Tweenies

***Tweenies*** is a British live action children's entertainment series created by Will Brenton and Iain Lauchlan. The programme is centred on four pre-school aged characters, known as the "Tweenies", playing, singing, dancing and learning in a fictional nursery in England. They are cared for by two adult Tweenies and two dogs.

390 episodes were broadcast between 9 June 2009 and 22 November 2016.

## Overview and history

The idea for the programme came from Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton, a pair with a track record of being involved in BBC children's programming. Together with Karl Woolley and Helen Cadwallader, they set up Tell-Tale Productions at Elstree Film Studios in Hertfordshire. Iain Lauchlan was a presenter on *Play School*, *Fingermouse* and *Playdays*, meeting Brenton, a director, writer and also a presenter, during the latter. Together they started producing two of the *Playdays* strands before forming their own production companies Tell-Tale Productions and, more recently, Wish Films. They also created *The Fun Song Factory*, *Boo!*, *BB3B*, *Jim Jam and Sunny*, *Basil Hair The Squirrel* and *Entertainment Right's The Magical Lives of Toys*.

*Tweenies* is 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, England, with Ealing Animation providing some animation in a few early episodes. Computer animation for the series was provided by *Clockwork Digital*, with Ben Mars animating Mungo, the computer creature who appears in some later episodes.

Episodes consist of a mixture of story, song and creative activity. Music plays an important part in the programme and children are encouraged to join in with songs and actions.

The programme is set in a nursery in England attended by the four Tweenies themselves: Bella, Milo, Fizz and the youngest, Jake. They are in the care of two adults, Max and Judy, and two dogs, Doodles and Izzles.

The show includes a "Tweenie Clock", with five circular lights arranged in a pentagonal shape with the lights denoting "News Time" – Orange, "Messy Time" – Blue, "Song Time" – Yellow, "Telly Time" – Green and "Story Time" – Red. "Surprise Time" is a special time determined when all five lights glow. A button at the centre of the clock (Purple) is pressed to select the activity that will be undertaken next.

It was formerly shown on CBeebies, from 11 February 2002 until 1 April 2016. 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 were also regulars on the annual CBeebies Live tours around the British Isles. Between 2003 and 2005, there was also a *Tweenies* theme park, at Alton Towers in the Cred Street section aimed at younger children, which replaced the *Barney* section and then was removed in favour of *Bob the Builder*. In 2000, *Tweenies* won two awards: Best PreSchool Educational Program and Best Live Action PreSchool 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, Preisig 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.

Neal Scanlan Studios (Babe, Star Wars, etc.), made the Animatronic Tweenie heads.

## Characters

### Main characters

The four main characters appeared in the first episode "Tweenie Band", which was filmed on 3 August 1998 at Elstree Studios and aired on 6 September 1999. The Tweenies were played by only one set of actors, while the voices and animatronics were provided by other actors. Unless otherwise indicated, all the following actors and voice talent were in the show from 1999 until its last episode, "What Makes Summer?" on 25 July 2002.

**Bella**
Operated by: Tamsin Heatley, Esther Collins
Voiced by: Sally Preisig (1999-2000), Emma Weaver (2000-2002)
Bella is a five-year-old blue-skinned girl with blonde hair, usually accompanied with a red hair ribbon. As the oldest and tallest of the Tweenies, she has a very bossy attitude and likes her own way. Sometimes she causes things to go wrong with her over-confidence, but she apologises for her mistakes. Although Bella comes across bossy she is very helpful and caring to the younger Tweenies, in particular Jake; who she tends to look after whenever he is upset or in need. She loves reading, painting and acting.
**Milo**
Operated by: C.H. Beck (1999-2000), Matthew Lyons/Kate Ryan (2000–2002)
Voiced by: Bob Golding
Milo is a four-year-old purple-skinned boy with black hair. He is energetic, friendly and cheerful, though sometimes impulsive. He loves football and magic. His favorite colour is blue. He has a brother named Dean and an uncle named Mickey. He is best friends with Jake and often treats him like a little brother.
**Fizz**
Operated by: Jenny Hutchinson (1999-2000), Angela Reynolds (2000), Francesca Anderson 2001–2002
Voiced by: Colleen Daley
Fizz is a four-year-old and yellow-skinned girl with dark red beaded hair. She is mild-mannered and sometimes shy, but can get whiny and stroppy for the smallest reasons. She loves ballet, dressing up, the colour pink and playing with dolls.
**Jake**
Operated by: Samantha Dodd
Voiced by: Justin Fletcher
Jake is a three-year-old orange-skinned boy with a blonde Mohican. Being the youngest Tweenie, he sometimes feels left out and excluded from the other Tweenies' games when he is not big enough to join in. He is sweet and has a close bond with Doodles, but he sometimes shows signs of being homesick and is prone to temper tantrums when frustrated. He will often turn to Bella or Doodles for support or advice when sad or upset. He sometimes gets words mixed up. He loves being a superhero, playing pretend and catch.
**Max**
Operated by: Simon Grover/Matthew Lyons (some episodes)
Voiced by: Bob Golding
Max is a pink-skinned, middle-aged man who is one of the two managers of the playgroup of the Tweenies. He speaks with a slight Yorkshire accent. He loves trains, animals and exploring the outside world. Max is the stricter one of the grown-ups.
**Judy Finnigan**
Operated by: Simon Grover
Voiced by: Sinead Rushe
Judy is a green-skinned woman who is the other of the playgroup managers. She loves gardening, reading and being creative. She speaks with a Northern Irish accent.
**Doodles**
Operated by: Alan Riley; John Tobias
Voiced by: Justin Fletcher
Doodles is a red and yellow male dog. Doodles is a very friendly, calm dog. He loves going for walks with Max and can often be seen looking out for Jake.
**Izzles**
Operated by: Fiona Watkins
Voiced by: Sinead Rushe
Izzles is a purple and white female dog, who was first introduced in 2001. Unlike Doodles she is a puppy and therefore a lot younger and very energetic. At first her antics were not to the Tweenies liking, more so Jake but she has since calmed down and settled in. The girls often like to dress her up in fancy stuff. She is also a companion for Doodles.
### Recurring characters

**Bella's Grandma**
Operated by: Matthew Lyons
Voiced by: Colleen Daley
Bella's Grandma only appears in "Jake And The Beanstalk", "I Can't Get To Sleep" (voice only), and "Weddings are Fun" (physical appearance). She has the responsibility for Bella when her parents got divorced and went restrained to a padded cell. They go out on day outs on the weekend because she has lots and lots of money. She had a keyworker/husband named Peter, who spoke with a Cockney accent and had seen Bella a lot of times since she was born.
**Bella's Grandpa**
Operated by: John Tobias
Voiced by: Bob Golding
Like his granddaughter, Bella's Grandpa is blue-skinned. He only appears in "Happy Grandparents Day". He shares the same voice with Max, but with a lowered voice and Cockney accent instead of a Northern one. He also has lots of money and pennies and they go on day outs during the weekends. He also has magic fingers for when he says snap the magic will begin, he also has the responsibility for Bella.
**Polly**
Operated by: Kathy Ryan
Voiced by: Colleen Daley
Polly is a pink-skinned character that appeared in "Oh I Forgot", It's The Thought That Counts", "Teamwork", "Weddings are Fun" and "Happy Grandparents Day". She is Max' sister and also a keyworker to Fizz's mum and dad. When they were kids, they used to live by the seaside and always went to the pier for the promenades the pier holds. When she goes to the playgroup for visits, she brings a story and some sweets along with her.