‘Teletubbies’ Set to Return on BBC With 60 New Episodes

Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa, and Po, who became worldwide sensations from March 1997 to January 2001, will return for new episodes on BBC’s preschool station, CBeebies

Teletubbies coming to CBeebies
BBC

For a while in the late 1990s and early 2000s, “Teletubbies” was one of the most dominant pre-school properties, ruling the global airwaves and overwhelming parents with merchandising options. Now, the BBC is looking to revive the series with 60 new episodes ordered to continue the adventures of Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po.

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The new series will be broadcast on a replica set, and enhanced by CGI to give it a more “contemporary look,” according to the BBC. New episodes are set to air on the broadcaster’s children’s network, CBeebies, which is currently airing repeats of the original 365 installments produced between March 1997 and January 2001.

“I think that now is the right time to create new episodes of this much-loved, iconic show for the current CBeebies audience,” said Kay Benbow, controller of CBeebies.

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New episodes will be produced by Darrall McQueen, a UK production company also responsible for “Baby Jake” and “Topsy and Tim” for CBeebies.

Maddy Darrall, executive producer for Darrall McQueen, said, “To work on the new evolution of ‘Teletubbies’ is like being handed the television crown jewels. ‘Teletubbies’ changed the landscape of children’s television and remains a much-loved pre-school series.”

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She went on to add, “Our creative focus is on respecting the legacy and the heritage of the original and giving it a little creative scrub-up and technological sparkle to match the viewing expectations of a new generation.”

There is no word yet on when new episodes might be expected to broadcast on CBeebies, nor have there been talks yet about distributing the series to the United States, or internationally. At its height of popularity, the original “Teletubbies” series was broadcast in more than 120 countries in 45 languages.

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