Two decades ago, the giant forms of Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa Laa and
Po and their television screen midriffs pretty much ruled the kids TV
world.
The show originally ran for four years from 1997 to 2001,
with the four oversized pals frolicking around their grassy bunker with
Noo Noo the hoover and the inadvertently menacing sun baby to the
delight of million of children across the world.
It's been 20
years since their multicolour gibberish became universally lauded, so we
take a look back at what the characters have been up to since...
Dipsy
Cool, green and frequently in a top hat, Dipsy was an icon of greatness in his own lifetime.
John
Simmit, who wore the lime green costume, is now a successful stand up
comedian - and seems understandably proud of his furry past, despite
rumours he once kept his eh oh days hidden.
He recently followed the official Teletubbies Twitter account and often retweets Dipsy fans’ kind words. Legend.
Laa Laa
Yellow Teletubby and ball-fan Laa Laa was played by dancer Nikky Smedley, who has worked with children for three decades.
After
CBBC show ended in 2001, Nikky went on to choreograph kids shows
Boohbah and huge hit - and Teletubbies stablemate - In The Night Garden,
which remarkably managed to feature even more baffling babbling than
the Teletubbies did.
Tinky Winky
The purple gender-bending trailblazer was played by two actors over
the show's run. The first, Dave Thompson, allegedly left over
controversy surrounding Tinky Winky's penchant for handbags and went on
to do stand up comedy and a party piece known as the Naked Balloon
Dance.
The second was dancer Simon Shelton, a ballet dancer.
“I
started my career as a ballet dancer and had just started working as a
choreographer," explains Simon. "I thought it was a bit of a risky move
but it certainly paid off.
“We used to receive a lot of fan mail
from kids and parents. I suppose we were a bit like the Beatles or the
Take That of children’s television."
And Simon's spoken out about
Tinky Winky's sexual orientation. “People always ask me if Tinky Winky
is gay" he adds. "But the character is supposed to be a three-year-old
so the question is really quite silly.”
Po
Little red Po was the cutest of the bunch, much like an endearing
baby sister, if your baby sister was somewhat larger than life and
incredibly plush.
Scooter-traveller Po was played by actress Pui
Fan Lee, who gained notoriety going from NSFW to a U rating when it
emerged she’d once done a lesbian sex scene on a Channel 4 show.
“I didn’t take the lesbian role to be deliberately controversial,” she later said.
“Yes I was Po. But I am an actress too and the role looked interesting, exciting and challenging.”
Pui is now a CBBC presenter, and hosts kids programme Show Me Show Me.
Sun Baby
That giant giggling infant’s glowing face was the stuff of nightmares for some, but for Jess Smith, it was her first job.
Little Jess was scouted at her local hospital, and was paid £250 and a box of toys for her trouble.
“I was being weighed at the hospital,” Jess recently explained to BBC South East.
“My mum took me and it just happened to be the same time that the
producer of the old series had come in and wanted the hospital to get in
contact with them if they’d seen any smiley babies.
“It was just
a case of sitting in front of a mirror and a camera and my dad playing
with toys and race cars and that sort of thing to try and get me to
laugh at the camera.”
The Sun Baby Grew up to become a dance
education student at Canterbury Christ Church University - but only
revealed the solar-starring secret three years ago after going under the
radar for 17 years.
