Watch: CBeebies show Hey Duggee introduce first gender-neutral character
CBeebies' show Hey Duggee has introduced its first gender neutral racoon character.
The show, aimed at five-year-olds, introduced the racoon Wren and 'their' siblings when talking about different characters in the episode 'Sibling Badge'.
The series, which aired for the first time last year, sees squirrel Roly discover he's going to have a sibling.
The squirrels then meet different animals and their siblings.
Arlo the Dog is introduced with 'his' siblings, monkey Lucy with 'her' siblings.
Wren the racoon is then introduced with 'their' siblings.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Geordie Shore star 'scared of going to bed' after having first baby
Geordie Shore's Holly Hagan-Blyth and Radio One DJ Charlie Hedges have teamed up to talk about babies, parenting and the 'fun' of potty training on CBeebies new podcast. Holly Hagan-Blyth recently lifted the lid on one of motherhood's biggest challenges as she admits she was scared of going to bed after welcoming her son Alpha-Jax. Geordie Shore star Holly Hagan-Blyth and BBC Radio One DJ Charlie Hedges may have become friends while recording a new CBeebies Parenting podcast, but there is one subject the two mums disagree on. 'I got a lot of advice from Charlie with regards to potty training, and she said it was really, really fun,' says Holly, 32, who is mum to two year old son Alpha-Jax. 'I don't think I am finding it as fun as she said it was!' She and Charlie, 38, have joined forces to host the Parenting Helpline podcast for CBeebies' new online parenting community, chatting to a different expert each week and helping parents answer those burning questions about pregnancy, birth and raising young children. 'It's about supporting parents and carers from pregnancy right up to starting school, which is where me and Holly are right now,' Charlie says. 'There is so much advice and stuff online, which is great, but I think as a new parent you kind of get lost in all of that. There's lots of information out there, but where? Where is the one solid place you can go to? I think the CBeebies parenting hub will be so helpful and I'm so proud to be part of it.' But there's another piece of advice Holly wishes she'd had before motherhood. ' I wish somebody had warned me about the baby blues, because oh my God, that hormone drop once I got home from hospital, I was crying for no reason.' 'I didn't realise I was going to feel all those emotions. It would get to 6pm, 7pm and I just burst into tears because I was scared of going to bed, I didn't want to be alone,' she says. 'It was very strange, but thankfully that passed after a week or so. But nobody warned me about that. I wish somebody had spoken to me about that, because that wasn't fun.' Holly has had her own experience of falling down the online advice rabbit hole and scaring herself as a new mum by reading stories about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). 'I worried about febrile seizures and all of these things you didn't really know about before you had social media,' she says. 'It's great to get advice but it can be really bad for being able to see a lot of negative things. It feels like SIDS is a really common thing and I was absolutely terrified. Thinking that one day a baby might just stop breathing is terrifying to me. I even had an Owlet sock for the first year of his life that tracked his breathing and oxygen and heart rate because I am an anxious person.' Charlie, whose daughter Summer Rose will be three in August, is proud that she and Holly have shared their own experiences as mums of toddlers on the podcast, and have been joined by parents talking about their own challenges and triumphs. 'It has been beautiful to encourage people to ask questions and be open and honest, because that helps other people as well,' she says. 'I can't wait to reach the point where my daughter is old enough to understand that this is something I have done, because it's myself and Holly talking about our own personal situations.' The pair have also given advice to each other, but Holly admits that her experience with raising her son has been poles apart from Charlie's life with her daughter. 'Raising sons and daughters is completely different, they have different brain chemistry, they have different teaching styles,' Holly says. 'I also think temperament is a big thing as well, every child has a different temperament. I've got a very high temperament child, and I've made no secret that it has been a difficult journey with him from being around four months old. I'm getting to the point now where we're two years in and I feel like I am finally in the swing of motherhood, but it has taken me a long time to get there and be comfortable with it, it just turns your whole life completely upside down.' Things have definitely improved as Alpha-Jax has approached his second birthday – the age many other parents dread. 'For me, the 'terrible twos' have become the terrific twos,' Holly says. 'This is the best age I could ever imagine. So many people say 'Just wait,' but I think 'no, you don't realise what we have been through the last year and a half.' It's been really hard, he was very whingey, and nothing could please him. It was like he just hated being a baby. And now that he's able to communicate, he's speaking in full sentences, we're having conversations and he is just the best thing in the world.' Working together on the podcast, both Holly and Charlie have thought about the advice they themselves were given as new mothers. For Charlie, one of the best pieces of advice came from her own mum. 'I remember my mum saying to me, that everything is a phase,' she says. 'I've heard that many times but it is important. Baby's not sleeping through the night, or you're at the weaning stage and things are really tough. It's something to have in the back of your mind that whatever it is, it isn't going to go on for a long, long time. Nothing lasts forever.'
Scottish Sun
31-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
Wild camping in Scotland let me find the remote space that I'm used to, says Tim Peake
MAJOR Tim Peake has revealed that being in a remote corner of Scotland reminded him of his historic mission to space. Ten years ago Tim became the first Brit to join the European Astronaut Corps, blasting off from Kazakhstan to spend a total of 185 days onboard the International Space Station. 5 Major Tim Peake is heading to Scotland in September for a series of live dates 5 Tim and his Scots wife Rebecca exploring the great outdoors in Scotland He has been in demand ever since, reading a CBeebies bedtime story from 250 miles above the earth and was even recently quizzed about his time in orbit by Hollywood legend Tom Hanks. But last year he and his Scots wife Rebecca decided to get away from it all when they went 'off grid' while touring the North Coast 500. He says: 'We did kind of like the western part of the NC500. That was brilliant. 'We got this camper that looked like something out of Jurassic Park with this module stuck on the back of a Ford Ranger. 'We went completely off-grid - solar panel, hot water, outdoor shower, all that kind of stuff. And it was just great fun.' When it's pointed out he will be used to being so remote and self-sufficient after his time onboard the Space Station, he added: 'I know, it was brilliant. 'It was wonderful just kind of having that freedom to be able to go everywhere. 'We spoke to a few farmers who were very kind and just said, 'Yeah, you can go out on our land and find a spot and camp up.' However one thing Tim - who brings his live show Astronauts: The Quest To Explore to Scotland in September - wasn't plagued by in space were any pesky invaders like he experienced on his camping trip. He laughs: 'Most of the time when I go to Scotland, the midges are not a problem. Katy Perry kisses the ground after all-female Blue Origin mission – as Bezos's fiancee moved to tears by power of space 'But actually, last summer, they were quite bad, I have to admit. It was head nets on at least three nights.' Tim from Chichester, Sussex, attended Sandhurst in 1990, becoming a fully qualified helicopter pilot in 1994. But it was while posted to Germany he met his wife-to-be Rebecca, from Comrie, Perthshire - the couple married 27 years ago and went on to have two sons. He says: 'Rebecca she was in the Royal Logistics Corps and I was in the Army Air Corps. We were both based out there, met there, and got married in St Andrews.' But Tim's career really took off when he made the most of his time in space, conducting a crucial space walk to help carry out repairs to the ISS and even remotely running the London marathon. That's why he had absolutely 'no concerns' when his NASA astronauts pals Suni Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore ended up stranded on the station for nine months instead of just an eight day mission. 5 Katy Perry faced international ridicule for her antics during an 11 minute space flight 5 Tim played a track by Scots singer Amy Macdonald while he was in space He says: 'Once they kind of made that mental adjustment to think, 'Okay we're up here for the long haul' then they would have absolutely loved it. 'I mean they both got to do spacewalks. They mucked in as an ordinary space station crew. They did so much science and maintenance. And as astronauts, that's what you train for.' However, Tim is dubious about the benefits of space tourism, which in April saw Katy Perry and an all-female crew blast off in the Blue Horizon spacecraft owned by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos. The pop star faced international ridicule when she kissed the ground following her 11-minute space flight. But can Katy officially call herself an astronaut? Tim says: 'Yes, because she's passed the Kármán line, which is a hundred kilometres away and that's the official boundary of space. 'But I think we're kind of approaching an era of career astronauts, who have trained for years to do what they do. 'Then you have a tourist spaceflight participant, with the bare minimum of training, who are just like passengers on an aircraft.' He adds: 'I think every mission to space should be grounded in having some benefit for humanity. 'So right now, there's not a huge amount of benefit (to space tourism).' Tim, 53, even got to spend Christmas Day in space, talking to his wife Rebecca and sons Thomas and Oliver back on earth. He says: 'It was nice. I was kind of keeping an eye on them from up there.' And he has been delighted to recount his experiences in space to thousands of schoolkids and space enthusiasts since returning to earth, including to Tom Hanks, 68, when they appeared on a Radio 2 show together. He says: 'Tom wanted to know if the stars were brighter in space. They weren't actually but they don't twinkle up there. It's our atmosphere that makes them do that. So they are steady stars 'And of course there is zero light pollution up there so the Milky Way is amazing.' Tim also took an extensive playlist into space including Amy Macdonald's 2007 single This is th Life. He beams: 'That is a brilliant track. It's just got so much energy. It's one to be on the treadmill to or the bike machine. 'She's just an amazing artist and I love her music. I haven't met her but my playlist is out there. So maybe she knows that her track's been into space.' But when he's not working, Tim and his activity-mad family are regular visitors to the Cairngorms in The Highlands where they take part in 'hill climbing, cycling and kayaking'. However one thing he was unable to deliver during his months in space was a cloudless snap of Rebecca's home country. He says: 'I got quite a few pictures of Scotland, actually. It is pretty difficult to photograph in the winter months, I'll grant you that. 'I was trying to get a nice picture of the whole of the UK cloudless. I don't think I ever achieved that.' *Tim's live show Astronauts: The Quest To Explore Space will be at Eden Court, Inverness on Sept 1 and 2, Aberdeen's Music Hall Sept 3 and Dunfermline's Alhambra Theatre on Sept 4. For more info visit:
The Guardian
26-05-2025
- The Guardian
‘The fandom was rock'n'roll. Sophie Ellis-Bextor loved our rap song!'' How we made Balamory
After graduating from Rada I'd been a jobbing actor for 20 years. One day I was with my kids watching Play School, and thought: 'I could be a presenter on this.' So I became one, and then the BBC trained me up as a preschool director and I went on to be a freelance director and producer specialising in preschool. The BBC wanted to do a preschool drama centred around travellers in Ireland. It didn't get commissioned but it gave me the idea to create something set in a community. I had a health hiccup, which put me out of work but gave me downtime to think. Play School had been a new programme every day, so it had an immediacy. I thought: 'Why not make a preschool soap?' A year later, BBC had created CBeebies and had masses of airtime to fill and were looking for a programme that was about the world around us, so I pitched my idea. The commissioning editor said: 'How can you do a soap for preschool kids?' I said: 'Well, instead of the Queen Vic you could have a nursery school.' He said: 'That's quite a good idea.' I was made series producer and we had to film 126 episodes in 10 months, beginning in January 2002. I went down to the EastEnders set. They were very helpful and I came back with a formula. We were originally going to film in Kirkcudbright but that was too far from Glasgow, where we needed to film some of the indoor shots, so we moved it to Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, which is a child's dream with all its colours, water and hills. I'd already written the theme song: What's the Story in Tobermory? But there was a Womble called Tobermory, so a researcher in the Gaelic department came up with Balamory. It wasn't a nod to Oasis's (What's the Story?) Morning Glory, which I'd never heard of! We put out feelers for the cast, such as 'a child's dream nursery teacher' for Miss Hoolie. Lionel Jefferies, who'd played the grandfather in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, applied, but we weren't really looking for named actors, plus – it's terrible to say – I think I was too terrified to audition him in case I had to say no. Mary Riggans, who'd been in Scottish soap opera Take the High Road, wowed us, and we cast her as Suzie Sweet. We constructed our own school in Barmulloch, in the north of Glasgow. The kids would come in and believe it was their nursery, so they didn't have to act. Kids programmes aren't just for children. They're meant to be a shared experience. The characters we created all had their quirks. There was friction between [school bus driver] Edie McCredie and Suzie Sweet [who runs the village shop and cafe]. Miss Hoolie [nursery teacher] and PC Plum quite liked each other. I think the quirks made them seem more relatable. We created a community on this little island that felt realistic and had humour no matter what age you are. I think that's probably why people are so fond of the characters and the place. I'm not involved in the reboot, at least, not yet. I was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at the age of two. It was amazing how many people thought my wheelchair was a prop. A small role in ITV drama Blind Ambition that centred on disabled athletes gave me the itch to act, although being disabled often means playing a character who specifically has a disability issue or medical problem. Eventually I found myself in a room with Brian Jameson and lots of other actors who were all being considered for the role of Penny. My disability was never openly discussed in front of me, which is what made the role so very important to me. Penny runs the village shop and cafe with Suzie Sweet. She's a bit of a maths wizard and likes organising. As the writers got to know me and realise how active I was, Penny went on to be the football and rowing coach. I spent the best part of three years filming up in Scotland, doing 14-hour days but having the best of times. Working on Balamory was such joy. I was surrounded by such a brilliant cast and crew. We laughed a lot! The scripts were funny but also sometimes surreal, like one about a party at the nursery when Penny and Suzie were dressed as Pearly Queens but nobody else was in costume. It was also emotional – I particularly remember the episode when Penny and Suzie went to Finland to visit Santa. I got to meet him and cuddle a litter of husky puppies – there were sobs! The Balamory fandom quickly grew. We were able to meet many of them when we performed live on the arena tours. It all felt a bit rock'n'roll. I remember Sophie Ellis-Bextor coming to the show and saying she loved Penny's rap song. For the first time my son started to think I was cool. I started to realise how popular the show had become when I went to St James' Park to watch Newcastle United play and the fans, in their thousands, all sang What's the Story? when they saw me. It gave me goosebumps, and still does, thinking about it.
