Heading back to Teletubbyland! After 14 years, the BBC series Teletubbies will be making its way back to television, the Telegraph reports. The new series will surely have lots of laughs (and giggles!) for the kiddies, thanks to beloved characters Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa, and Po. But this time, the foursome will also be joined by British actor Jim Broadbent.
“Teletubbies is truly a British institution and it’s very exciting to be involved in bringing this global hit back to our TV screens,” Oscar-winning Broadbent, who will voice a talking trumpet, said in a statement. “I’m really looking forward to working with the Teletubbies and giving them big hugs.” (Broadbent, 65, is perhaps best known for playing Horace Slughorn in the Harry Potter movies.)
Another talking trumpet part has been given to BBC radio DJ Fearne Cotton. “Teletubbies holds a special place in my heart so I’m honored to be part of this well-loved TV show,” she said. “As a mum, I am sure the new series will enthrall a whole new generation of children across Britain, and I will certainly be watching with my kids.”
Someone who won’t be watching? Teletubbies creator Anne Wood. “I couldn’t bring myself to. I mean I have nothing against them, it might be brilliant,” she told Radio Times. “But how could I watch it? All my programs are like my children. It’s like seeing a child remade in somebody else’s image. So good luck to them. They bought it and I can’t do anything about that.”
Wood sold the rights of the kids’ show, which ran from 1997 to 2001, in 2013. Since its heyday, the series has aired in over 120 countries and translated into 45 different languages.
No word yet on whether original voice actors Jessica Smith, John Simmit, Nikky Smedley, and Puri Fan Lee will return, but there is a new character in town. Absolutely Fabulous‘ Jane Horrocks, who played Bubbles in the first series, will now voice the Tubby phone. “The series has a whole new feel to it, I think it’s hilarious,” she said, “and it will appeal to adults as much as it does children.”
The new Teletubbies series will launch on the CBeebies channel later this year.
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