We recently discovered that the person who once starred as the sun baby in The Teletubbies is pregnant (cue: us feeling ancient) – and now, friends, we have more fun (and slightly bizarre) facts for you about the hit children’s TV show.
If you remember the iconic show, chances are you recall the rabbits that appeared between scenes. These were Flemish giant rabbits, John Simmit who played Dispy previously told HuffPost UK. “I think that was Anne’s way of changing the perspective and making us look small,” he said.
Makes sense, right? But what truly boggled my brain was the fact that, apparently, some scenes had to be re-taken and re-shot because the rabbits were more or less constantly humping.
Yep. The giant rabbits were “notorious for breeding on set due to not being spayed and neutered, and several scenes had to be re-filmed due to them being very intimate on camera,” the Teletubbies Wiki says.
The phrase “at it like rabbits” stands up. “Rabbits are receptive to mating about 14 of every 16 days,” according to the MSD veterinary manual. Whew.
Huh!?
I know. And while I have you, here are some other facts that turned my mind to Tubby custard.
First of all, THERE ARE SEATS IN THOSE COSTUMES – all so the people inside them could sit down for a rest between takes.
The six to ten-foot costumes took a lot of heft to manage. “Running around in a three-stone and eight-foot-tall bright green costume in the summer is not fun,” Simmit told HuffPost UK.
“You had to roll up and down hills, squat, jump around and hug – you had to make it look like it was fun when in reality it was a massive workout,” he added.
Additionally, the tubby custard the Teletubbies chowed down on was actually mashed potato, according to NME.
And last but far from least: the original Tinky Winky left the series in 1997 because his “interpretation of the role was not acceptable,” The Independent reported.
He suspected his voice may have been an issue. “The other Teletubbies use their own voices, but mine was dubbed over. At first, they asked me to do a high voice and then they changed their minds just before we started filming,” he shared.
At the time a BBC spokesperson could neither confirm nor deny that Tinky Winky – or the person inside the costume – had been replaced. “We are not allowed to say,” they said. “As far as we are concerned they are real.”
Sex, sweat, and scandals? Time for a Tubby tell-all, I think.