud |
| Finland | Yle TV1, Yle TV2, C More Juniori, Fox | Teletapit |
| Greece | ERT1, Star Channel, Nickelodeon | Τελετάμπις |
| Hong Kong | ATV Home, TVB Pay Vision | 天線得得B |
| Hungary | RTL Klub, Cartoon Network, TV2, Minimax, JimJam, M2 | Teletabik |
| Iceland | Stöð 2 | Stubbarnir |
| India | CBeebies, Prasar Bharati | टेलेट्युविज |
| Indonesia | GTV | Teletubbies datang lagi |
| Iran | IRIB Pooya & Nahal | توپولوها |
| Israel | Channel 1, Arutz HaYeladim, Hop! Channel, Luli TV | טלטאביז |
| Japan | Kids Station, TV Osaka, TV Tokyo, TVN, Biwako Broadcasting, GBS, NHK | テレタビーズ |
| Latvia | LTV7 | Teletūbiji |
| Lithuania | Lytas TV, LRT | Teletabiai |
| North Macedonia | A1 | Телетабиси |
| HBO Go | Нови Телетабиси | |
| Norway | TV 2, NRK Super | Teletubbierne |
| Poland | Canal+, TVP1, TVP2, Fokus TV, Puls 2, Top Kids, Top Kids Jr, Disney Junior | Teletubisie |
| Russia | Russia-1, 2x2 | Телепузики |
| Serbia | RTS1, Ultra, TV Mini, HBO Go | Телетабиси |
| Slovenia | POP TV, HBO Go | Telebajski |
| South Korea | KBS | 꼬꼬마 텔레토비 |
| Spain (Catalan) | Super3, TV3 | Els Teletubbies |
| Spain (Galician) | tvG2 | Os Teletubbies |
| Taiwan | MOMO Kids | 天線寶寶 |
| Thailand | MCOT HD, Nick Jr. | เทเลทับบีส์ |
| Turkey | ATV | Teletabiler |
| Ukraine | Novyi Kanal, TET | Телепузики |