Tweenies
Encyclopedia
Tweenies was a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 programme aimed at young children, broadcast on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

's Cbeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...

 channel.

Overview

The programme was created by Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton, a pair with a track record of being involved in BBC children's programming. Iain Lauchlan was a presenter on Play School, Fingermouse
Fingermouse
Fingermouse is the name of a British children's television programme made by the BBC in 1985. The first episode was broadcast on November 4, 1985 on BBC1. The eponymous star was a paper finger puppet in the form of a mouse, who would play various musical instruments with the help of Iain...

and Playdays
Playdays
Playdays was a children's television programme from the United Kingdom. The series ran from 17 October 1988 to 28 March 1997 on Children's BBC , and was aired in reruns until 2003. The show was the successor of Play School, and, like its predecessor, was designed as an educational programme...

, meeting Brenton, a director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...

, writer and also a presenter
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...

, during the latter. Together they started producing two of the Playdays
Playdays
Playdays was a children's television programme from the United Kingdom. The series ran from 17 October 1988 to 28 March 1997 on Children's BBC , and was aired in reruns until 2003. The show was the successor of Play School, and, like its predecessor, was designed as an educational programme...

strands before forming their own production companies Tell-Tale Productions and, more recently, Wish Films. They also created The Fun Song Factory, Boo!
Boo!
Boo! is a children's television series shown in the United Kingdom on the CBeebies channel, and originally on BBC Two. It features several cartoon characters who play a game similar to hide and seek in a variety of settings. The commentary is performed by an adult narrator and a chorus of children...

, BB3B!, Jim Jam and Sunny, Basil Hair The Squirrel and Entertainment Right's The Magical Lives of Toys.

Tweenies was a production of Tell-Tale Productions in association with the BBC. Animation for the show was produced by A Productions, an animation studio based in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, England, with Ealing Animation providing some animation in a few early episodes. Computer animation
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....

 for the series was provided by Clockwork Digital, with Ben Mars animating Mungo, the computer creature who appears in some later episodes.

The programme is no longer in production however merchendise can still be bought from retailers, DVDs of the programme are available too.

The programme is set in a nursery ('play-group') attended by the four Tweenies themselves: 4-5-year-old Bella, Milo age 4, Fizz age 3-4 and the youngest Jake, 2-3. They are in the care of two adults, Max and Judy, and two dogs, Doodles age 6 and Izzles.

The show includes a "Tweenie Clock", with five circular lights arranged in a pentagonal shape with the lights denoting "news time", "messy time", "song time", "telly time" and "story time". "Surprise time" is a special time determined when all five lights glow. A button at the centre of the clock is pressed to select the activity that will be undertaken next.

It is currently being shown on CBeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...

, the BBC's channel for young children. Like a number of other CBeebies programmes, a live stage version of the show has toured in the UK. The most recent tour, Top of the Tots, toured the British Isles during 2009, the series' 10th anniversary. In addition, the tour also played several shows in Hong Kong in late September and early October 2009. The Tweenies are also regulars on the annual CBeebies Live tours around the British Isles. Between 2003 and 2006, there was also a live version of Tweenies shown regularly at Alton Towers
Alton Towers
Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...

 in the Cred Street section aimed at younger children, which was removed in favour of Bob the Builder. In 2000, Tweenies won two awards: Best Pre-School Educational Programme and Best Live Action Pre-School Programme.

The original prototypes for the Tweenies characters were designed by Sally Preisig of Mimics Productions; they were later re-scaled into two sizes for the characters shown on the series. In addition, Sally also designed the character costumes and was co-constructor/developer for the Tweenies' full-size puppets. The costume fabric comes from the UK and was imported and dyed into their present colours; it is about the same thickness as fleece jumpers.

Characters

The Tweenies are played by one set of actors, while the animatronics and voices are provided by other editors. Please note that unless otherwise indicated, all of the following actors and voice talent were in the show from 1998 to 2003.
Original UK cast
Character Description Actor Voice/Animatronics
The children
Bella
(born 5 August 1993)Age 18
Blue-skinned with yellow hair which is usually accompanied with a red hair ribbon. — the tallest Tweenie Tamsin Heatley
Tamsin Heatley
Tamsin Heatley is a British actress and voice artist. She has appeared on The Bill, The Young Ones. Her more recent roles have been in Horrid Henry, Fimbles, Tweenies and various other childrens television shows. Her father was Norman Heatley, a biochemist who helped pioneer early penicillin...

Sally Preisig (1998–2000)
Emma Weaver
Emma Weaver
Emma Weaver is a British television actress and voice actress. She provided the voice of Bella in The Tweenies since 2000, taking over from Sally Preisig.She played a housemaid in 1995 telefilm Daisies in December.-External links:...

 (2000–2003)
Fizz
(born 3 February 1995) Age 16
Yellow-skinned with red hair Jenny Hutchinson
Jenny Hutchinson
Jenny Hutchinson was the original actress to play Fizz in the children's show Tweenies. Among her other roles, she has played Meedea in The Baaas, the joker in Series 1 of Megamaths and Florrie in Fimbles. In addition to acting, she also operates the Second Skin Agency which represents puppeteers,...

 (1998–2000)
Angela Reynolds
Angela Reynolds
Angela Reynolds is a British stage and television actress. Her most prolific role so far has been playing Fizz for The Tweenies, both on television and on stage.Her natural accent is London, and she is a mezzo soprano....

 (2000)
Francesca Anderson (2001–2003)
Coleen Daley
Niamh Walker
Jake
Jake (Tweenie)
Jake is a character from BBC and CBeebies programme The Tweenies. His first appearance was in the 1998 pilot Tweenie Band. He was acted by first Samantha Dodd, and then Esther Collins. His voice is provided by Justin Fletcher, who stars in another CBeebies programme, Tikkabilla.- Appearance :Jake...


(born 25 July 1996) Age 15
Oranged-skinned with a yellow mohawk
Mohawk hairstyle
The mohawk is a hairstyle in which, in the most common variety, both sides of the head are shaven, leaving a strip of noticeably longer hair...

 - the youngest and shortest Tweenie
Samantha Dodd
Samantha Dodd
Samantha Dodd is a British stage and television actress, most noted for performing the body of Jake in The Tweenies . Dodd played Baby Pom in the Fimbles , Jason Baa in season one of The Baaas , and Little Worm in Small Seeds, Big Worms .She played the titular character in Paddington Bear in a...

 (1998-2001)
Esther Collins (2001–2003)
Justin Fletcher
Justin Fletcher
Justin Fletcher, MBE is an English children's TV personality in the United Kingdom.Fletcher is most associated as a presenter and actor on the BBC pre-school television channel CBeebies, both speaking and performing in various often self-created roles.-Biography:Born in Reading, Berkshire, he is...

Milo
(born 27 June 1994) Age 17
Purple-skinned with black hair C.H. Beck
Matthew Lyons
Bob Golding
Bob Golding
Robert John "Bob" Golding is an English voice actor.Golding is a comic actor who has worked on stage and television, probably best known for being the voice of Milo and Max in the Tweenies.-Television:...

The adults
Judith (Judy)
(born 15 February 1970) Age 41
Pale green-skinned with purple hair, originated from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

Simon Grover
Simon Grover
Simon Grover is a British actor and writer. He is also a Green Party Councillor on St Albans City Council.As an actor he appeared in the BBC children's series Tweenies as Max and Judy....

Sinead Rushe
Maxwell (Max)
(born 5 January 1937) Age 74
Dark pink-skinned, with white hair Simon Grover
Simon Grover
Simon Grover is a British actor and writer. He is also a Green Party Councillor on St Albans City Council.As an actor he appeared in the BBC children's series Tweenies as Max and Judy....

Bob Golding
Bob Golding
Robert John "Bob" Golding is an English voice actor.Golding is a comic actor who has worked on stage and television, probably best known for being the voice of Milo and Max in the Tweenies.-Television:...

The animals
Doodles
(born 16 September 1994)
(died 22 June 2011)
Dog (red and yellow) Alan Riley Justin Fletcher
Justin Fletcher
Justin Fletcher, MBE is an English children's TV personality in the United Kingdom.Fletcher is most associated as a presenter and actor on the BBC pre-school television channel CBeebies, both speaking and performing in various often self-created roles.-Biography:Born in Reading, Berkshire, he is...

Izzles
(born 14 February 1994)
(died 14 May 2011)
Dog (purple and yellow) Fiona Watkins Coleen Daley

Albums

Data from AllMusicCharts.com
Title Entered Chart (UK) Peak Position (UK) Weeks on Chart (UK)
Friends Forever 25 November 2000 56 4
The Christmas Album 1 December 2001 34 5
Everybody Dance -- -- --
Greatest Hits
(double CD)
-- -- --

Bella's Family

  • Bella (daughter)
  • Mella (Bella's sister)
  • Juliette (Bella's mother)
  • Marcus (Bella's father)

Fizz's Family

  • Fizz (daughter)
  • Gary (Fizz's brother)
  • Samantha (Fizz's mother)
  • Ian (Fizz's father)

Milo's family

  • Milo (son)
  • Dean (Milo's brother)
  • Cameron (Milo's brother)
  • Donald (Milo's Father)
  • Elaine (Milo's mother)

Singles

Data from AllMusicCharts.com
Title Entered chart (UK) Peak position (UK) Weeks on Chart (UK) Sent to CBeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...

 Album
No. 1 11 November 2000 4 23 No
Best Friends Forever 31 March 2001 12 10 Yes
Do The Lollipop 4 August 2001 17 8 No
I Believe In Christmas 15 December 2001 9 6 No
Have Fun Go Mad
14 September 2002 20 7 Yes

DVDs

  • Song Time! (1999)
  • Merry Tweenie Christmas (1999)
  • Party Games, Laughs & Giggles (1999)
  • Song Time is Fab-a-Rooney (1999)
  • The Enchanted Toyshop (2000)
  • Song Time 2 (2000)
  • Songs & Surprises (2000)
  • Tweenies Live! (2000)
  • Animal Friends (2001)
  • Colours are Magic (2001)
  • Milo Magic (2001)
  • It's Messy Time (2001)
  • Everybody Panto (2001)
  • Doodles' New Friend (2002)
  • Tweenies Live!: The Christmas Present (2002)
  • Night-Time Magic (2002)
  • Party Games, Laughs & Giggles (2002)
  • Music is Pop-a-Rooney! (2003)
  • Let's Play (2003)
  • Jungle Adventure (2003)
  • Let's All Make Music (2004)
  • Fizz! (2005)
  • It's Christmas (2005)
  • Song Time: The Complete Collection (2006)
  • The Ultimate Christmas Collection (2006)
  • Messy Time Magic (2008)


Many of the above videos have also been re-dubbed into other languages as well. In addition, several of the Tweenies videos were produced in special versions for retailers with additional footage (for example, the "Party Games, Laughs & Giggles" video distributed at Marks & Spencer stores carried 2 additional segments, adding 10 minutes to the video's running time).
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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