Hey Duggee

Hey Duggee is a British animated educational preschool television series aimed at two to five year olds. Created by Grant Orchard,[1] it is produced by Studio AKA, in association with BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide). The show is narrated by Alexander Armstrong. The show is with Vip commercials.

The programme is based around The Squirrel Club, an activity club for children. The children take part in all kinds of activities, have adventures and earn badges for their accomplishments. Each episode shows the squirrels complete an activity or adventure relating to a badge, that the squirrels earn at the end of the episodes. There is no set formula for every episode, with many episodes referencing or parodying pop culture.

Hey Duggee has three series. It was first shown in December 2014. BBC and Studio AKA produced a second series in early 2016,[2] with the first episode airing in the United Kingdom on 26 September 2016. A third series was commissioned in October 2017,[3] with the first episode due to be broadcast in Autumn 2018, but was pushed back to 4 March 2019. It aired until September 2021 with a Christmas episode shown in December 2020. The third series received increased acclaim and popularity amongst children and adults alike during the 2020 pandemic lockdowns.[4] It has been renewed for a fourth series.[5]

In the United States, the series airs on Nick Jr. on 11 July 2016.

Production

The programme is animated using the computer program Flash, with a minimalist style using filled shapes with no outlines, and only effects that Flash is capable of,[6] and only the Duggee character regularly uses gradients. For example, if there is a frog character, then it usually bears the appearance of a plain green triangle.

The production team consists of around 16 in-house animators, with six to eight scriptwriters.[6]

Characters

Main
  • Narrator (voiced by Alexander Armstrong) – the narrator of the show.
  • Duggee (woofs done by Sander Jones) – a friendly big brown male dog and the leader of the squirrel club.
  • Betty (voiced by Jasmine Bartholomew series 1-series 3 episode 32; Arabella Duffy series 3 episode 33-present) – a talkative and intelligent purple octopus.
  • Norrie (voiced by Poppie Boyes series 1–2; Bella Green series 3–present) – a sweet-natured and curious brown mouse.
  • Roly (voiced by Leo Templer series 1; Dexter Varrall series 2–present) – an enthusiastic, loud and hyperactive grey hippo.
  • Tag (voiced by Alfie Sanderson series 1–2; Ollie Chequer series 3–present) – a gentle, clumsy blue rhino.
  • Happy (voiced by Duke Davis series 1-series 3 episode 32; Forest Davis series 3 episode 33-present) – a tall, easy-going green crocodile, with a love of water and splashing in puddles.

References
  1. "Brand new children's series Hey Duggee launches on ABC Kids Australian Channel". BBC Media Centre. 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  2. Jamila Atta (16 February 2016). "Global Children's Hit 'Hey Duggee' to return to CBeebies for a Second Series". BBC. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  3. BBC Worldwide (2 October 2017). "More Duggee Hugs Are Coming! BBC Worldwide and CBeebies commission Series Three of the award-winning pre-school series Hey Duggee". BBC. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  4. Tim Jonze (5 August 2020). "Hey Duggee: how a cult CBeebies show became the surprise TV smash of lockdown". The Guardian.
  5. "Squirrels! Isn't it time for… Hey Duggee series 4?".
  6. INTERVIEW: 'Hey Duggee' Creator Grant Orchard On Creating An Unconventional Preschool Show, Cartoon Brew, 28 February 2017, retrieved 20 April 2017
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