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My life as a Teletubby: ‘Playing Laa-Laa lifted me out of poverty, but the fan mail was creepy’

Being part of children’s TV’s biggest-ever phenomenon changed Nikky Smedley’s life – now she’s taking her ‘Confessions’ to the Fringe

It’s 23 years since Nikky Smedley made her debut on TV as Laa-Laa, the kindest (and yellowest) of the Teletubbies, those cuddly alien-like creatures who turned children’s television on its head across five blockbusting seasons from 1997 to 2001. 

Now Smedley is taking her one-woman show about her experiences as part of children’s TV’s biggest-ever phenomenon, Confessions of a Teletubby, to the Edinburgh Fringe .

Unleashed on an unsuspecting universe on March 31 1997, Teletubbies was an instant sensation: a 90s cultural milestone up there with the Spice Girls or Oasis. “We saw the papers. We understood. People were talking about it,” says Smedley of those whirlwind early weeks. 

However, Smedley, 61, says that the response was “quite derogatory at first”. The Daily Mirror claimed parents were shocked at the Teletubbies’ “goo-goo” speech and feared their offspring might grow up talking gobbledygook. 

Worse was to come. The Teletubbies, who dallied in the rolling fields surrounding their “Tubbytronic Superdome” home, were dubbed “a bad influence on their children”. At the 1998 World Summit on Television for Children, a horrified executive from Norway described Teletubbies as “the most market-oriented children’s programme concept I’ve ever seen”. 

Smedley recalls feeling protective of the show’s creators, Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport of production company Ragdoll. “[We were] upset for Anne and Andy because they were trying to do something brilliant and it’s getting slagged,” she tells me over Zoom from her home in Warwickshire. 

Not that there was much opportunity for navel-gazing. For one thing, Laa-Laa didn’t have a navel (instead she had a useful television built into her tummy). Also, everyone was far too busy sweating it out on set. “We were concentrating on doing the work. We were working long days. You didn’t have time to lie about and read the paper and watch the news.”

The extent to which Teletubbies had infiltrated popular culture dawned on Smedley only when she got her first real holiday in the December of 1997. 

“It wasn’t until I got out into the outside world in the lead up at Christmas, that I thought … oh my God … everyone knows [about Teletubbies],” she tells me. “It was me walking into my local pub. Nobody knows who I am apart from my friends [whom she’d let in on the secret]. We’d signed NDAs [non-disclosure agreements], so you couldn’t say [you were in Teletubbies]. Then, at the pub, there was karaoke and a whole bunch of drunk people on the stage doing the Teletubbies’ single.”

Smedley was already an experienced actor, singer and dancer. She was also a keen musician and by the mid-1990s was fronting the garage-rock group Psychopussy, A career in children’s entertainment was the last thing on her mind when, in September 1995, she spotted an advertisement in The Stage: “Artistes with stamina required for new children’s television programme.”

Her motivations for applying were entirely practical, Smedley remembers, as the novelty of living gig to gig was wearing thin. Indeed, she remained blasé about the job until Teletubbies co-creator Wood shared her passionate vision of a children’s series that would function as a sort of anti-Power Rangers. Rather than celebrating violence and conflict, the idea was to make young viewers feel loved. At that point, Teletubbies – then called Teddytubbies – was a work in progress. After passing the audition, Smedley was encouraged to help shape Laa-Laa’s personality: her kindness, her love of song and dance and her attachment to a giant orange ball. 

“They were generous. They wanted to know our ideas and how we were going to develop the character. We had long and arduous conversations about all those things. It was great to have that input. Rather than, ‘show up, say your lines, hit your mark.’”

Still, for all the emphasis on collaboration, the Teletubbies cast members were never equal partners with Ragdoll. They were employees, as was made clear early in the process when they were asked to sign documents giving up the rights to any royalties or residuals – notwithstanding Smedley’s role in the development of Laa-Laa’s personality (though not, of course, the character’s physical design).

“You’re offered the contract. It’s not an Equity [the actors’ union] contract. You go to your union, and they say it’s not an Equity contract… You go to the company and say, ‘is there any leeway on any of this?’ and they say, ‘no – you either sign it and you take the job, or we go to the next person on the list’,” she says. “Which is not unusual. It’s how things work. Do you beat yourself up about it? Or go, ‘fair enough – this is still an almighty stroke of luck and I’m very happy to have it?’.” 

Teletubbies was a merchandising goldmine for Ragdoll — Anne Wood is estimated to have made £200 million from tie-ins alone and the value of the Teletubbies brand is believed to have peaked at over £1 billion. Smedley, by contrast, never saw a penny beyond her wages. This never bothered her. She went into the job with her eyes open and harboured no resentments. 

“All right – so the toy-makers are making loads of money. Various people are making loads of money. You know the world you live in. You know the kind of industry you work in. And still, even though we were just on a decent wage, it was still the most decent wage I’d ever earned. It still lifted me out of poverty into a brighter future. I’m not going to moan about it at all, frankly.” 

She had not known the other Teletubbies when they were cast. Tinky Winky (purple, triangle on head) was played by actor Dave Thompson; Dipsy (green, “dipstick” antenna) was comedian John Simmit; and Po (red, circular antenna) was television presenter Pui Fan Lee. However, at the end of season one, Thompson was replaced by Simon Shelton, who played Tinky Winky until the cancellation of Teletubbies in 2001 (it has been revived several times since, most recently by Netflix). 

“It was tougher in the first season,” explains Smedley. “When we got into the second season, when Simon came … I don’t want to diss Dave, but Simon was more physically capable. That’s kind of the bottom line. The number of takes we would have to do were reduced, and we started to bond a lot more.”

Thompson’s departure was nonetheless a shock, she recalls. “We didn’t see it coming. They could have handled it better. I did feel sorry for Dave. It was pretty brutal, to be honest. I understood their reasons and their thinking – I think they could have been a little bit more considerate.”

At the time, their identities as Teletubbies were still supposed to be secret (they had all signed those NDAs). But with the media besieging the set, the furry friends were soon unmasked. There was a lot of fan mail – including “weird messages”. 

“It started after the Daily Sport printed a badly mocked-up image of Laa-Laa, dressed in black bras and pants, with the tagline, ‘FAKE: Saucy shots of Laa-Laa shock fans,” she writes in her memoir Over the Hills and Far Away. 

“I started getting [letters] from a grown man telling me what a saucy little Teletubby I was and what he would like to do to me – with Tubby custard. I let the bosses know, in case I came to a grisly – and sticky – end, but after a few months, the letters tailed off and it became apparent that I was no longer starring in the stalker’s fantasies.”

The attention was strange but she never felt in physical danger. “We got very well protected. There was the whole Ragdoll office. And the BBC, which filtered things out. Weird messages, yes. Not for me. For Laa-Laa. Grown men, writing love letters to a giant yellow puppet. But there was no harm done in the end.” 

However, even when the controversy over the “gibberish” speech died away, Teletubbies remained controversial. In 1999, American televangelist Jerry Falwell claimed Tinky Winky was a “covert homosexual symbol”.  “He is purple – the Gay Pride colour. And his antenna is shaped like a triangle – the Gay Pride symbol,” he said, adding, as supposed evidence, the fact that Tinky Winky carries a purse-like bag.

“Simon [Shelton] was just brilliant about it. His line was ‘this says more about you than it does about us’. Really, you’ve got nothing better to do than speculate about the sexuality of a fictional puppet? Ridiculous – just ridiculous.”

Looking back, there were many pinch-yourself moments for Smedley. One highlight, she says, was reaching No 1 with Teletubbies Say “Eh–Oh!”, masterminded by a pre-X Factor Simon Cowell. Just a few months earlier, she had been singing in dingy indie venues with Psychopussy. 

“It’s so funny. I was covering the whole gamut of showing off before Teletubbies. I sang in a lot of bands. I played the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury. I was signed to CBS. I’d been trying hard to be a pop star and failed. Then, suddenly, I’m a giant yellow puppet – with a double platinum disc on my wall.” 

Confessions of a Teletubby is at the Space, Surgeons’ Hall, Edinburgh, August 2-10; edfringe.com

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Hamas leader killed - latest: Netanyahu says he won't listen to allies who want end to war - as Iran vows 'harsh punishment' over killing of Hamas leader on its soil

Hamas's political leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in Iran in a "treacherous Zionist raid", the group has said. The Iranian supreme leader has vowed revenge on Israel, which has yet to comment on his death, risking significant escalation in the crisis in the Middle East.

Wednesday 31 July 2024 22:56, UK

• Israel-Hamas war

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• Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh killed in significant development in conflict
• Israeli government shares - then deletes - 'eliminated' picture
• Iran vows revenge and 'harsh punishment' for Israel
• Body of Hezbollah commander 'found'
• Netanyahu vows to continue war despite being told to end it 'every single week'

Expert analysis

• John Sparks: Rules in Middle East thrown away as war enters worrying phase
• James Matthews : As realism overtakes hope, how far will America's 'iron-clad' support for Israel go?
• Alex Rossi: Echoes of previous Mossad killings in latest assassination

That's all for our live coverage of the conflicts in the Middle East for today.

If you're just joining us, here is a recap of all the key developments over the last 24 hours.

Hamas leader assassinated: Political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a missile strike on Tehran. Iran and Hamas have blamed the Israelis, who have not commented.

Hezbollah commander assassinated:  Fuad Shukr was killed by an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, alongside two children and two women. The Lebanese health ministry says 70 other people were injured.

Revenge:  Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said revenge was "our duty" and that Israel had "prepared a harsh punishment for itself". Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned Israel will face a "harsh and painful response" from Iran and its allies in the region.

Escalation: Some experts warned Iran's threats should be taken seriously, while others suggested the ayatollah will think twice before another failed attempt at retaliation undermined the power of his threats. Hamas said Haniyeh's assassination "takes the battle to new dimensions and will have major repercussions on the entire region".

But US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said: "I don't think that war is inevitable. I think there's always room and opportunity for diplomacy, and I'd like to see parties pursue those opportunities."

Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech vowing to continue the war and that anyone who was against Israel would "pay a heavy price".

Defence minister Yoav Gallant said Israel doesn't want another war "but we are preparing for all possibilities".

Ceasefire negotiations: The future of negotiations for a truce in Gaza are in the balance following the killings. Haniyeh was residing in Qatar, a key mediator, which experts believe will now be less likely to put pressure on Hamas. One Western diplomat, whose country has worked to prevent an Israeli-Hezbollah escalation, said the strikes have "almost killed" hopes for a Gaza ceasefire.

Next Hamas leader?  Top Hamas official Khalil al Hayya said whoever replaces Haniyeh will "follow the same vision" regarding negotiations to end the war - and continue the same policy of resistance against Israel.

By  Alex Crawford , special correspondent 

Hundreds of people in Beirut turned out today to mourn two children killed in the Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Many of the women present and children were weeping.

The two siblings, Amira and Hassan Fadlallah, who were six and 10 years old, also have a brother badly wounded in hospital, and their mother left their funeral to rush back to him.

Two other women were killed and more than 70 injured, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

The Israeli military says it "eliminated" senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, who they blame for the rocket attack on the Majdal Shams football pitch that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Hezbollah has denied it was responsible.

Shukr had a $5m bounty on his head for his role in the bombing of US barracks in Beirut in 1983.

Several women angrily told us that the Israeli attack would have little impact on what they call the "Axis of Resistance" headed by Iran and its multiple branches across the region; Hezbollah being the strongest partner.

One young woman told us: "Israel does not see any difference between fighters or women or civilians. They just kill us all."

Many quoted the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrullah, whose mantra "an eye for an eye" is well known. 

"The response will be strong," another said. The attack happened in a heavily populated area but which is also a bastion of Hezbollah loyalists and families.

An expert in international security says Iran's threats should be taken "very seriously".

They have many proxies in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Gaza and the West Bank who will "all want to vow revenge", said Nomi Bar Yaacov, an associate fellow at Chatham House.

She said gradual escalation for almost 10 months has only seen one trajectory - "more violence, more assassinations, more deaths".

"It is not just the governments that make decisions, you will see riots and protests all over. So it is not going to be easy to work out how to ensure a peaceful path forward or how to ensure that the escalation doesn't spin completely out of control."

A ceasefire deal is much further away, she added, with Qatar less likely to put pressure on Hamas after the assassination of its leader Ismail Haniyeh.

"We are running out of time - because the United States are going to very soon switch gears into full-time election mode and they won't have the depth and breadth that negotiations take."

Benjamin Netanyahu has been "thwarting" the deal "time and time again" by adding new conditions - and Hamas's Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar must also share the blame for the lack of a truce, said Ms Yaacov.

"They are close to 40,000 known deaths in Gaza - there may be many more under the rubble - and very close to 100,000 wounded, some of them critically wounded, many of them are young children and babies and women. The vast majority are innocent people." 

The US has urged its citizens to not travel to Lebanon, citing rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

Those already in Lebanon should "be prepared to shelter in place should the situation deteriorate".

Meanwhile, United Airlines has suspended its flights to Tel Aviv, Israel, due to security reasons.

"We continue to closely monitor the situation and will make decisions on resuming service with a focus on the safety of our customers and crews," it said. 

Shortly before Benjamin Netanyahu took to the podium this evening and vowed to keep fighting the war despite pressure from within and abroad, a former Israeli prime minister said a different path was open to a different kind of leader.

The dual killings of a Hamas leader and a senior Hezbollah commander gave Benjamin Netanyahu an out, an opportunity to declare victory, Ehud Olmert told Sky News.

But Mr Netanyahu is "obsessed by his own rhetoric about the ability of Israel to bring about total victory which will never come against Hamas", he said.

"I am afraid that we are not coming close to the end of this."

Mr Olmert said: "I think we should stop the war. I have said it several times... I think that the war has come to an end. There is no need for Israel to go any further in Gaza. We don't have any major benefit we can gain from continuing the war.

He said Israel must withdraw completely from Gaza and be replaced by Palestinian, Saudi Arabian, Bahraini, Egyptian and Jordanian forces.

Asked about any potential Iranian retaliation to the killing of a Hamas leader on its soil, Mr Olmert said that Tehran will likely "think twice".

He pointed to their last attack on Israel, in which few rockets made it past the Iron Dome defence system. Failing to do so again would "damage seriously the power of their threats".

"I hope they will refrain from anything that may bring the region into a very unnecessary comprehensive violent confrontation."

The daughter of a hostage held in Gaza says she will keep fighting for the return of captives, while not knowing if her father is still alive.

"We have to remember that these people are there... we want them back," Dr Sharone Lifschitz told Sky News.

"Until they are back we are not going to collapse, we are going to fight for them."

By James Matthews , US correspondent 

America wants distance between itself and the assassination of the Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh.

Secretary of state Antony Blinken has said it's something the US was neither aware of, nor involved in.

He said he wouldn't and couldn't speculate on what the implications were. He doesn't need to be told they are extremely serious.

Iran is blaming the United States because of its support for Israel.

It has posted a belligerent response via its mission to the United Nations on X: "The response to an assassination will indeed be special operations - harder and intended to instil deep regret in the perpetrator."

The talk, at least, feeds the prospect of escalation.

The White House had said, between the strike on a Hezbollah target in Lebanon and the killing of the Hamas leader, that it didn't mean all-out war was inevitable.

A spokesperson didn't offer a rationale behind that conclusion and spoke instead of the need to be optimistic.

That's America's difficulty - hope is being overtaken by realistic expectations.

Optimism is largely based on a calculation that Iran doesn't want all-out war.

There is reason to believe that remains the case – Iran sees the danger in scaling up conflict that pulls in the United States further.

However, that doesn't preclude an escalation short of full-blown hostilities.

As much as America wants to be in control of events, and be seen to be in control, it is not.

The effort to steer a process away from war is undermined by the war itself. 

Not for the first time, a US-driven diplomatic process has been undermined by Israeli actions and begs questions over what influence the United States will have over Israeli acts in any cycle of retaliation.

How far does America's "iron-clad" support for Israel extend? 

The prospect of a ceasefire and hostage release is considerably further away today than it was 48 hours ago.

There will need to be a process to restore trust in negotiations but that, right now, is a lower priority than crisis management – presided over by a Biden (and Harris) administration for whom crisis has lasted longer than anyone wants.

Special correspondent Alex Crawford has attended the funeral of two children killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut, Lebanon.

The strike killed a Hezbollah commander.

Crawford said the children's deaths had "affected the community enormously".

"The pain is palpable," she said, adding their killing "escalates it to another level altogether".

"The Hezbollah leader has always said 'an eye for an eye', so that does not bode well for peace in the immediate future in this region - in fact, it is probably at its very worst that it has been over the past 10 months."

Hezbollah have confirmed senior commander Fuad Shukr was killed in an Israeli strike on southern Beirut.

The group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, will make an address at his funeral tomorrow.

Shukr, considered Mr Nasrallah's right-hand man, was killed in the suburb of Haret Hreik late last night, alongside two children and two women.

The Lebanese health ministry said another 74 people were injured.

The IDF said the senior commander was "responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams" - referring to the rocket attack on a football pitch in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed a dozen children and teenagers on Saturday.

Hezbollah has denied involvement.

It was a "very confident, bellicose performance" from Benjamin Netanyahu, but critically he did not confirm Israel was behind the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, says international correspondent John Sparks.

"He sounded happy, he sounded satisfied with himself" after two military successes in the last 24 hours, including the assassination of a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon, said Sparks.

"What Israel has shown is that it can go anywhere in the region and it can take its enemies out."

Sparks said the Israeli prime minister had been under a "huge amount of pressure".

"A lot of people in this country don't think he has been doing enough or doing the right things to get the hostages back.

"He didn't mention that specifically but that's really what he's talking about."

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