Latest news with #SunBaby
Edinburgh Live
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Live
BBC Teletubbies stars' lives - tragic death, eyebrow raising scene and alcoholism
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info We all have memories of those four oversized, extraterrestrial-like figures scampering across our TV screens stirring up shenanigans when we were kids. The Teletubbies are arguably among the UK's most iconic children's TV series, having first appeared in 1997. Their nonsensical chatter and distinctive antennas sprouting from their scalps render them unforgettable. Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa, and Po composed the quartet of Teletubbies; under the watchful eyes of the Sun Baby and the Voice Trumpets, they spread giggles and mirth to viewers young and old. Notorious for stirring controversy, once an episode even got axed for being a bit too risqué. Original broadcasts spanned from 1997 to 2001 on BBC, and there was also a revival from 2015 to 2018. Come November 2022, Netflix orchestrated a grand comeback. But ever wonder what became of the original performers beneath those vivid suits?, reports the Mirror. Tinky Winky. (Image: BBC/Teletubbies Production LTD) Tinky Winky, the biggest and eldest of the bunch, was portrayed by a trio: Dave Thompson, Simon Shelton, and Jeremiah Krage. Dave was the initial actor behind the purple behemoth but departed after controversy questioning Tinky Winky's sexual orientation bubbled up. American conservative preacher Jerry Falwell once infamously criticised the character, decrying: "Tinky Winky is purple, the gay pride colour, and his antenna is shaped like a triangle: the gay pride symbol." The official reason given for his exit was "creative differences", but reports later surfaced that the production company behind the show believed the actor had wrongly suggested Tinky Winky had a homosexual orientation. "I am proud of my work for them. I was always the one to test out the limitations of the costume. I was the first to fall off my chair and roll over. I took all the risks," Dave commented on his time with the show. Post-departure, Dave ventured into standup comedy and in 2014, he performed with the Naked Balloon dance troupe. Following Dave's exit, Simon, a ballet dancer and choreographer by trade, stepped into the Teletubbies' world as the show's fame soared both in the UK and across the pond. "We used to receive a lot of fan mail from kind and parents, I suppose we were a bit like The Beatles or Take That of children's television," Simon recalled. Simon also addressed the speculation surrounding Tinky Winky's sexual orientation. "People always ask me if Tinky Winky is gay," he remarked. "But the character is supposed to be a three-year-old so the question is really quite silly." In a sad turn of events, Simon passed away due to hypothermia in Liverpool during January 2018 at the young age of 52. He was found with a high level of alcohol in his system and was known to have struggled with alcohol issues. Dipsy. Dipsy, often dubbed the coolest of the Teletubbies, was portrayed by stand-up comedian John Simmit. Delving into his influence on the character, John shared: "Dipsy would say, 'Papa Come Papa Come To Po', which was actually my take on a classic reggae rhythm track called The Whip. "And I'd slip in Jamaican dance moves, a Bogle there and a Tatty here. People spotted my little wink to my culture and I'm proud of that." John never shied away from discussing the gruelling and sweaty nature of working inside the voluminous costume. "We had to wear really ugly underwear like those old Western long johns, which was essentially a onesie, but it was so it could absorb the sweat," he revealed. "When we were out of costume, you'd have to turn your face the other way and speak to us at a distance because we were reeking and so sweaty you could wring us out. Huge props to our dressers for putting up with us!". After the show wrapped up its four-year run, John returned to his roots as a comic and toured across the country. He once admitted that he has never disclosed on stage that he was the man behind Dipsy, although he does tweet about his time on the show and responds to fans' messages. "The stand-up circuit is pretty close-knit so people got to know that I was Dipsy - but I never mentioned it on stage," he previously stated. Laa Laa. The third Teletubby, Laa Laa, known for their curly antenna and being the kindest and most encouraging member of the troupe, was portrayed by professionally trained dancer Nikky Smedley. Now aged 53, Smedley landed the role after responding to a newspaper advert seeking an actor for a novel children's TV series, sticking with it throughout the original four-year stint. Yet, as Nikky recalls, it wasn't all child's play; the weighty and stifling costumes were a challenge while filming sessions stretched to 11-hour marathons. Post-Teletubbies, once its initial series concluded in 2001, Nikky continued her association with Ragdoll Productions, contributing to other projects. Among these, she choreographed the dance routines for another CBeebies hit, In The Night Garden - yet another children's programme populated with peculiar, vibrant beings. Po (Image: BBC) As for Po, the pint-sized darling of the group was depicted by Po, the tiniest and arguably most adorable of them all. Known for their subdued voice, Po enchanted audiences, blowing bubbles through a circle-shaped aerial and zipping around Tubbyland on a scooter. Pui Fan Lee embraced the part just after graduating drama school – captured in one particularly endearing photo snoozing while still partially suited up as Po. Upon Teletubbies' finale, Pui stirred some whispers by engaging in explicit scenes in Channel 4's Metrosexuality. "Yes, I was Po, but I am an actress, and the role looked interesting. I didn't take the lesbian role to be deliberately controversial," the actress clarified. Pui later made a comeback to children's television, becoming one of the first presenters on the CBeebies channel, alongside Chris Jarvis, with whom she also co-hosts Show Me Show Me. Additionally, the actress landed a minor role in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and made a guest appearance in EastEnders in 2019. The Sun Baby. (Image: Time4News/Youtube) The lovable Sun Baby would appear at the start of each episode, waking the Teletubbies and signaling the end of the day. Jess Smith, the original Sun Baby from 1997 to 2001, is now in her 20s and was expecting her first child. Interestingly, Jess was cast for the role while being weighed in hospital. Producers filmed her sitting in front of a mirror and camera, watching her dad play with toys, which made baby Jess laugh uncontrollably, instantly securing her the coveted BBC role. In a 2017 interview with BBC South East, Jess recounted how she landed the role: "I was being weighed at the hospital. "My mum took me and it just happened to be the same time that the producer of the old series had come in and wanted the hospital to get in contact with them if they'd seen any smiley babies. "It was just a case of sitting in front of a mirror and a camera and my dad playing with toys and race cars and that sort of thing to try and get me to laugh at the camera." When the show made its comeback in 2015, viewers were introduced to a new baby, Berry, who took up the mantle. An adorable photo even surfaced showing Jess giving Berry a cuddle.
Daily Mirror
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Where the actors behind Teletubbies are now from lesbian sex scene to alcoholism
Underneath the giant costumes of the characters that grew up with millennial children were real-life people, who have been involved in scandal and tragedy in life after the hit show We all remember the four giant-sized, alien-like creatures running around in our screens causing mischief when we were little. The Teletubbies could be considered one of the most iconic children's TV shows in British history since they debuted in 1997. Their gibberish language and the differently shaped antennas coming out of their heads make them easily memorable. The four Teletubbies were Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po, and would be watched over by the Sun Baby and the Voice Trumpets. They all spread joy and laughter on the show to anyone who watched. However, they were quite renowned for mating so much so that they had to make a scene less X-rated, where one episode was banned. The show originally ran from 1997 until 2001 on the BBC before being revived from 2015 to 2018. And in November 2022, Netflix launched a big comeback. But what happened to the original faces behind the masks? Tinky Winky Tinky Winky was the largest and oldest Teletubby was played by three actors, Dave Thompson, Simon Shelton, and Jeremiah Krage. Dave, who was the first to play the purple giant left the series after viewers started to question Tinky Winky's sexuality. Hardline US evangelist Jerry Falwell once attacked the show, saying: "Tinky Winky is purple, the gay pride colour, and his antenna is shaped like a triangle: the gay pride symbol." The official line was that he walked due to 'creative differences', but it was later reported that the show's production company felt the actor had misinterpreted the role by "implying" Tinky Winky was gay. 'I am proud of my work for them. I was always the one to test out the limitations of the costume. I was the first to fall off my chair and roll over. I took all the risks," Dave said regarding his departure. Since leaving the show Dave went into the business of standup comedy and performed with the Naked Balloon dance troupe in 2014. After Dave's departure, Simon, who was a ballet dancer and choreographer, took over the role as the Teletubbies grew in popularity in the UK and US. 'We used to receive a lot of fan mail from kind and parents, I suppose we were a bit like The Beatles or Take That of children's television,' explained Simon. Tinky Winky's orientation has also been a question Simon has had to answer. "People always ask me if Tinky Winky is gay," he said. "But the character is supposed to be a three-year-old so the question is really quite silly." Tragically, Simon was found dead from hypothermia in Liverpool in January 2018 at the age of just 52-years-old. He had a high concentration of booze in his system and had known to have had problems with alcohol. Dipsy Dipsy may have been considered the coolest of the Teletubbies, played by stand-up comedian John Simmit. Explaining how he influenced the character, John explained: "Dipsy would say, 'Papa Come Papa Come To Po', which was actually my take on a classic reggae rhythm track called The Whip. "And I'd slip in Jamaican dance moves, a Bogle there and a Tatty here. People spotted my little wink to my culture and I'm proud of that." John never hid from the truth of how hard and sweaty it was to work in the big suit they had to wear. "We had to wear really ugly underwear like those old Western long johns, which was essentially a onesie, but it was so it could absorb the sweat," he said. "When we were out of costume, you'd have to turn your face the other way and speak to us at a distance because we were reeking and so sweaty you could wring us out. Huge props to our dressers for putting up with us!" Once the show came to an end after four years, John went back to being a comic and toured the country. John once said he has never revealed on stage that he was the man behind the Dipsy costume, but he does tweet about his time on the show and replies to fans' messages. "The stand-up circuit is pretty close-knit so people got to know that I was Dipsy - but I never mentioned it on stage,' he previously said. Laa Laa The third Teletubby is Laa Laa with the curly antenna, the sweetest and most supportive of the gang, and was played by trained dancer Nikky Smedley. The 53-year-old got the role of Laa Laa after replying to newspaper ads for an actor to star in a new children's TV show and stayed for the original four-year run. But it wasn't all fun and games as Nikky explained that the hot and heavy suits were a nightmare as they filmed for 11 hours at a time. Once Teletubbies came to the end of its first run in 2001, Nikky stayed working for Ragdoll Productions on other shows. As well as Boohbah, Nikky has been involved in choreographing CBeebies favourite In The Night Garden - another popular kid's show featuring strange, colourful characters. Po The baby of the family was little Po, who was by far the cutest and smallest of the lot. Softly-spoken Po could be seen blowing bubbles using her circular-shaped antenna and hurting around Tubbyland on her scooter. Actress and presenter Pui Fan Lee took on the role shortly after leaving drama school - and in one incredible picture was seen lying down fast asleep with the body of her Po costume still on. After the show ended, Pui raised a few eyebrows by taking part in lesbian sex scenes during Channel 4 show Metrosexuality. "Yes, I was Po, but I am an actress, and the role looked interesting. I didn't take the lesbian role to be deliberately controversial," explained the actress. Pui would later return to children's TV and was one of the first ever presenters on the CBeebies channel along with Chris Jarvis, who she also hosts Show Me Show Me with. The actress also had a minor role in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and made a guest appearance in EastEnders in 2019. The Sun Baby The adorable Sun Baby popped up at the beginning of every episode to wake the Teletubbies up and as a signal for the end of the day. The original Sun Baby was played by Jess Smith, between 1997 and 2001, and is now in her 20s and was expecting her first child. The child star also previously revealed that she was actually cast in the role when she was being weighed in hospital. At the time, producers let the baby Jess sit in front of a mirror and a camera while she watched her dad play with toys. Luckily, the sweet moment made baby Jess laugh so much that she was instantly cast in the coveted BBC role. Speaking to BBC South East in 2017 about landing the role, Jess explained: "I was being weighed at the hospital. "My mum took me and it just happened to be the same time that the producer of the old series had come in and wanted the hospital to get in contact with them if they'd seen any smiley babies. "It was just a case of sitting in front of a mirror and a camera and my dad playing with toys and race cars and that sort of thing to try and get me to laugh at the camera." When the show was revived in 2015, a new baby called Berry took over the role and was even seen being cuddled by Jess in a cute snap.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Space is going to patch up Britain's ‘not spots', but can Musk be trusted?
Like the Teletubbies' Sun Baby, Elon Musk beams down on every corner of the globe. Satellites from Starlink and its competitors are bringing data to the poorest and most isolated corners of the world. 'Data is doubling every year,' says Dr Adam Beaumont, an innovation advisor to the Government and founder of the pioneering network builder AQL, which created the first UK ground station for Musk's space constellation. 'We're handling many terabytes of data every day on behalf of the satellite community'. Space internet has traditionally relied on ancient, geostationary satellites that transmit data a few bytes at a time. But the revolution that Musk began involves low earth orbit (LEO) satellites that are far closer to us here on Earth. They bring far greater capacity and speed so we can use space directly for serious internet services, like Google Maps, rather than basics such as emergency text messages. 'We're now on the cusp of people being able to make [satellite calls] on their everyday smartphones,' boasted Ofcom's spectrum director David Willis last week. This is called 'direct to device' (D2D) communications, which mean you won't need a clunky satellite phone that wouldn't look out of place in the A-Team – you can just use the phone you already have, and no special SIM or app is required. In January, Vodafone made the first D2D video call in the world from a mountain in Wales, using an ordinary smartphone, in a location where there was no existing mobile coverage. The coverage bars on the phone lit up as the invisible satellite passed overhead. It's the result of a joint venture between the Texan space company AST Space Mobile and Vodafone. In layman's terms, they've put a standard 4G phone dish in space, so it becomes a seamless extension of the existing phone network. Only this 'dish' is around 300 miles away, and moving at 18,000 miles per hour. Five Blue Walker satellites are already operating, and dozens more will be operating by the end of the year. Around 90 are needed to provide full global coverage, says Vodafone. Ofcom is rushing to iron out the regulatory wrinkles. It really is a spectacular feat of engineering. The second generation of AST's Blue Walker satellite unfolds into a 2,400 square foot panel, around the size of a doubles tennis court. The surface is almost entirely an antenna. (Astronomers aren't very happy – these 'BlueBirds' are already amongst the brightest objects in the night sky.) Now you may well wonder why you can't get a decent signal from your mobile operator when the antenna is only hundreds of yards away, but you can from something 300 miles away. It's a good question. Size is everything, the boffins explain – while the panel in space is vast, the local dish giving you mobile service now isn't much larger than a chef's wok. 'The bigger they are, the more power and gain you can put on that signal,' explains Vodafone's Future Technologies researcher Rowan Chesmer, the technical lead for the group's D2D work. Cleverly, the design means that almost all the heavy processing gear – the racks and enormous air conditioner style units that sit underneath our terrestrial mobile base stations – can be left back on earth. 'You can focus all your power onto the transmitting,' says Chesmer. By the end of next year, some of us will start to see the benefits. Vodafone hasn't decided exactly how to market it, but expect to see the service offered as a a low cost extra or bundled with top tier plans. A basic, very low speed service will enable calls and WhatsApp messages – a higher bandwidth tier of around 3 megabits per second will allow more. Vodafone will wholesale the satellite service to competitors, such as O2. Rural voters will be relieved, particularly after Labour slashed the Shared Rural Network – the project meant to fix reception 'not spots' – to save money. And it helps build infrastructure resilience. If a fibre connection to a remote mast is severed, or one base station catches fire, satellites can fill in the gap. AQL's Beaumont says that every LEO operator is eyeing the D2D market. Musk isn't sitting idle. But as is so often the case with American technology tycoons, he views the market as a zero sum game – for him to win, someone else has to lose. His ambitions are clearly set on creating a global 'Musknet' – we can infer from regulatory bids for spectrum he has filed around the world. Musknet would effectively bypass Governments and incumbent operators. But his first D2D service, with T-Mobile in the United States, was a controversial project, since it impinged on the performance of existing networks and required a regulatory waiver. And Musk is more Man Baby than benevolent Sun Baby. His capricious nature hasn't escaped the watching world. Would someone who has toyed with cutting off Ukrainian armed forces hesitate to throw millions of us off Musknet if he felt like it, to prove a point? This question has even vexed Italian prime minister Georgia Meloni, a huge Musk fan. Negotiations between Starlink and Italy over a defence communications deal has stalled. When Vodafone's Tom Griffiths told an industry audience that AST is 'a European sovereign solution', everyone knew what he meant: it wasn't subject to the whims of one billionaire founder who could cut them off at any moment. Space isn't a panacea, but with smart, market minded regulation it will help 'not spot' Britain feel less blighted. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
31-03-2025
- Science
- Telegraph
Space is going to patch up Britain's ‘not spots', but can Musk be trusted?
Like the Teletubbies' Sun Baby, Elon Musk beams down on every corner of the globe. Satellites from Starlink and its competitors are bringing data to the poorest and most isolated corners of the world. 'Data is doubling every year,' says Dr Adam Beaumont, an innovation advisor to the Government and founder of the pioneering network builder AQL, which created the first UK ground station for Musk's space constellation. 'We're handling many terabytes of data every day on behalf of the satellite community'. Space internet has traditionally relied on ancient, geostationary satellites that transmit data a few bytes at a time. But the revolution that Musk began involves low earth orbit (LEO) satellites that are far closer to us here on Earth. They bring far greater capacity and speed so we can use space directly for serious internet services, like Google Maps, rather than basics such as emergency text messages. 'We're now on the cusp of people being able to make [satellite calls] on their everyday smartphones,' boasted Ofcom's spectrum director David Willis last week. This is called 'direct to device' (D2D) communications, which mean you won't need a clunky satellite phone that wouldn't look out of place in the A-Team – you can just use the phone you already have, and no special SIM or app is required. In January, Vodafone made the first D2D video call in the world from a mountain in Wales, using an ordinary smartphone, in a location where there was no existing mobile coverage. The coverage bars on the phone lit up as the invisible satellite passed overhead. It's the result of a joint venture between the Texan space company AST Space Mobile and Vodafone. In layman's terms, they've put a standard 4G phone dish in space, so it becomes a seamless extension of the existing phone network. Only this 'dish' is around 300 miles away, and moving at 18,000 miles per hour. Five Blue Walker satellites are already operating, and dozens more will be operating by the end of the year. Around 90 are needed to provide full global coverage, says Vodafone. Ofcom is rushing to iron out the regulatory wrinkles. It really is a spectacular feat of engineering. The second generation of AST's Blue Walker satellite unfolds into a 2,400 square foot panel, around the size of a doubles tennis court. The surface is almost entirely an antenna. (Astronomers aren't very happy – these 'BlueBirds' are already amongst the brightest objects in the night sky.) Now you may well wonder why you can't get a decent signal from your mobile operator when the antenna is only hundreds of yards away, but you can from something 300 miles away. It's a good question. Size is everything, the boffins explain – while the panel in space is vast, the local dish giving you mobile service now isn't much larger than a chef's wok. 'The bigger they are, the more power and gain you can put on that signal,' explains Vodafone's Future Technologies researcher Rowan Chesmer, the technical lead for the group's D2D work. Cleverly, the design means that almost all the heavy processing gear – the racks and enormous air conditioner style units that sit underneath our terrestrial mobile base stations – can be left back on earth. 'You can focus all your power onto the transmitting,' says Chesmer. By the end of next year, some of us will start to see the benefits. Vodafone hasn't decided exactly how to market it, but expect to see the service offered as a a low cost extra or bundled with top tier plans. A basic, very low speed service will enable calls and WhatsApp messages – a higher bandwidth tier of around 3 megabits per second will allow more. Vodafone will wholesale the satellite service to competitors, such as O2. Rural voters will be relieved, particularly after Labour slashed the Shared Rural Network – the project meant to fix reception 'not spots' – to save money. And it helps build infrastructure resilience. If a fibre connection to a remote mast is severed, or one base station catches fire, satellites can fill in the gap. AQL's Beaumont says that every LEO operator is eyeing the D2D market. Musk isn't sitting idle. But as is so often the case with American technology tycoons, he views the market as a zero sum game – for him to win, someone else has to lose. His ambitions are clearly set on creating a global 'Musknet' – we can infer from regulatory bids for spectrum he has filed around the world. Musknet would effectively bypass Governments and incumbent operators. But his first D2D service, with T-Mobile in the United States, was a controversial project, since it impinged on the performance of existing networks and required a regulatory waiver. And Musk is more Man Baby than benevolent Sun Baby. His capricious nature hasn't escaped the watching world. Would someone who has toyed with cutting off Ukrainian armed forces hesitate to throw millions of us off Musknet if he felt like it, to prove a point? This question has even vexed Italian prime minister Georgia Meloni, a huge Musk fan. Negotiations between Starlink and Italy over a defence communications deal has stalled. When Vodafone's Tom Griffiths told an industry audience that AST is 'a European sovereign solution', everyone knew what he meant: it wasn't subject to the whims of one billionaire founder who could cut them off at any moment.
