UK kids talk in American accents because not enough British TV shows are made, claims producer

ONE of the world’s leading kids’ TV gurus claims children are speaking in American accents because not enough programmes are made here.

Anne Wood, whose latest hit is the Twirlywoos, said cheap imports from US companies are strangling new British children’s TV talent.

The problem has become so bad that youngsters can be heard “talking American”, said the 78-year-old creator of smash-hit programmes such as Teletubbies and In the Night Garden.

“Children’s programme-making in this country is in danger of getting obliterated,” said the BAFTA award-winning producer.

“You are getting children playing in the playground and talking in American accents because of all the programmes they are getting from there. There is a predominance of cheap American imports.”

The grandmother-of-two, who founded Ragdoll Productions, said programme-makers are being forced to accept this “status quo” because ITV and Channel 4 were no longer making shows for youngsters.

Even the BBC will not pay for the type of programmes made in years gone by In The Night Garden cost £14 million to make, for example because funding had been cut to the “absolute minimum they can get away with”, said Anne.

“Nobody is going to pay that kind of money any more,” she said. “Children will miss out on the chance to see these kinds of programmes.”

The pioneering producer spoke out following the huge success of Twirlywoos, first seen on our screens in February.

The pre-school programme features Great BigHoo, Toodloo, Chickedy and Chick, a family of bird-like creatures. The lovable characters leave their home the Big Red Boat to have learning adventures in the human world.

And the programme is proving to be a huge hit with children, parents and grandparents alike.

A spin-off range of toys has been named among the top must-buy presents for Christmas this year and Anne revealed the series is being exported to France after impressing TV executives at the Cannes Film Festival in April.

Broadcasters from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Israel and Canada have also bought the show.

“I love the idea of it going to all sorts of corners of the world,” said Anne, who runs Ragdoll Productions with son Christopher, 46. “What it demonstrates is that young children laugh at the same thing, no matter what language it’s in. It is only when we grow up that we start getting these terrible divisions.

“What we’re thrilled about is that we can create that shared sense of fun and it is wonderful to be a part of it.”

Anne Wood

Anne whose show Teletubbies was slammed on its launch because its characters spoke gobbledygook credits a large part of her success to her childhood growing up in the County Durham pit village of Tudhoe Colliery.

She was looked after most of the time by her grandmother Elizabeth Thompson.

“It was during the war when everything was dark and cold,” said Anne. “As an only child, I was very much left to my own imagination and to play.

“We used to play on the pit heaps and with tops and whips and with a skipping rope made out of a washing line. I used to create stories and was always interested in writing I could never get enough books.

“It was a completely different time but it was a happy childhood that inspired what I did later in life.”

The Sunday Post’s publisher, DC Thomson, has signed a deal with DHX Brands to secure the magazine publishing rights to Twirlywoos.

Each issue centres around an episode of the TV programme based on patterns of children’s play identified by Professor Cathy Nutbrown, educational consultant for Twirlywoos.

Tom Roe, commercial director at DHX Brands, said: “The magazine will allow our fans to fully immerse themselves into the fun world of Twirlywoos.”