CityLife

Time to say 'Eh-oh' once again to Teletubbies

Teletubbies unmasked - Nikky Smedley (Laa-Laa), Simon Shelton (Tinky Winky), Pui Fan Lee (Po) and John Simmit (Dipsy)

CONSIDERING that I came in to journalism in pursuit of ‘the truth’, there have been a surprising number of times when belief has been well and truly suspended.

Whatever they taught us at newspaper school about integrity, bending the rules is something of a pre-requisite when you’re quizzing ‘Father Christmas’ about grotto footfall, or speaking to Basil ‘boom boom’ Brush about his forthcoming Lowry appearance and the joys of hen harassing.

And then there were the times I did telephone interviews with Orville the Duck (who sounded a lot like Keith Harris with his hand stuffed through the derriere of an oversized pastel shade cushion) and Nancy Cartwright (who, spookily, sounded a lot like Bart Simpson).

Today it’s the Teletubbies I’m saying ‘Eh-Oh’ to, or rather the four performance artists who sweated their way through 365 episodes of possibly the biggest children’s TV show in history.

The man and woman-sized Babygro wearers – well, the original cast members at least, they’ll have new innards – have reunited for a comeback dance tour after a break of a decade and will be putting on five free shows at the Trafford Centre on September 25.

And if you really couldn’t give a Laa-Laa, consider this: a comeback for The Teletubbies is easily on a par – almost – with a reunification of the brothers Gallagher.

During their time together, Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po were able to stimulate sales of over 33 million videos and DVDs. At the peak of their powers, the Teletubbies toy licence was worth an estimated £49m.

They’re now hoping to repeat the success of their chart topping hit, Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh, with the re-release of an album.

All of which presents something of a quandary for the former inhabitants of those Day-Glo costumes: where exactly do you go after Laa-Laa land?

While they won’t actually be back in the costumes for the Trafford Centre dates, the original ‘tubbies are taking a nostalgia trip back to 1997, when life for them was a kaleidoscope of feel-good vibes landscaped by strange windmills and fields where rabbits would roam freely.

Monosyllabic

Now it’s hard to interview four people all at once down the phone, particularly when they’re pretending that they’re in their costumes and the characters they portrayed were pretty monosyllabic at best, but there seems to be a consensus that Teletubbies was a work of genius.

The ‘tubbies say that it worked on loads of levels because it genuinely broke new ground and appealed to lounging stoner students every bit as much as it did to mesmerised toddlers and their parents.

“Nothing like that had been done before,” says one of the crew, for argument’s sake, it might be Dipsy. “It was groundbreaking in that it was designed specifically for young children.

“The sets were absolutely huge. The Teletubbies’ house was life-sized and when we walked in doors, that was something we really did.”

As for where they are now, Dipsy, AKA John Simmit, is a now a well known comedian on the stand-up circuit, and will be coming to Manchester’s Green Room later this month.

Po, AKA Pui Fan Lee, now presents Show Me Show Me on CBeebies and her play, Short, Fat, Ugly and Chinese was award winning.

Laa-Laa, AKA Nikky Smedley, went on to became a choreographer for Boohbah and the In The Night Garden team and now tours the country with her one-woman show, The Tell Woman. She has also released an exercise DVD. and has worked with Cher.

Perhaps the highest climber, Tinky Winky, AKA Simon Shelton, is now a choreographer and has worked with everyone from David Hasselhoff to the Scissor Sisters. He is also the movement coach for Channel 4’s Boy Meets Girl.

All concur that they came to La-La Land as performance artists and wannabe actors and that being a Teletubbie has opened far more doors than it closed.

It seems that they each said ‘Eh Oh’ to success but not ‘bye bye’

The Teletubbies will be doing five free shows at the Trafford Centre on Friday, September 25.