Teletubbies unknown facts – flooded set, hidden locations and a 10ft tall outfit
Teletubbies is one of the most popular children's TV shows of all time.
Set in a faraway land, the iconic kids' TV show focused on the lives of four creatures – Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa Laa and Po.
Initially running from 1997 to 2001, the Teletubbies reached millions of kids, with a string of new episodes being recorded between 2015 and 2018.
READ MORE: BBC Teletubbies Sun Baby now works in security and looks totally unrecognisable
But behind the scenes, there were a lot of production secrets that many fans of the BBC show did not know about.
So, as Teletubbies celebrates its 26th anniversary, Daily Star delves into the secrets on the set of the legendary childrens' show.
10-foot costumes
One secret that was not known to the general public was that the Teletubbies were incredibly tall.
The foursome that roamed the hills of the TV show were arranged according to age.
This feature also came into play when it came to height, with the oldest Teletubby – Tinky Winky – standing at a massive 10 feet tall, equivalent to over 3 meters high.
Dipsy was the second-tallest of the animals, clocking in at 8 feet, or 2m 45cm.
Youngest Teletubby Po slightly outgrew Laa Laa, with Po standing at a height of 6ft 6in – whilst yellow Laa Laa coming in at 6ft 5in.
To create the illusion that the Teletubbies were small, an enormous set for the show was constructed in the south west of England.
According to the actors playing the Teletubbies, the costumes got incredibly hot once inside.
Due to the long filming hours, as a result – actors were made to take frequent breaks in between shooting scenes. Cooling systems were also fitted into the costumes to help make the outfits more comfortable.
Hidden set locations
Despite being such a large set to film outside, the exact location of the Teletubbies set was kept under wraps.
During the initial run of the show, the location where the show was recorded was never included in the production credits.
According to insiders who worked on the show at the time, visitors to the show's set needed to be blindfolded so as not to give the location away.
The reasoning for this was to ensure the privacy of the landowners was maintained.
However, despite their best efforts, word eventually got out on where the show was set; a sloping hill on a privately-owned field near the town of Wimpstone in Warwickshire.
Whilst the show was being recorded, fans who travelled to the area could see the giant set, including landmarks such as the Windmill and the so-called "Tubbytronic Superdome".
Flooding the set
Despite the show bringing joy to thousands of children and fans, the field's owners began to become frustrated.
Their concerns came from tourists and fans who would regularly trespass their land to see where the show was made.
Speaking after the show was axed by the BBC, those living in the village admitted saw there were people who had been "jumping fences, crossing cattle fields, and all sorts".
The field's owner, 63-year-old Rosemary Harding, also expressed her dismay at the number of tourists flocking to see the hill, declaring: "It was never meant to be a tourist attraction".
Rosemary grew more and more disdained at the number of people crossing the field over the years, culminating in 2013.
In the end, the owner of the hill that played host to the set resorted to flooding the slope.
Since then, the slope has become a lake, that is the home to a number of freshwater fish and a family of swans.
Harding owns and runs an aquatics shop at the site, and confessed: "We're glad to see the back of [the slope]".
When the show was revived in 2015, the slop was not drained for the new series.
Instead, BBC bosses opted to film the show in Twickenham Film Studios, in the West of London – where the programme ran until the end of 2018.
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