Discover the identity of the actors responsible for bringing Teletubbies to life, a classic children’s program from the 90s
In 2022, the generation that grew up between the late 90s and early 2000s received a shower of nostalgia with the Netflix-produced reboot of “Teletubbies”, a classic children’s program produced by the British BBC, which features the characters Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po.
With the first version being shown between 1997 and 2001, “Teletubbies” soon became a hit among children around the world, broadcast in 120 countries, and adapted into 20 languages, according to the newspaper Extra. Furthermore, in its first year, the BBC’s annual report revealed that the children’s program accumulated more than $46 million in revenue.
In an interview with The Guardian, the co-creator of the production, Andrew Davenportstated that he was inspired by moon landings and the appearance of the astronauts’ clothes when creating the program and characters.
“I found it amusing that, at this height of human achievement, the figures that emerged in bulky spacesuits are like small children, with large heads and shortened legs. They respond to the excitement of their new world by jumping. So I created characters based on astronauts, with limited language, as well as the emerging speech of young children.”, revealed Andrew.
However, despite having references to young children, the characters’ costumes were, in reality, gigantic. The true size of Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po was only discovered by the public when Time magazine released behind-the-scenes images, where we can compare the proportions of the protagonists — who could reach up to three meters tall and weigh around 13 kg — and the professionals who worked on the program.
But who were the actors behind the giant costumes? We tell you!
1. Tinky Winky — Mark Heenehan, Dave Thompson and Simon Shelton
2. Dipsy — John Simmit
3. Laa-Laa — Nikky Smedley
4. Po — Pui Fan Lee
Source: Recreio
