Tots TV is a British children's television programme, produced by Ragdoll Productions and Central. The series was first telecast in the UK on the ITV network (part of CITV) from 4 January 1993 to 27 April 1998.
Development Tots TV was written by two of its puppeteers, Robin Stevens (Tom) and Andrew Davenport (Tiny).
The series was filmed on location in a small cottage, on farmland near Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire. The cottage was purpose-built for the series in the early 1990s and after production ended in 1998, the property was abandoned. In the 2010s, the house drew public attention after being discovered by numerous urban explorers. In 2021, the house was destroyed by the landowners.
Characters The programme focuses on three puppets: Tilly, a French girl, with red hair, freckles and pale skin, who speaks in basic French (changed to English in French and Spanish broadcasts, and changed to Spanish in the US version), Tom, a blue-haired boy with glasses and dark skin, who is smart, and Tiny, the youngest Tot, who is smaller than the others and has green hair and pale skin. It also includes their pet Donkey who lives in a stable next to the Tots' secret house and a mischievous little dog named Furryboo that the Tots do not know about.
Voices Tilly (played by three actresses – initially Véronique Déroulède, then Claire Carre and later Alexandra Hogg; María Moscardó in the US version). Tom (played by Robin Stevens; Mark Heenehan in the US version) Tiny (played by Andrew Davenport; Kevin Clash in the US version)
Plots Going out Often (although not always), the Tots would go out to explore an everyday area in the real world. This often involved them helping out a young child, visiting Jane Pardoe at Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, and watching Jack the Gardener who was always placing surprise items in a field for children to play with. This also sometimes involved them using their magic bag which they always took with them, Tiny always carried it and Tilly always operated it. When asked to help, it would always produce some items to help them in the situation.
Staying in In many other episodes, the Tots would do something in their secret house, including playing games and making exciting discoveries. Because the full titles featured the Tots leaving the house they were altered for such episodes. Often these episodes would feature one of the Tots reading the other two a story. These episodes always feature the reading Tot preparing to read using dolls of the characters in the story. Apparently, the other two were unaware they were preparing to read a story because they would always ring them up on their personal phone to ask if they wanted to listen to a story. This was despite the fact they all lived in the same house.
Other If the episode was a full-length double-bill (regularly the first half with Jane Pardoe and the second half an adventure in the secret house) in the earlier episodes, they would be joined with a two-minute animation of a 'Noah's Ark' story (based on the toy "Noah's Ark in the Secret House") or an animation of a picture that a viewer had sent into the program.
Recurring jokes Furryboo is always causing mischief or even helping the Tots out (one such moment was when he helped put the star on the top of their Christmas tree), but they never know he's there. When things go wrong or the Tots are just being silly, they call each other names like "Banana", "Sausage" and "Tomato". The Tots have telephones which signify their favourite colour with the same phone number of 12345, that they use to communicate with each other, even if they are only a small space away.
Episodes Series 1 Episode No. Title Notes 1 Camel Animal-themed episode 2 Beach Outdoor / seaside theme 3 Fox Animal-themed episode 4 Trains Transport theme 5 Hedgehog Animal-themed episode 6 Dress Clothing theme 7 Woodlouse Animal / insect theme 8 Cars Transport theme 9 Dog Animal-themed episode 10 Bike Ride Outdoor activity 11 Owl Animal-themed episode 12 Donkey Ride Outdoor activity / animals 13 Horse Animal-themed episode 14 Baby Party Social event theme 15 Elephant Animal-themed episode 16 Rockpool Nature / seaside exploration 17 Giraffe Animal-themed episode 18 Dentist Health / visiting a dentist 19 Lemur Animal-themed episode 20 Roller Skating Outdoor activity 21 Snail Animal / insect theme 22 Painting Creative activity 23 Toad Animal / amphibian theme 24 Camping Outdoor activity 25 Peacock Animal-themed episode 26 Bus Ride Transport theme 27 Rabbit Animal-themed episode 28 Garden Centre Visiting a shop / plants 29 Worms Nature theme 30 Window Cleaning Everyday tasks 31 Penguin Animal-themed episode 32 Kites Outdoor activity 33 Goat Animal-themed episode 34 Apple Picking Seasonal outdoor activity 35 Kittens Animal-themed episode 36 Playground Outdoor play
Series 2 Episode No. Title Notes 1 Fish Animal / nature theme 2 Tiny’s Storybook: Little Car Storybook segment featuring Tiny 3 Creative Play: Sound Creative Play segment about sound 4 Parcels Post and delivery theme 5 Eggs Food / nature theme 6 Tilly’s Storybook: Imps – Toys Storybook segment featuring Tilly 7 Creative Play: Bubbles Creative Play segment 8 Funny Noises Sound / play theme 9 Mountain Outdoor theme 10 Tom’s Storybook: Teddy's Party Storybook segment featuring Tom 11 Creative Play: Dressing Up Creative Play segment 12 Mirror Reflection / perception theme 13 Calves Animal-themed episode 14 Tilly’s Storybook: Imps – Cake Storybook segment featuring Tilly
Series 3 Episode No. Title Notes 1 Band Music-related episode 2 Tiny’s Storybook: Little Car at the Races Storybook segment featuring Tiny 3 Sea Lions Animal-themed episode 4 Three Little Pigs Fairy-tale retelling 5 Flying Transport / imaginative theme 6 Tiny’s Storybook: Martians – Snow Storybook segment featuring Tiny 7 Duck Animal-themed episode 8 Furry Beat Music / rhythm theme 9 Doctor Health / doctor visit theme 10 Tom’s Storybook: Mouse Chases Storybook segment featuring Tom 11 Lost Ball Problem-solving / play theme 12 King Tom Imaginative play featuring Tom 13 Balloon Outdoor / play theme 14 Tilly’s Storybook: Imps – Painting Storybook segment featuring Tilly 15 Feelings Emotional education theme 16 Inside Out Exploration / perception theme 17 Leaf Nature theme 18 Tiny’s Storybook: Cry Baby Storybook segment featuring Tiny 19 Emergency Squad Rescue / emergency theme 20 Watching Observation / learning theme 21 Jelly Food theme 22 Tom’s Storybook: Hungry Mouse Storybook segment featuring Tom 23 Tinkle in the Woods Nature / exploration 24 Bedtime Daily routine theme 25 Cake Food / cooking theme 26 Tilly’s Storybook: Agatha & The Paints Storybook segment featuring Tilly 27 Lost Donkey Animal / problem-solving theme 28 Tiny’s Storybook: Girl In A Red Dress Storybook segment featuring Tiny 29 Ferris Wheel Fairground / rides 30 Tom’s Storybook: Animal Concert Storybook segment featuring Tom 31 Photo Photography theme 32 Tilly’s Storybook: Mascots Storybook segment featuring Tilly 33 Aeroplane Transport theme 34 Where Shall We Live? Homes / environments 35 Majorettes Parade / music theme 36 Phone Diner Communication theme 37 Indian Tree Cultural / nature theme 38 Surfing Water sport theme 39 Cowboy Town Imaginative play / Western theme 40 Coming Home Returning from a journey
Series 4 Episode No. Title Notes 1 Middle of the Night Night-time / routine 2 Shoe Shop Visiting a shop 3 Police Car Emergency / transport theme 4 Chinchilla Animal-themed episode 5 Colour Circles Art / colour learning 6 Postwoman Jobs / community helper theme 7 Magic Hat Magic / imagination 8 Street Lamps Night-time / outdoors 9 What’s That Noise? Listening / sound identification 10 Paper Boats Craft / water play 11 Joking Humour theme 12 Moving In Home / milestone event 13 Smelling Day Exploring senses 14 Melon Chase Food / playful activity 15 Sleepy Day Routine / rest theme 16 Hippo Animal-themed episode 17 Treasure Map Adventure / searching 18 Printing Craft / creative activity 19 Magic Flute Music / magical theme 20 Launderette Everyday tasks / community places 21 Interfering Social behaviour theme 22 Lost Teddy Comfort object / problem-solving 23 Hamster Animal-themed episode 24 Rainy Day (2) Weather / indoor play 25 Glassworks Visiting a workplace 26 Vegetable Guard Gardening / nature 27 Iguana Animal-themed episode 28 Muddy Footprints Outdoor play / nature 29 Recorder Factory Music / manufacturing 30 Adventure General adventure-themed episode
Telecast The series was first telecast in the UK on the ITV network (part of CITV).
In the United States, the series was represented by Ragdoll's US representative, The Itsy Bitsy Entertainment Company. The series was redubbed with American voice actors, with Tilly speaking Spanish instead of French. The series debuted on PBS' PTV service in October 1996, initially with 40 episodes. The series would fulfill the Ready-to-Learn act. In October 1998, an additional 25 episodes were sold by Itsy Bitsy, and the series moved to PBS' weekday schedule, joining the Teletubbies.
In 2000, Discovery Kids broadcast the series throughout Central and South America, the Caribbean and the Falkland Islands. In Holland, the series is aired on Kindernet.
In April 2004, Ragdoll and Carlton International announced that they had secured a broadcast deal with the BBC to rebroadcast the series from that month, where it first aired on the CBeebies on BBC Two block as well as the CBeebies channel.
Awards The series won two BAFTA awards for its producer Anne Wood and director Vic Finch.
Specials
A number of special episodes of the series were produced for both TV and VHS release, including a short series of episodes set in the USA, a 'Big Treasure Adventure' set on a pirate ship from England to Australia and several Christmas specials, including one filmed in Rovaniemi, Finland.
A series of educational Tots Video specials were originally released by Video Collection International in 1997 (later reprinted by Carlton in 2000) included hour-long episodes based on the alphabet, numbers, animals and basic French.
Home media VHS releases Videotapes of the series were originally released by Video Collection International under their Central Video imprint from 1993 until 1994, and transitioned off to Carlton Home Entertainment afterward and later Granada Ventures.
Year 1993: Camel and other stories (VC1299) (Camel, Beach, Fox) Year 1993: Hedgehog and other stories (VC1300) (Trains, Hedgehog, Dress) Year 1993: Owl and other stories (VC1303) (Bike Ride, Owl, Donkey Ride) Year 1993: Peacock and other stories (VC1307) (Peacock, Bus Ride, Rabbit) Year 1993: Elephant and other stories (VC1313) (Horse, Baby Party, Elephant) Year 1993: Apple Picking and other stories (VC1315) (Apple Picking, Kittens, Playground) Year 1994: Dog and other stories (VC1322) (Woodlouse, Cars, Dog) Year 1994: Roller Skating and other stories (VC1323) (Lemur, Roller Skating, Snail) Year 1994: Giraffe and other stories (VC1324) (Rockpool, Giraffe, Dentist) Year 1994: Wiggly Worms and other stories (VC1325) (How Does Your Garden Grow?, Wiggly Worms, Cleaning Windows) Year 1994: Windy Day and other stories (VC1327) (Penguin, Windy Day, The Hungry Nanny Goat) Year 1994: Bumper Special: Bike Ride and other stories (VC1361) (Dress, Bike Ride, Donkey Ride, Peacock, Cars, Dog) Year 1995: The Funny Noises Band and other stories (VC1384) (Mountain Climbing, The Funny Noises Band, Tiny's Storybook (Little Red Car), Fluffy Little Chicks, Dressing Up, Bubbles) Out to Sea and other stories (Splashing in the Pool, Hippo in the Garden, Colours, Out to Sea, Tiny's Storybook, Bananas, Parcels) Sticky Disasters and other stories (Sticky Disasters, A Watery Surprise, Trouble in the Bathroom, Washing the Car, Blowing Bubbles, Big Banana Tom) Lost Teddy and other stories (Lost Teddy, Lost Button, The Vegetable Nibbler, A Very Clever Monkey, The Disappearing Trousers, Cable Car, Where is That Phone?)