Ragdoll Productions
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Ragdoll Productions (or Ragdoll Ltd) is a UK company that produces children's television shows. It was founded in 1984 by Anne Wood,[1] who later devised many of their television series, seen (in the case of Teletubbies) in 111 countries and translated into 41 languages.
Before 1984, Ragdoll's founder Anne Wood made children's programmes for Yorkshire Television (which was the name before the rebrand to ITV Yorkshire) and TV-am. Ragdoll Ltd is a privately owned family company founded in 1984 by Anne Wood. In 2006 Ragdoll and BBC Worldwide formed a joint venture, Ragdoll Worldwide and has since dropped the original "Productions Ltd" label in order to manage and exploit Ragdoll programming. The slogan for the company is "Works for children."
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Productions [edit]
The following are some of Ragdoll's productions, accompanied by a brief description and vital statistics:
- Pob's Programme — first broadcast in 1985, 5 series, 82 episodes. The company's first official production featuring Pob, who has large ears and a woolly jumper.
- Playbox - first broadcast 1988, 1 series, 20 episodes. About a dog & a cat who live in a box.
- Rosie and Jim — first broadcast in 1990, 8 series, 175 episodes. Children's comedy featuring two mischievous ragdolls who magically come to life when the narrowboat owner is away.
- Brum — first broadcast in 1991. 6 series, 78 episodes. About a small car that lives in a motor museum comes to life and goes around helping the inhabitants of the nearby town. seen on BBC One, BBC Two and CBeebies
- Open a Door — first broadcast 1992. An international project producing 5-minute children's films.
- Tots TV — first broadcast in 1993, 8 series, 276 episodes. The adventures of puppets Tilly, Tom, and Tiny where they live in their magical house in the woods with their friend Donkey and unbeknown to the Tots, Furryboo, a small dog-like puppet. Tilly speaks French (Spanish in the American broadcast, and English in the French broadcast), thus introducing children to a second language, Earned Ragdoll two BAFTA awards.
- Budgie the Little Helicopter — first broadcast in 1994, 39 episodes. it was co-produced with Trickfilmstudio.
- Teletubbies — first broadcast in 1997, production ended in 2002 after 365 episodes. A show about the adventures of four characters, the Teletubbies, Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po where they live over the hills called "Teletubbyland".
- Badjelly the Witch — premiered 2000. A film based on the book by the late Spike Milligan.
- Boohbah —- first broadcast in 2003. 104 episodes. An exercise programme aimed at 3-6 year-olds.
- Peep and the Big Wide World - first broadcast in 2004 (in conjunction with WGBH Boston Nelvana Sesame Workshop and 9 Story Entertainment)
- Blips - first broadcast 2005. 2 series, 26 episodes.
- In the Night Garden — first broadcast in 2007, intended for children aged 1-4. 100×30 minutes commissioned by the BBC and shown on CBeebies.
- Tronji — first broadcast in 2009, is aimed at children aged 6-8. 30×30 minutes commissioned by the BBC and shown on CBBC.
- Dipdap - first broadcast in 2010, a 52×3 minute programme about a drawn character on a drawn line and shown on CBeebies.
- The Adventures of Abney & Teal — The Latest Programme — first broadcast in 2011, a 52×11 minute programme about two friends and shown on CBeebies.
- Caption Underpants the TV Series - (first broadcasted in 2013) with Dav Pilkey and WGBH Boston)
Shop [edit]
The Ragdoll Shop in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire was a relatively small store which stocked a range of merchandise relating to Ragdoll's television series of 4 shows including Teletubbies, Rosie and Jim, Tots TV and Brum plus fun activities for the children. In 2005, the shop was closed permanently.
