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Children’s television

Tikkabilla

The story

Tikkabilla is a British children's television programme, shown on CBeebies. The programme aims to educate preschool children in an entertaining manner. The title "Tikkabilla" comes from the Hindi word meaning "Hopscotch", a popular children's game.

Format

Taking place within a large, colourful house, Tikkabilla is an educational variety series featuring songs, stories, games, and creative activities. A group of rotating presenters, two of whom appear in an episode, present at least two different subjects to a purple dragon puppet named Tamba. Tamba serves as the programme's naïve child where programme's educational content is introduced as the presenters explain things to her.
The show is considered a successor to the BBC's 1964–1988 children's programme Play School and its own successor Playdays. Two of the Tikkabilla presenters, Simon Davies and Justin Fletcher, have had prior experience with the format, with Davies presenting Play School in its later years, and Fletcher portraying Mr Jolly in the Playdays live shows. Play School's famous square, round, and arched windows are again used as a device to transport the viewer from the studio to the outside, real world. Location items, sometimes featuring the presenters and Tamba and usually including young children, introduce the wider world to the young audience.
Occasionally, special guests visit, normally to demonstrate a special skill or performance.

Presenters

Alongside Tamba, who appears in every episode, the presenters rotate from the selection seen below:

Justin Fletcher
Sarah-Jane Honeywell
Simon Davies
Lorna Laidlaw
Paul Ewing
Beverly Hills (Series 1-2)
Veejay Kaur (Series 3-4)
Toni Frutin (Series 4)
Amit Sharma (Series 4)
Tamba is performed by puppeteer Sue Eves, who originally voiced the character in the first two series and wrote many scripts for the series. Alison McGowan (series 2 and 3) and Katherine Smee (series 4) later took over as Tamba's voice.

Segments

In addition to the mainstream presenter-led portions of the programme, Tikkabilla also features several show-within-a-show segments, normally being showcased within the windows or an item shown below of the Tikkabilla clock. Such segments include:

Bonny, Banana and Mo: A 2D animated series featuring a girl, her dog, and a bird.
Higgledy House: A live-action comedy series featuring Sarah-Jane Honeywell and Justin Fletcher portraying fictional versions of themselves. The segments were spun off as a standalone programme on CBeebies in 2006.
Sami's Worlds
Summerton Mill (Series 4): A stop motion animated series set within a ruined mill. Like Higgledy House, this show was also spun off as a standalone programme on CBeebies and was later pre-sold internationally.
Alongside the segments, the show has occasionally shown clips or stock footage from other educational BBC programmes, mainly from Words and Pictures or Numbertime. One episode once showed an animated clip from Hotch Potch House.

Series 1 (2002)

1. Jungle, Yellow and Melting
2. Birds and Weather
3. Under the Sea and Sheepdogs
4. Dressing Up, Princesses and Castles
5. Goldilocks and the Three Bears
6. Movement and Gardens
7. Kangaroos and Tikkabilla Jive
8. Teatime and Ducks
9. Musical Instruments and Clocks
10. Night-Time Animals and Up and Down
11. Families, Photos and Feelings
12. Colours, Carnivals and Festivals
13. Bears and Dancing
14. Seasons, Sculptures and Junk
15. Tidy Up, Dressing Up and Shoes
16. Ducks, Wheels and Hoildays
17. Boats and Opposites
18. Ants and Hairbraiding
19. Bees and Sweets
20. Statues, Cats and Jungle
21. Ice Cream and Bowling
22. Spiders and Bears
23. Jumping, Hopping, Jiving and Delicious Food
24. Bears and Different Sizes
25. Kittens and Haircuts
26. Hide and Seek and Treasure
27. Skittles, Bubbles and Balloons
28. Opposites and Indian Dancing
29. Tiddywinks, Making Masks and Looking in Mirrors
30. Colours, Hand Puppets and Guitars
31. Horses and Gingerbread
32. Opposites, Digging and Dinosaurs
33. Jack in the Box, Vegetables and Dressing Up
34. Didgeridoos, Loud and Quiet
35. Balloons, Feelings and Cows
36. Bakers and Tigers
37. Trees, Wolves and Robots
38. Sweets
39. Eating, Growing and Printing
40. Blue Animals, Painting and Hokey Cokey
41. Ropes and Weather
42. Printing and Opposites
43. Colours, Tomatoes and Paper Flowers
44. Snow and Penguins
45. Christmas Special
46. Lighthouses and Dinosaurs
47. Hats, Sleeping and Breakfast
48. Windmills
49. Posting Letters
50. Animals' Tails, Balancing and Circus
51. Meerkats and Teddy Bears Picnic
52. Babies, Caterpillars and Guessing
53. Shakers, Recycling and Sami's World
54. Tidy Up, Marbles and Fish
55. Shopping, Rabbits and Five
56. Birds and Paper Airplanes
57. Windmills, The Princess and the Pea and the Tikkabilla Jive
58. Opposites and Cats
59. Vegetables, Tulips and Saris
60. Boats and the Letter S
61. Gardens and Houses
62. Rowing and Paddle Boats
63. Crisps and Noises
64. Gooses and Music
65. Snakes, Orangutans and Finger Painting
66. Bubbles, Marbles and Animals
67. Firefighters and Sea Animals
68. Butterflies, Diggers and Beetles
69. Night-Time Animals
70. Kurdish Dancing, Hiding Animals and Tikkabilla Jive

Series 2 (2003)

1. Stuck in Mud
2. Stained Glass and Hoops
3. Light and Shadows
4. Water
5. Animals, Lost and Found
6. Buildings and City Animals
7. Love, Shops, Counting and Bedtime
8. Pop-Up Puppet and Jack-in-the-Box
9. Transport and Snakes
10. Jelly, Insects and Spoons
11. Transport and Homes
12. Chicken and Eggs
13. Magic
14. Garden and Colours
15. Weather, Chinese Fans, Beaches and Boats
16. Bugs and Soap
17. Eid
18. Food, Veg Face and Higgledy Pie
19. Animals in Trees and Feathers
20. City Dwellers, Hot Air Balloons and Shops
21. Fish Tank and Patterns
22. Face Paint and Dark
23. Snow and Bears
24. Creepy Crawlies
25. Bridges and Transport
26. Painting, Sunflowers, Giants, Farms and Scarecrows
27. Movement and Noise
28. Noisy and Signing
29. Art Gallery and Senses
30. Umbrellas and Flamenco
31. Music, Chocolate and Food
32. Steel Bands, Huskies and Drums
33. Water and Coins
34. Counting and Opposites
35. Teddy Bears, Cakes, Shops and Hugs
36. Biscuits, Flowers and Tails
37. Hobby Horse and Red
38. Sheep and Movement
39. Snakes and Ladders
40. Hedgehogs and Rubbish
41. Pancakes and Planes
42. Finger Animals, Frogs and Firefighters
43. Moving and Painting
44. Colours, Trains and Movement
45. People Who Help Us
46. Big, Deep and Bonny, Banana and Mo Sshhh!
47. Mountains, Caves and Weather
48. Dinosaurs and Chairs
49. Circus and Rocket
50. Porridge
51. Farm and Harps
52. Opposites, Ducks, Recorder and Seashore
53. Head to Toe
54. Bedtime, Feely and Teapot
55. Diwali
56. Clocks and Teatime
57. Balloons and Hiccups
58. Violins and Happy Songs
59. Shops and Senses
60. Water, Fish and Friends
61. Shoes, Animal Sounds, Football and Jungle
62. Transport and Bugs
63. Sky, Blue and Higgledy
64. Photo and Flying
65. Pets and Happy
66. Noises
67. String
68. Food and Tidy Up
69. Marching, Bridges, Sky and Space
70. Friends and Babies

Series 3 (2004)

1. Shops, Rocks and Hands
2. Bodies
3. Shapes, Maps and Spiders
4. Birds, Bears and Dressing Up
5. Noises and Food
6. Little Peter Rabbit
7. Sick
8. Owl and Pussycat
9. Fruit, Trees and Birds
10. Jobs
11. Weather, Harvesting and Animals
12. Cakes, Fish and Cars
13. Body, Midas, Sandcastles and World
14. Rain, Flowers and Finding
15. Families, Dogs and Wishes
16. High and Jungly
17. Clothes and Boats
18. Food, Tents and Games
19. Big/Small
20. Sheep, Dogs, Rockets and Searching
21. Dogs, Farms and Clouds
22. Flowers, Photos and Paintings
23. Transport, Snow and Weather
24. Skittles, Hands and Hats
25. Wings
26. Dogs
27. Tall, Small and Textures
28. Happy
29. Hunting and Noises
30. Cola Trees and Green Queens
31. Tartan, Decorating and Pets
32. Friends, Pairs and Boots
33. Elvis, Shoes and Cars
34. Hands and Seeds
35. Transport and Monsters
36. Music, Boots and Feet
37. Weather
38. Shoes and Moving
39. Movement, Mouth and Snails
40. Families and Flying
41. Birds, Fishing and Machines
42. Oboes, Jungles and Shakers
43. Three Wishes
44. Hospitals and Colour
45. Lambs and Rabbits
46. Feet
47. Body, Clothes, Holidays and Jelly
48. Sizes and Jobs
49. Baskets, Bagpipes & Scottish Dancers
50. Opposites, Houses and Farms
51. Shapes, Colours and Hands
52. Wallpaper
53. Food and Siblings
54. Movement, Mouth and Snails
55. Growing Things
56. Weather, Homes and Mice
57. Carnival, Clothes and Frogs
58. Journeys, Hunting and Games
59. Sleeping, Dancing and Moving
60. Itchy Animals
61. Musical Owls
62. Picnic and Patterns
63. Trees, Seasons and Fruits
64. Dancing and Underwater Life
65. Mirrors, Pretending and Food
66. Hiccups, Sounds and Homes
67. Weather and Boats
68. Penguins
69. Shapes, Hats and Cars
70. Christmas Special

Series 4 (2005)

1. Trampoline
2. Dancing Animals
3. Honey Biscuits
4. School and Stickers
5. Ballet, Magic and Pickle
6. Liondancers
7. Pretend Friend and Sausages
8. Tamba's Car
9. Stomp
10. Suitcase
11. Eggs And Sock Thing
12. Grumpies and Gravity
13. Noisy Big Ears
14. Bird Plumage And Mrs Naybhur's Vegetables
15. Fruit and Jungle Animals
16. Dinosaurs Elephants and Magic
17. Penguins And Wingnuts
18. Elephants And Baby Millfreak
19. Rapunzel
20. Hairbraiding
21. Birds of Paradise
22. Plasters and Jobs
23. Birds and Bagels
24. Floating and Treasure
25. French and Juggling Feet
26. Dog Bathing, Movement and Sea Make
27. There Was A Princess Long Ago
28. Kite Flying and Pigeons
29. Frogs and Bear Hunt
30. Walking Holiday
31. Birds and Bears
32. Tortoises and Houses
33. Snowplay
34. Messy, Incy and TV
35. Getting Around
36. Seasons and Ducks
37. Camping
38. Balancing Things
39. Dressing Up and Sharks
40. Hide and Seek
41. Farm and Penguins
42. Dog Agility
43. Twins and Sunflowers
44. House that Jack Built
45. Ferry, Sea and Poem
46. Wiggles and Wingnuts
47. Rainbow
48. Collections
49. Dancing Tiger
50. Tooty Fruity Lassi
51. Grumpy Tamba
52. Water Play
53. Signs and Odd One Out
54. Moon, Eyes and Hands
55. Cakes and Bubbles
56. Space and Wellies
57. Dressing Up and Houses
58. Talking with Hands
59. Dog Bathing, Movement and Sea
60. Green Frog and Three Cornered Hat
61. Shapes and Cows
62. Special Photo and Dressing Up
63. Party Time
64. Duke, Frog and Road
65. Jungle, Wingnuts and Weather
66. Rhythms and Eggs
67. Spilt Water and a Hole in My Bucket
68. Tamba's Lambs
69. Flatpack Bed
70. Toys and Babies

Production

Beverly Hills wrote the script for the series, as well as for its sister show The Story Makers. Francis Haines and Liz Kitchen wrote the majority of the programme's music. Francis Haines and Jake Hook co-wrote one of the songs.

Home media

BBC Worldwide released several VHS and DVDs of the series in the United Kingdom.