Characters

This is a list of Teletubbies characters.

Icons of various characters from the original series, made for the show's tenth anniversary.

Characters

The four Teletubbies with Noo-Noo.

• Tinky Winky (played by Dave Thompson, Mark Heenehan, and Simon Shelton (Original series) and Jeremiah Krage (Reboot series)) is the first Teletubby. He is the largest of the Teletubbies, is purple, and has a triangular shaped aerial on his head. His favourite thing is his red bag. He enjoys going for walks with his bag and being with Po. Tinky Winky caused controversy in America after a priest Jerry Falwell accused the character of being homosexual. This was apparently due to him being purple, his triangle aerial and the fact that his bag resembles a woman's handbag (or purse as Americans refer to it).

• Dipsy (played by John Simmit (Original series) and Nick Chee Ping Kellington (Reboot series)) is the second Teletubby. He is green and has a straight pointing aerial which resembles a dipstick. His favourite thing is his black and white hat. He is often seen wearing his hat and he even sings a song about his hat. He enjoys dancing and being with Laa-Laa. His skin tone is also notably darker than the rest of the Teletubbies, and the creators have stated that he is black.

• Laa-Laa (played by Nikky Smedley (Original series) and Rebecca Hyland (Reboot series)) is the third Teletubby. She is yellow, and has a curly aerial. Her favourite thing is her bouncy, orange ball. She likes to sing and dance, and likes being with Dipsy.

• Po (played by Pui Fan Lee (Original series) and Rachelle Beinart (Reboot series)) is the fourth and last Teletubby. She is the smallest teletubby, is red, and has a circular shaped aerial. Her favourite thing is her pink and blue (orange in the reboot) scooter, which she calls 'Coota'. Po can sometimes be mischievous and naughty, but she is also very clever. She always enjoys riding her scooter and being with Tinky Winky. Po also speaks a bit of Cantonese. When she walks around or rides her scooter, she says 'Fi-dit Fi-dit Ma Ma Ma' which means 'Faster Faster Slower Slower'. When she counts to three she says 'yāt, yih, sàam!

• Noo-Noo (operated by Mark Dean (Original series), Victoria Jane and Olly Taylor (Reboot series)) is a robot hoover that lives inside the Teletubbies' house. He is blue (orange, pink and gold in the reboot), has eyes and a long nose which he uses to tidy up. He also has a brush on top of him and a round, pink light on his back. Unlike the Teletubbies, he does not speak. Instead he makes sucking and slurping noises. The Noo-Noo is usually seen tidying up around the house, and he always tidies up any messes that the Teletubbies make. Sometimes the Noo-Noo will be naughty and tidy up the Teletubbies' food and favourite things. Whenever this happens the Teletubbies will say 'Naughty Noo-Noo' and chase him around the house. The chase usually ends with the Teletubbies giving him a Big Hug. In the original series, the Noo-Noo never goes outside, but in some episodes of the reboot series, he does go outside.

• The Narrator (played by Tim Whitnall (Original series - UK), Rolf Saxon (Original series - US) and Daniel Rigby (Reboot series)) is the adult voice that talks to the Teletubbies. He opens segments by saying 'One day in Teletubbyland...'. After he speaks, the Teletubbies usually repeat what he says. Sometimes the Teletubbies will not do as he says (usually going to bed) and they will run away. If an object appears in Teletubbyland, the Narrator will say 'Something appeared from far away' and he tells the Teletubbies what the object is. At the end of most segments when the Teletubbies have a Big Hug, the Narrator will end the segment by saying 'Teletubbies love each other very much'. The Narrator also says 'Bye-Bye' to the Teletubbies at the end of every episode.
• The Female Narrator (played by Toyah Wilcox (Original series) and Antonia Thomas (Reboot series) is another adult voice that only says the opening lines and closing lines.
• The Announcer (played by Eric Sykes (Original series - UK), Toni Barry (Original series - US) and Jim Broadbent (Reboot series) a voice that counts and announces the Teletubbies.
• The Voice Trumpets are long silver and gold speakers that come out of the ground. They usually recite nursery rhymes, sing songs, make noises or give instructions to the Teletubbies. They also announce that it's 'Time for Teletubbies' in the intro, and they announce when it's 'Time for Tubby Bye-Bye' at the end of all episodes. They have both male and female voices (Gary Stevenson, Alex Pascall, John Simmit, Rudolph Walker, Eric Sykes, Toyah Wilcox, Tim Whitnall and Alex Hogg (Original series - UK), Toni Barry, Rudolph Walker, Sandra Dickinson and John Schwab (Original series - US) and Jim Broadbent, Fearne Cotton, Antonia Thomas, Teresa Gallagher, David Walliams and Rochelle Humes (Reboot series)).
• The Sun Baby (played by Jess Smith (Original series) and Berry (surname unknown) (Reboot series)) is the first character that is seen. It is the Sun with a smiling Baby's face. Every episode begins with the Sun rising. Throughout all episodes the Sun Baby is seen smiling and giggling. Every episode ends with the Sun setting.
• The Rabbits are big brown rabbits who appear in every episode on hills and in their burrows. Despite being seen frequently, they are rarely mentioned by the narrator.

Side Characters

Original Series

• The Bear with Brown Fuzzy Hair (played by Penelope Keith) is one of the characters in the controversial The Lion & The Bear Magic Event, where she plays hide and seek. She is a mechanical wooden bear that moves around on red wheels. She is brown and has green eyes and a long red tongue. She also stands on two legs and has long arms that moves up and down whenever she moves around. She is shown to be both creepy and silly. She pops out from behind a tree and performs a joke, where she roles her eyes and shakes her tongue making a 'blub-a-lub-a-lub' noise. She hides from the Scary Lion and is chased by him at the end of the Magic Event.
• The Scary Lion (played by Eric Sykes) is one of the characters in The Lion & The Bear Magic Event, where he plays hide and seek. He is a mechanical wooden lion that moves around on blue wheels. He is yellow and has a large brown mane, yellow eyes and a long yellow and brown tail that moves up and down whenever he moves around. He is shown to be very intimidating. He wonders around Teletubbyland roaring and looking for the Bear. When he finds the Bear, he then chases her at the end of the Magic Event. Both the Lion and the Bear have been known to be very scary to a lot of children. So much so that the Magic Event was later changed to be less scary and more fun and all episodes that featured the original scary Magic Event were later banned from television broadcasting.
• The Funny Lady (played by Tamzin Griffin) is a nice lady who likes to tell strange stories. Her best friend is a teddy bear named Teddy. In all of her segments, she makes a funny face and noise and claps her hands quickly and the children laugh. Then she will tell her story. After the story is finished, Funny Lady and the children enjoy some imaginary tea and biscuits before saying goodbye.
• The Singing Puppet Man (Hamish) (played by Robin Stevens) is the character from the Magic House Magic Event. He is a small puppet that lives in a large pink house with 4 windows. He has tanned skin, red hair, and wears a blue jumper and a blue hat with a red bobble on it. He speaks in gibberish. In the Magic Event, he wonders around his house looking for a window to sing from. When he finds a window, he draws the curtains, opens the window and sings a gibberish song. After singing, he leaves the window as it shuts and the curtains close. Then the house and windows disappear as the Magic Event ends. The window that he sings from changes in every episode he appears in. This character is also known to be scary to some children, but not as scary as the Lion and Bear.
• Little Bo Peep is one of the characters in the Little Bo Peep Magic Event. She is a shepherdess who floats into Teletubbyland from the sky. She wonders around Teletubbyland looking for her sheep and she sings as she goes. She wears a long yellow and blue dress, a big blue hat and carries a long brown cane.
• The Sheep are the other characters from the Little Bo Peep Magic Event. There are 8 of them in total, including a little lamb. At the beginning of the Magic Event, they start off as clouds floating in the sky. After the Teletubbies sit on a hill, the clouds start turning into sheep and float down from the sky and land in Teletubbyland. They wonder around Teletubbyland bleating and singing. When Little Bo Peep tries to find them, they hide behind some hills while she looks around. Then when she finds them, they all float back into the sky and the Magic Event ends.
• Talking Flowers (played by Toni Barry) are flowers that grow around Teletubbyland. They are able to talk and usually comment on the Teletubbies' activities. They speak in high-pitched female English accents.

Reboot Series

The Tiddlytubbies.

• The Tiddlytubbies (played by Teresa Gallagher) are 8 baby Teletubbies who live in a special play area at the back of the house. Their names are Mi-Mi, Daa-Daa, Ping, Baa, Ru-Ru, Nin, Duggle Dee and Umby Pumby. The Teletubbies like to play games with them, sing with them and watch them sleep.
• The Tubby Phone (played by Jane Horrocks) is a large smart phone on the Control Panel inside the house. When the Tubby Phone rings, the Teletubbies answer it and it invites them to do the Tubby Phone Dance. The Tubby Phone can also take pictures and have video chats.
• Invitation Letter (played by Fearne Cotton) is an invitation letter that invites the Teletubbies to the The Tiddlytubbies party.
• Microphone (played by Rob Rackstraw) when Tinky Winky was testing the microphone, the microphone said "Testing...".
• Snow Tubby (played by Rob Rackstraw) a snowman that the Teletubbies built.
• Tubby Custard (played by Ralph Reay) a talking bowl of Tubby Custard that talked.
• Various cast members: Luisa Guerreiro, Rob Rackstraw and Ralph Reay.