Panel including CBeebies, Darrall Macqueen and DHX discuss the popularity of the brand.
The celebrations for the 20th anniversary of the Teletubbies are continuing, with BAFTA playing host to a special panel session last night (March 13).
BAFTA Masterclass: Teletubbies at 20 saw execs from DHX Media, CBeebies and Darrall Macqueen – along with two of the actors themselves – discuss the creative collaboration behind the BAFTA winning preschool show and how it is now reaching new audiences.
Led by journalist Stuart Heritage, the panel included Kay Benbow, controller of CBeebies; Steven Denure, president and coo of DHX Media; executive producers Billy Macqueen and Maddy Darrall from Darrall Macqueen; Pui Fan Lee, the actor who played the original Po; and Nick Chee Ping Kellington, who plays Dipsy in the new series.
The panel discussed their memories of the original show, with Kay admitting that opinion was really divided at the beginning.
“It was the children who got it first,” she told the audience. “A happy child will learn and they feel more empowered – [with the Teletubbies] they saw themselves reflected back.”
One of the ingredients of the success of the original was the fact the show was “warm and extraordinarily funny, combined with four larger than life characters” said Billy Macqueen.
Between 1997 and 2001, 365 episodes were made – and Maddy Darrall disclosed that the team at Darrall Macqueen read all the original scripts by Andrew Davenport and watched all the episodes before starting to work on the refreshed version.
“We struggled to find anything in the original that didn’t feel relevant today,” she commented. “There was no reason to change anything; our job was just to do a refresh.”
When DHX Media acquired the Ragdoll library in 2013, part of the plan from the outset was to make new episodes, said Steven Denure.
“[The production] is a fascinating combination of new tech and old tech,” he said. “The human element of performance combined with the new technology… you can really understand why it transports people.
“There have been so many pop culture references to it over the years. It has never really gone out of fashion.”
For both Pui and Nick, getting the chance to play Po and Dipsy was something of a dream.
“Right from day one, Billy and Maddy encouraged us to have as much fun as possible,” said Nick, who plays Dipsy in the new series. “I mean, what a brilliant job – you get paid to play like a child and have fun!”
And what of the next 20 years for the Teletubbies?
“It will definitely still be around,” said Billy, “the key is the laughter.”
“I certainly think it will still be there,” Kay agreed, “engaging with the audience and making them laugh.”
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