Latest news with #childrenTV
CBC
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Mr. Dressup actor and musician Beverly Glenn-Copeland brings 'pure love' back to the screen with kids TV pilot
When Beverly Glenn-Copeland and his partner Elizabeth first conceived of a new children's TV show a few years ago, they set out to teach kids about caring for the planet, the importance of community and adapting to change. A few years into the process, after a vision was developed, characters were fleshed out and a pilot was shot, they realized the lessons, especially around adaptation, were also for them. Glenn-Copeland, who goes by Glenn, was diagnosed with major cognitive disorder. With the beloved Canadian musician, trans elder and long-time actor on Mr. Dressup as the star of the new show, Caring Cabin, the diagnosis paused further work on the project. It also put the question they were asking kids to reflect on back to them: How do you accept a challenge and let it change you? "That's exactly what we were trying to do in the show," said producer Sean O'Neill, reflecting on the turn of events. "These challenges are going to come that are real. The kinds of challenges that kids face, right? Like losing a friend. You know, we weren't going to shy away from themes of loss and death and joy and, you know, family… What we were trying to do with the show was to give kids tools to hold the difficulties of life, not to paper them over." Glenn, Elizabeth and O'Neill are joining other crew members at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Lightbox for a special screening of the pilot Saturday. As of July 1, it is also now available to stream on the Criterion Channel. The plan for the show may have changed but the team is still eager to share it with the world. "We've had time to grieve. Now we're just excited, you know?" O'Neill told CBC Hamilton earlier this week, in a conversation with Glenn and Elizabeth, who have been living in Hamilton for over a year. 'This is his medium' It was back in 2020, in the early days of the pandemic, when Elizabeth called O'Neill with the idea. She had just watched Glenn do an online concert. "I was watching this beautiful human… All you could see in the frame was his face and he was singing to us all. And what was coming out of the screen was just pure love… And I thought, oh my god, this is his medium," she said. "He's wonderful at many things but all of a sudden, this vision for this children's show came fully formed into my mind." The idea was a blend of many of Glenn's talents. He spent two decades as a regular on CBC Television's Mr. Dressup. He's also known for his "transcendent" vocals and songwriting — both for children and for the handful of jazz, folk and electronic music albums he's released over the years. O'Neill previously collaborated with Glenn for an episode of In the Making, where they travelled to Japan after his 1986 album Keyboard Fantasies found new life there around 2016. The album was awarded the Slaight Polaris Heritage Prize in 2020 and a new version of opening track Ever New with British singer Sam Smith and Glenn was released last year. Glenn is also a practising Buddhist. Elizabeth, meanwhile, brings her knowledge of the natural world, climate activism and poet's sensibilities into the Caring Cabin project. The two of them have years of creative collaboration under their belt, including running a theatre school in New Brunswick together. The result is a show rooted in what O'Neill calls "Elizabeth and Glennergy" — complete with a cast of animal friends in puppet form. "I'm a child at heart," said Glenn, now 81, chuckling. "So… I just love puppets, and constantly have slews of puppets. So there you go." WATCH | Beverly Glenn-Copeland hosts new children's TV show, Caring Cabin: Clip from Caring Cabin 6 hours ago Duration 1:54 The 11-minute pilot is a window into the larger world the team created for the show, with music from Glenn, characters like Fred the squirrel, the wilderness setting and exploration of life lessons. The trio describe the show as one that parents would sit down with their kids to watch, not "plop their kids in front of," and one that emphasizes interdependence and connection. "Glenn really insisted through the process that he has as much to learn from the young characters as they do from him. And we had a whole plan for episodes where Glenn would be struggling and the young people would help him, and that spirit of intergenerational exchange was part of our process," O'Neill said. "I just saw it as an opportunity to learn things from the kids. I always learn things from kids," Glenn added. Saturday's screening will be special, bringing much of the crew back together. "We're all just looking forward to gathering with a group of people and sharing this gem that we spent four years working on," O'Neill said. "The energy in that room when we made the [pilot], I still go there sometimes in my imagination," Elizabeth said. A tour and new projects, music next Elizabeth and Glenn are hopeful the show's fuller concept may be realized, albeit in a different form. "We think maybe there is a way for us to take [ Caring Cabin ] forward," said Elizabeth. In the meantime, the pair have a series of tour dates in the UK and Europe set for October, where they will play Glenn's back catalogue and new music. Events in Hamilton are also likely in the fall, Elizabeth said, adding that Glenn is in a new creative chapter. "Glenn is in some ways even more himself. So maybe he can't remember sequences of things… but he is still building neural pathways, writing music in different ways, and he is even more in the present moment." Glenn said letting go of expectations has been freeing, in fact, and has prompted new art. "I've always been one of those people that sought perfection… almost in everything, and you know how grinding that is. Well, now I can't do it, folks," he said.
ABC News
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Iconic Mr Squiggle items on show at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra
Children's imaginations ran wild when a man from the moon with a pencil for a nose began to squiggle. Mr Squiggle lit up TV screens for 40 years — and now, decades after the kids' program last aired, the National Museum of Australia in Canberra is displaying hundreds of iconic Mr Squiggle items. The exhibit includes creator Norman Hetherington's artworks, scripts, and puppets. Hetherington operated and voiced the blue-haired, floppy, pencil-nosed puppet, with the role a perfect marriage of his skills as a cartoonist and puppeteer. Nineties kids will remember Mr Squiggle's sidekicks grumpy Blackboard, Bill Steamshovel and Gus the Snail. There was also Miss Rebecca, the daughter of Norman Hetherington and the show's last host. "The museum has done such an amazing job of collating it and restoring bits and pieces that needed a little bit of attention," Rebecca Hetherington said. Ms Hetherington says she is thrilled to see younger generations in awe of her late father's work. She recalls her early experiences with Mr Squiggle in her family home. "But, of course, along came the grandchildren and they're allowed to play with all the puppets," she added with a laugh. She says her youngest son, Tom, looks set to carry on the family's legacy as he has developed a "love of puppetry". The ABC's Mr Squiggle and Friends first aired in 1959. It was one of Australia's longest-running children's shows and prompted many children to first pick up a crayon. The show involved input from audiences, as children from around the country would send in their doodles and the host would place them on Mr Squiggle's grumpy blackboard to be transformed. The program received around 10,000 squiggles. The museum's interactive elements allow children to squiggle on screens, offering a new generation a chance to make characters out of what might first appear to be abstract markings. NMA curator Sophoe Jensen says many people are familiar with Mr Squiggle, but few would know the many other lively characters Hetherington fashioned. There are camels in hats, turtles playing ukuleles and a shrimp with a tuba. And extensive behind the scenes work took place to examine and preserve each item. Museum conservators retouched paint and sourced material where necessary, with plans in place to limit light exposure. The conservators even made hundreds of cushions to support the puppets while in storage. Ms Jensen says she hopes Hetherington's flare can inspire creativity in museum-goers. "[Visitors are] going to leave having a bit more of an understanding of the breadth of Norman Hetherington's world," Ms Jensen said. Ms Jensen notes the digital age offers children more TV programs and characters to choose from than ever before. But she says, unlike Hetherington's work, modern shows are usually two dimensional, with puppetry a rare medium. Mr Squiggle and Friends: The Creative World of Norman Hetherington is free at the National Museum of Australian, open until mid-October.
The Sun
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Balamory legend confirms return to reboot of classic BBC series
A BALAMORY legend has confirmed their return for the reboot of the classic BBC series. The children's TV series originally aired on the BBC from 2002 to 2005, with 253 episodes being made across four series. 5 5 5 In September last year, the BBC confirmed the show would be returning for a new generation of kiddies in 2026. Speculation was immediately rife over whether original stars including Miles Jupp, Andrew Agnew and Julie Wilson Nimmo would return as their iconic characters. Andrew told the Lunchtime Live programme at the time: "If they ask me to go back then I'll absolutely be there with bells on, I'm sure. "But at the moment we're all just getting excited at the fact that it's happening. "I don't think it would be same if we weren't involved in it." And it seems BBC bosses agreed, as Julie has now confirmed she is returning as Miss Hoolie. A fan of the show asked: "Are you going to be in Balamory reboot?" and Julie replied with a simple: "Yup". Julie had previously admitted the show's return was "the craziest and best news ever" in an interview with the Daily Record. And she quipped: "I seriously think this is bigger than the Oasis reunion." A total of 20 14-minute episodes have been ordered to air throughout 2026 on CBeebies. Julie Wilson Nimmo plays Miss Hoolie in CBeebies series Balamory Kate Morton, the channel's head of commissioning said: 'A whole new generation will discover and enjoy Balamory as we bring families together with this new update for CBeebies. "It will be a real treat for parents who grew up with the show to now introduce their little ones to the brightly coloured world getting to know a host of old and new characters together.' 5 5
BBC News
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Puppeteer creates a spider character with a Suffolk twang
A familiar twang has caught the attention of some viewers on a new children's television Towers has launched on CBeebies and features a character named Tincy, a spider with a Suffolk was created by artist Laura Bacon, from Haverhill, Suffolk, whose work has included performing stage puppetry for Coldplay during the band's world tour."I stopped hearing [a Suffolk accent] when my grandparents passed away. It wasn't until then that I realised I really missed it," she said. "I also moved out of Haverhill. I now live in London and I missed it a lot, so I sort of relax into the accent a lot more than I did when I actually lived there."People who aren't from Suffolk don't really know how it sounds because they just assume it's kind of 'oh ah, tractor'."It's definitely difficult to learn because it's a dialect as well and it's the way you say things, not just the accent." Ms Bacon rose to prominence in the industry after reaching the semi-finals of Britain's Got Talent in later worked on the television shows Sesame Street and Spitting Image and on stage as Piglet during the UK tour of a Winnie the Pooh musical. Another of Ms Bacon's characters, Mavis, also speaks with a strong Suffolk accent and the puppeteer said she was pleased to be doing the same with Tincy on Playtime Towers."Tincy isn't as old as Mavis, she's a bit more like an excitable, hyperactive little Mavis. Lots of her scenes are with songs, sort of based on original nursery rhymes but with a modern twist."Tincy has her own language, she says things like 'terrifically wonderlicious' and 'splendiddly' - so it's quite nice because I got to switch around certain words."There's a certain way that Suffolk people talk, like instead of saying 'she does', saying 'she do'."So one of the episodes is called Towel and instead of Tincy saying 'look there's a towel', I changed it to 'there's a towel, look'." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Daily Mail
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Look at the state of it! Anger of Blue Peter garden creator as he returns to find an overgrown mess
For decades it has been the pride and joy of the iconic children's programme Blue Peter. But in the latest illustration of the TV institution's demise, its famous garden is today unkempt and overgrown. It is described as being in a sad state by Lee Connelly, the gardener who created it, who was left devastated after returning to the site at Blue Peter's HQ in Salford, Greater Manchester. He made the garden there 14 years ago after the show moved from London 's White City studios. In a video on Instagram, Mr Connelly, who calls himself The Skinny Jean Gardener, was clearly upset. Showing overgrown plants and weeds, he said: 'It's sad to see what it has become. Look at the state of it. I feel like I need to come back and redo it. ' The vegetable patch, where he said he had once planted squashes, was bare. He said: 'I don't think they've used this for a while.' Mr Connelly, who became Blue Peter Gardener in 2014, was so upset that he immediately drew up plans to revamp the garden. He is aiming to return there next month. Blue Peter staff, many of whom were axed when it was revealed in March that it would no longer be transmitted live, are furious that the garden, opened by Princess Anne in 2012, is in such a state. One said: 'It is disgusting. The Blue Peter garden is a national institution. It is a sign of how the show is going overall, which is really, really sad.' The original garden in London, designed by horticulturist Percy Thrower and opened in 1974, had been a mainstay of the show. In it were buried several time capsules and the bodies of the show's pets. A BBC spokesman said: 'We're already working with the Skinny Jean Gardener on plans to renovate the garden. We regularly maintain and film in the garden, including this week's episode.'
