Rubbadubbers

***Rubbadubbers*** is a British stop-motion preschool education television series produced by HIT Entertainment, with animation production by HOT Animation. The series was broadcast in the UK on BBC2 and CBeebies from 2 September 2002 to 14 February 2005. Created by Peter Curtis, it focuses on seven friendly, sentient bath toys as they tell stories in imaginary worlds outside of their bathroom – the ringleader in the series being a pink frog named Tubb. In the US, the series was broadcast on Nickelodeon, Noggin, PBS Kids Sprout, and Qubo.

The series was originally announced under the working title "*Plugg*" (an early name for the character of Tubb). BBC started commissioning the show in 2002 after two lost pilots were made: "Plugg" from 1999 and "Splish Splash Splosh!" from 2001. It is unknown if these pilots even exist, but an animator has stated that they did some test animations. Hasbro licensed *Rubbadubbers* for producing a toy line to promote the series.

## Overview
Seven anthropomorphic, friendly British bath toys called the Rubbadubbers live a peaceful life in the loo of a house in the fictional Bathsville City. The toys belong to two children who live at the house named Benjie and Sis (however, they are never ever seen on-screen, not even their shadows). Whenever the children or anyone else are not present, the Rubbadubbers come to life and begin a fun activity.

But in every episode, one of the toys become dissatisfied with the way the activity or situation goes. He/she then wishes for it to go as planned by beginning the wish with 'if only...' . Suddenly, the Rubbadubbers begins dreaming about an alternate reality where the wish comes true. Some of the other Rubbadubbers appear in the dream world as well, where they play different versions of their regular selves in order to either assist or hinder the character that made the wish. It always turns out that the wish goes wrong in the dream world, much to the character's disappointment.

## Characters 
### Rubbadubbers 
*Tubb the Frog (voiced by John Gordon Sinclair) is a male Scottish rubber frog and the leader of the Rubbadubbers.
*Sploshy the Starfish (voiced by Maria Darling) is the Rubbadubbers' mischief-maker. She has suction cups behind every one of her five arms, speaks with a childish English accent, is energetic.
*Finbar the Mighty Shark (voiced by Sean Hughes) is the bathroom's mischief-maker. He often calls himself in third-person 'the mighty, scary shark', while often playing games involving pretend hunting and scaring. He also frequently uses the word 'mighty' in place of 'very' to describe things.
*Terence the Bubble-Bath Crocodile (voiced by John Gordon Sinclair) is Amelia's closest friend who can blow bubbles through his nostrils and dislikes getting splashed, often avoiding liquid water altogether.
*Winona the Whale (vocal effects performed by Maria Darling) is the only Rubbadubber who cannot at all make "If Only" wishes, but she can still make squeaking sounds in order to communicate with the other Rubbadubbers.
*Reg the Robot (voiced by John Gordon Sinclair) is the supporting leader of the Rubbadubbers who speaks with a distinctive stammer. Just like Terence, he avoids water, as simply getting splashed makes him "short circuit". He also stutters rather often.
*Amelia the Submarine (voiced by Maria Darling) is the loo's first mate who has the nose of a clown. Likely named after Amelia Earhart, she and the Rubbadubbers often call her 'the flying submarine'.

## Episodes
### Series 1 (2002)
### Series 2 (2003)
### Series 3 (2004)
### Series 4 (2005)
### Shorts
These shorts were never seen on television in the United Kingdom, but six of them were released on DVDs.

## VHS and DVD Releases
* Rubbadubbers: Here Come the Rubbadubbers!
* Rubbadubbers: Splish! Splash! Splosh!
* Rubbadubbers: Bathtime Scramble

## References