The first two series ran for 26 episodes. In the United Kingdom, its most recent run began in September 2011 on CBeebies. In Australia, series one started in May 2009 on ABC1 and series three in May 2011 on ABC 4 Kids.[2][3] The series also aired in the United States on Playhouse Disney, later called Disney Junior, beginning on 13 September 2010,[4] but later ended its run in May 2014.
Premise and format
In this series, Timmy and his friends[5] have to learn to share, make friends and accept their mistakes.[6] They are supervised by two teachers, Harriet the Heron and Osbourne the Owl. The show is aimed at pre-school-aged children, which the company described as "a natural next step for Aardman".[1]
During the show's development, the series was simply called Timmy. CBeebies acquired UK-broadcast rights to the series in October 2007.[8]
In 2018, Aardman collaborated with the British Council to create "Learning Time with Timmy", a show to encourage children aged 2–6 around the world to learn the English language, along with a YouTube-exclusive series and three apps.
In October 2019, Aardman announced a new rebooted version of the existing 78 episodes for CBeebies titled It's Timmy Time (also known as Timmy Time 2.0) that began broadcast later on in the month. These versions feature narration from a selection of pre-school children, and are 5-minutes in length when compared to the original 10-minute episodes.[9]
Timmy (vocal effects by Justin Fletcher) is a lamb who is the titular character and enjoys being in the spotlight. He is 3 years old in sheep years and later turns 4 in the episode Timmy's Birthday. In many of the episodes he gets into trouble; however, he learns from his mistakes and often tries to help the other characters out when he can. He is best friends with Yabba and is very close to Finlay. He also appears in Shaun the Sheep. Timmy's noise is baa.
Yabba (vocal effects by Justin Fletcher) is a duckling who wears blue goggles and is very similar to Timmy in personality and is best friends with him. Yabba's noise is quack.
Paxton (vocal effects by Justin Fletcher) is a piglet who is characterised by his appetite for apples and his weight. He wears a blue sweater and is never seen without it. Paxton's noise is oink.
Mittens (vocal effects by Kate Harbour) is a kitten who is like other kittens: she doesn't like getting wet or dirty and is rather sensitive. In some episodes, she seems to have feelings for Timmy. She always loves playing with picnics. Mittens' noise is mee-eew.
Ruffy (vocal effects by Louis Jones) is a puppy who is energetic but can sometimes be mentally slow and he is a good friend too. Ruffy's noise is ruff.
Apricot (vocal effects by Kate Harbour) is a hedgehog hoglet who is very quiet and skittish. When startled or frightened by someone or something she rolls up into a ball. Apricot's noise is hicoo, although she rarely speaks.
Stripey (vocal effects by Louis Jones) is a badger cub who is a bit sleepy and slow as badgers are nocturnal. Stripey's noise is honk.
Kid (vocal effects by Justin Fletcher) is a goat who has a large appetite like Paxton and chews anything in sight. If the thing he is chewing is taken from him he does not mind; he just moves on to something else. Kid's noise is meep meep.
Otus (vocal effects by Kate Harbour) is an owlet who enjoys helping and Osbourne's son. He can be typically found reading and is very sensitive, sometimes copying his father. Otus' noise is too-wit, too-hoo.
Finlay (vocal effects by Justin Fletcher) is a fox kit who is excitable and full of energy. Finlay's noise is yip-yap.
Teachers
Harriet (vocal effects by Kate Harbour) is a heron who speaks through caws and clicks. She is one of the two teachers. Harriet's noise is cluck.
Osbourne (vocal effects by Louis Jones) is an owl who is the other teacher of the class and Otus's father. Osbourne's noise is hootay hoo hoo hoo.
Side characters
Bumpy (vocal effects by Justin Fletcher and Kate Harbour) is a caterpillar who is not a part of the class but has many background appearances in the show. Bumpy's noise is blee blub.
Timmy's Mother (vocal effects by Kate Harbour) is a sheep who is also not a part of the class, but does appear in the opening sequence, "Timmy's Christmas Surprise" and the end credits. She also appears in Shaun The Sheep. Timmy's Mother's noise is baa.
References
^ abcdLoveday, Samantha. "Timmy Tales". Licensing.biz. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
