US gets fit to the Boohbah beat

WHEN she introduced four podgy, TV-obsessed characters with no discernible language skills to Britain’s toddlers in 1996, there was a storm of controversy.

Her creation, the children’s television hit Teletubbies, was even denounced by the then education minister, Stephen Byers, who claimed it was responsible for dumbing down the nation. Parents and educationalists alike feared it would have a negative effect on the linguistic development of its intended audience - children aged six months to three years.

But now, Anne Wood’s latest series, Boohbah, involving five doe-eyed, large-bottomed creatures with a predilection for emitting flatulent noises for laughs, is being hailed in the United States as the answer to the growing problem of child obesity.

The reason is simple. In the slightly trippy, fairyland world of the show, there is nothing the colourful Boohbahs like better than to dance or perform gentle aerobics to electronic music, and to encourage kids at home to do the same.

Indeed, the programme aims to get kids up off the couch and - as Ms Wood calls it - counter "couch potatodom" among three- to six-year-olds.

According to Ms Wood’s production company, Ragdoll, which makes the show, it gives kids an irresistible desire to get up and dance.

Ms Wood, who was on location at Pinewood Studios, in London, yesterday, told The Scotsman that the mobility aspect was "very important" to the series. She said: "Boohbah was especially created for movers. All children love to move, given an opportunity. Boohbah provides the opportunity and encouragement. Every child, in our experience, has responded positively and joyfully."

The series, which has the support of the Youth Sport Trust, has been running in Britain since last April on CiTV and GMTV. Now it is due to launch daily later this month in the US on PBS.

It is the first major new children’s programme from Ragdoll since the company stopped making Teletubbies shows in 1999. "After Teletubbies, we had a think about what we were going to do with our company," said Ms Wood. "We had to listen to children and hear how they communicate with the world.

"Children around the age of about four really wanted to move. So the Boohbahs are atoms of light and energy. They don’t just talk, they move around."

The success of Teletubbies, makes Ms Wood, 65, a regular rich-list contender. Ragdoll’s turnover was about 7.1 million last year and her personal wealth has been estimated at somewhere between 50 million and 150 million.

She recently won the Olswand Business Award at the FIVE/Women in Film and Television Awards.

The launch of Boohbah in the US comes as concern over the growth in childhood obesity deepens in Britain - with Scotland one of the worst offenders. According to a report published by NHS Scotland last month, only Italy and Malta have a higher number of overweight children than Scotland. One in five 12-year-olds north of the Border is clinically obese, double the previous estimate, the figures showed.

In the US version of the show, a slot at the end of each programme drives home the point of moving, with children of all shapes and sizes stretching and dancing along with the Boohbahs.

Since the launch of Boohbah in Britain, the programme has increased its viewers by 15 per cent, some 500,000 children, on CiTV. Its market share of available viewers has also increased, from 18 to 23 per cent. ITV are planning to show 52 new episodes this year.

Like the Teletubbies before them, the accompanying merchandise to the Boohbah series is also doing well. The five dolls - Humbah, Zumbah, Zing Zing, Jumbah and Jingbah - were nominated one of the top-ten toys by the British Association of Toy Retailers at Christmas.

Ragdoll has taken more than two years to make the series, which cost 6.5 million to make. Ms Wood’s early experiences with her show Rosie and Jim, where Central, the ITV company which broadcast the show, was its main financial beneficiary, has made her a tough businesswoman. She made sure she owned the US rights and merchandising rights to Teletubbies, which has now been exported to more than 200 countries, has been dubbed into 44 languages and sold more than 4.7 million books and 3.6 million videos. She is just as keen to keep tight control over her latest creation.

The former teacher said: "I had some very bleak moments after all the criticism with Teletubbies - it was the wonderful letters from parents watching with children which kept me going.

"I don’t want Boohbah to achieve cult status, I want it to stay in the hands of children. It is not a plaything for adults."