Something Special (TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Something Special |
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|---|---|
| Genre | Children's television series |
| Written by | Allan Johnston, Phillip Hawthorn |
| Directed by | Allan Johnston, Michael Towner, Luke Howard |
| Presented by | Justin Fletcher (2003–20) Nigel Clarke (2021–) |
| Composer(s) | Archie Brown |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English, makaton |
| No. of series | 12 |
| No. of episodes | 244 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Sue Nott (season 1), Clare Elstow |
| Producer(s) | Allan Johnston |
| Editor(s) | Gareth Heal, Stephen Young |
| Running time |
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| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Two CBeebies |
| Original release | 1 September 2003 – present |
Something Special is a British children's television programme presented by Justin Fletcher. It was created and co-directed by Allan Johnston. It is broadcast by the BBC, debuting on 9 August 2004. It is designed to introduce children to Makaton signing, and is specifically aimed at children with delayed learning and communication difficulties. It is aired on the CBeebies channel and is currently the longest running CBeebies programme and the longest running preschool series in Britain. In the past, it was also broadcast as part of the CBeebies programme strand on BBC One and BBC Two.
The name of the programme derives from the idea that all children, irrespective of their position on the learning spectrum, are special. The format of the show has evolved considerably since the original series. In 2012, a new series, "Something Special – We're All Friends" started, introducing some minor changes to the "Out and About" format. This format change has also included a change in location, and introduced the Tumble Tab, a personalised iPad showing the "special things" to look for.
Contents
It is presented by Justin Fletcher ("Justin") and features various other characters and clips of children with disabilities. Justin speaks as well as signing, and a spoken narrative is provided over the clips of children.
The other characters played by Fletcher are the Tumble Family: Mr Tumble, a clown who himself displays delayed learning and communication difficulties, Grandad Tumble, Barry Tumble and Baby Tumble. Other members of the Tumble family to have made appearances include two Aunts – Polly and Suki (as in the popular nursery rhyme "Polly Put the Kettle On"), Lord Tumble and King Tumble.
In series 2, Justin meets a friend named Guy H Pickle, they dance around a mulberry bush.
The creator and producer is Allan Johnston, who worked as a teacher of children with special needs before joining the BBC in 1989, with an important role in the show.
In series 11, 3 animal characters are introduced to the series, Spotty the Horse, who is Mr Tumble's horse that has appeared in the episodes Animals and Animal Keeper, Dennis the T-Rex who is the dinosaur who has only appeared in the episode Dinosaurs, The T-Rex is also a display at Paultons Park where it was filmed, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer who appears for a short period of time in the episode A magical Christmas.
Format
- In 2016, a new series, "Something Special – We're All Friends" starring Justin Fletcher as Mr Tumble as The Unsmiling Principle featuring Mr Tumble, which sees the Mr Tumble, and introduced the "Tumble Tap in Spotty Bag", and follows him throughout his early life. Series 10 was Filmed from August 2015 to October 2015
- In March 2016, a theatrical production starring Justin Fletcher as Mr Tumble and Ronni Ancona as The Unsmiling Principle featuring Mr Tumble was performed, which sees the Mr Tumble character as a baby and as a young boy, and follows him throughout his early life.
- In 2018, a new series, "Something Special – We're All Friends" starring Justin Fletcher as Mr Tumble as The Unsmiling Principle featuring Mr Tumble, which sees the Mr Tumble, and introduced the "Tumble Tap in Spotty Bag", and follows him throughout his early life. Series 11 Was Filmed from July 2017 to September 2017 The Christmas Special Part 2 was Filmed in November 2017 the Prom was Filmed in June 2018
- Series 12 (Something Special – We're All Friends) (2020)
- Series 12 was filmed from July 2019 to September 2019. The Diwali special was filmed in October 2020, just before the 2020 Hederabad floods.
Episodes
| Episode | First broadcast | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 September 2003 | Pets |
| 2 | 2 September 2003 | Weather |
| 3 | 3 September 2003 | Moving |
| 4 | 4 September 2003 | Garden |
| 5 | 5 September 2003 | Farm |
| 6 | 8 September 2003 | Toys Part I |
| 7 | 9 September 2003 | Clothes Part I |
| 8 | 10 September 2003 | School |
| 9 | 11 September 2003 | Food Part I |
| 10 | 12 September 2003 | Family |
| 11 | 15 September 2003 | Transport |
| 12 | 16 September 2003 | Colours |
| 13 | 17 September 2003 | All About Me |
| 14 | 18 September 2003 | Food Part II |
| 15 | 19 September 2003 | Under the Sea |
| 16 | 22 September 2003 | Jungle Animals |
| 17 | 23 September 2003 | Where I Live |
| 18 | 24 September 2003 | Shops |
| 19 | 25 September 2003 | What I Like |
| 20 | 26 September 2003 | Music |
| Episode | First broadcast | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 September 2007 | Birds |
| 2 | 4 September 2007 | Meals |
| 3 | 5 September 2007 | Toys Part II |
| 4 | 6 September 2007 | Animals |
| 5 | 7 September 2007 | Nursery Rhymes and Songs 1 |
| 6 | 8 September 2007 | Mini Beasts |
| 7 | 9 September 2007 | Birthday |
| 8 | 10 September 2007 | Under, On and In |
| 9 | 11 September 2007 | Holiday |
| 10 | 12 September 2007 | Nursery Rhymes and Songs 2 |
| 11 | 13 September 2007 | Vegetables |
| 12 | 14 September 2007 | Seasons |
| 13 | 15 September 2007 | Shapes |
| 14 | 16 September 2007 | Clothes Part II |
| 15 | 17 September 2007 | Nursery Rhymes and Songs 3 |
| 16 | 18 September 2007 | Baby |
| 17 | 19 September 2007 | Doctor |
| 18 | 20 September 2007 | Art |
| 19 | 21 September 2007 | Opposites |
| 20 | 22 September 2007 | Nursery Rhymes and Songs 4 |
| 21 | 23 September 2007 | How Do I Feel? |
| 22 | 24 September 2007 | Baby Animals |
| 23 | 25 September 2007 | People Who Help Us |
| 24 | 26 September 2007 | The Park |
| 25 | 27 September 2007 | Nursery Rhymes and Songs 5 |
| Episode | First broadcast | Title | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 April 2009 | Farm | Justin is on a farm. |
| 2 | 14 April 2009 | Wood | Justin is off to explore a wood. |
| 3 | 15 April 2009 | Harbour | Justin travels to Weymouth harbour. |
| 4 | 16 April 2009 | Castle | Justin travels to Carrickfergus Castle. |
| 5 | 17 April 2009 | Stables | Justin visits stables in Northern Ireland. |
| 6 | 20 April 2009 | Mountain | Justin is walking up a Mountain. |
| 7 | 21 April 2009 | Vet | Justin is at the vet. |
| 8 | 22 April 2009 | High Street | Justin is in Enniskillen in Northern Ireland. |
| 9 | 23 April 2009 | Beach | It is a sunny day and Justin is at the beach. |
| 10 | 24 April 2009 | School | Justin goes to school. |
| 11 | 27 April 2009 | Railway | Justin arrives at a railway station. |
| 12 | 28 April 2009 | Market | Justin visits St. George's Market in Belfast. |
| 13 | 29 April 2009 | Football | Justin visits Craven Cottage. |
| 14 | 30 April 2009 | Camping | Justin is at a campsite in the New Forest. |
| 15 | 1 May 2009 | Theme Park | Justin goes to have lots of fun at the Theme Park. |
| Episode | First broadcast | Title | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 March 2010 | Airport | Mr Tumble tries to fly, with some help from Granddad Tumble. | |
| 2 | 9 March 2010 | City | Mr Tumble has to put on the right shoes and coat before he can catch his bus. He misses the bus, but Aunt Polly gives him a ride to the city on her bike. | |
| 3 | 10 March 2010 | Garden Centre | Mr Tumble looks for a hole to put his flower into. Lord Tumble is first introduced in this episode, playing golf. | |
| 4 | 11 March 2010 | By The Sea | Mr Tumble is a pirate looking for his treasure with some help from Granddad Tumble and Aunt Polly. | |
| 5 | 12 March 2010 | Hospital | Mr Tumble visits Grandad Tumble in hospital, bringing some presents with him. | |
| 6 | 15 March 2010 | Houseboat | Mr Tumble tries to find a good place to put up his tent, but gets in the way of Aunt Polly and Grandad Tumble. | |
| 7 | 16 March 2010 | Leisure Centre | Mr Tumble takes part in a Sports day, competing with Aunt Polly for a throwing competition, Aunt Sukie for a bouncing competition and Grandpa Tumble for the egg and spoon race, with Lord Tumble acting as a judge. Mr Tumble fails to win a trophy, losing at all these events, but is given an egg cup for taking part. | |
| 8 | 17 March 2010 | Animal Park | Mr Tumble look for his animal – he finds Aunt Sookie's duck and Lord Tumble's rabbit, and discovers that Granddad Tumble has his animal (a tiger). | |
| 9 | 18 March 2010 | Playdate | Mr Tumble's cousin, Cool Tumble comes to visit and they play musical bumps, build dens and play Hide-and-seek. | |
| 10 | 19 March 2010 | Animal Rescue | Mr Tumble looks after Aunt Sookie's dog. | |
| 11 | 22 March 2010 | Bike Ride | Mr Tumble is pretending to be a postman, so he uses a bicycle to deliver parcels to Lord Tumble, Aunt Polly and Grandad Tumble. | |
| 12 | 23 March 2010 | Creative Walk | Mr Tumble paints a picture. | |
| 13 | 24 March 2010 | Supermarket | Mr Tumble brings his shopping home with help from Lord Tumble – but Lord Tumble puts things in the wrong places. At the start of the programme, Mr Tumble is seen in Frogmore, Devon. | |
| 14 | 25 March 2010 | Butterfly | Mr Tumble tries to film a butterfly with his new video camera, but it keeps flying away – thanks to Grandad Tumble's tricks! | |
| 15 | 26 March 2010 | Drive | Mr Tumble cleans his car – using bubbles from Grandad Tumble's bath! |
| Episode | First broadcast | Title | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 October 2010 | Nature Trail | Mr Tumble goes fishing with Big Teddy. |
| 2 | 12 October 2010 | Play | Mr Tumble is playing some games of his own with Grandad Tumble and Lord Tumble. |
| 3 | 13 October 2010 | Sport | Aunt Polly, Lord Tumble and Grandad Tumble show Mr Tumble how to do his exercises. |
| 4 | 14 October 2010 | Island | Mr Tumble is visiting his friend Fisherman Tumble and helping him get ready to go out on his fishing boat. |
| 5 | 15 October 2010 | Festival | Grandad Tumble puts on a concert for Mr Tumble and the toys! |
| 6 | 18 October 2010 | London | Mr Tumble has lots of fun at home with his London book. |
| 7 | 19 October 2010 | Art | Mr Tumble paints a surprise for Grandad Tumble. |
| 8 | 20 October 2010 | Baby | Mr Tumble gets ready for a very special baby visitor of his own. |
| 9 | 21 October 2010 | Village Fete | Mr Tumble holds his own Village Fete for the toys! |
| 10 | 22 October 2010 | Big Animals | Mr Tumble has a very special job – cleaning out Harry the Hamster's cage. But who is looking after Harry? |
| 11 | 25 October 2010 | Music | Mr Tumble wants to be a pop star after watching his favourite singer Cliff Tumble on the TV. |
| 12 | 26 October 2010 | Strawberry Picking | Mr Tumble is very hungry and goes looking for fruit in the garden. |
| 13 | 27 October 2010 | Cooking | Mr Tumble is making something very special too – Grandad Tumble's lunch. |
| 14 | 28 October 2010 | Sleepover | Mr Tumble is having a sleepover of his own in his garden. |
| 15 | 29 October 2010 | Routines | Mr Tumble shows us what he does before he goes to bed. |
| 16 | 22 November 2010 | Birthday Party | Back at the Tumble house there's a party going on too – a surprise party for Lord Tumble. |
| 17 | 23 November 2010 | Shopping | Mr Tumble is doing his washing and needs to find some spare clothes to wear while it is drying. |
| 18 | 24 November 2010 | Cafe | Mr Tumble opens his new Cafe and we are introduced to the all new Chef Tumble! |
| 19 | 25 November 2010 | Forest Art | Mr Tumble is in his forest looking for animals from inside his den! |
| 20 | 26 November 2010 | Park | Mr Tumble is trying to find a boat of his own to go on a sea adventure, but who will help him find one? |
| 21 | 16 December 2010 | A Christmas Special | It's Christmas and Mr Tumble, Lord Tumble and Grandad Tumble are decorating the Tumble house. |
Awards
- Royal Television Society Educational Television Awards 2004
- Awarded Best Early Years Programme (for the episode Garden)
- BAFTA Children's Awards 2005
- Awarded Best Pre-school Live Action Series
- BAFTA Children's Awards 2007
- Nominated for Best Presenter (Justin Fletcher)
- BAFTA Children's Awards 2008
- Awarded Best Presenter (Justin Fletcher)
BAFTA Children’s Awards 2009 Awarded Best Presenter (Justin Fletcher) BAFTA Children’s Awards 2010 Awarded Best Presenter (Justin Fletcher) BAFTA Children’s Awards 2011 Nominated Best Presenter (Justin Fletcher)
- Something Special (TV series) at BBC Programmes
