 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(March 2012) |
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| Industry | Television |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's television |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Founder | Billy Macqueen Maddy Darrall |
| Headquarters | , England |
| Website | www |
Darrall Macqueen is an independent children's television production company based in London, England. It was formed in 2000 by Billy Macqueen and Maddy Darrall.[ citation needed ]
Darrall Macqueen's first production was a converged TV/web event week for ITV in July 2000 called Mouse. In 2002 Darrall Macqueen produced Smile , which ran from 2002 until 2007.[ citation needed ] Then they produced CBBC's interactive drama series UGetMe .[ citation needed ]
In 2004, Darrall Macqueen created a live-action comedy called The Crust , a 15-part urban sitcom.
In 2004, Darrall Macqueen made a series of 13 high octane game shows for CITV called Play the Game, [1] and, in 2005, Darrall Macqueen was asked to produce CiTV's thrill seeking action series Feel the Fear , starring Steve Wilson and Holly Willoughby. In 2006 they produced 30 comedy animal tales for CiTV called Animal Spies , which featured the voice talent of Lenny Henry and Ricky Tomlinson.
In September 2005 Australian company Southern Star took a majority shareholding in Darrall Macqueen. Southern Star, who already owned Carnival Films and Oxford Scientific Films in the UK, were then bought by Southern Cross, who in turn were purchased by Fairfax Media. When Endemol took over Fairfax Media in 2009 Darrall Macqueen took back full control of the company.[ citation needed ]
At the 2006 Children's BAFTAs, Darrall Macqueen won the inaugural BAFTA for Production Company of the Year.[ citation needed ]
In 2007, Darrall Macqueen created Bear Behaving Badly for CBBC, a 26-part slapstick sitcom for 7–11 year olds. From 2008 to 2010, Darrall Macqueen created and produced weekend pre-school brand The Fluffy Club for ITV and GMTV.[ citation needed ]
In 2009, Darrall Macqueen developed a comedy animation series called Pet Squad with Irish comedian/writer Caimh McDonnell. In 2011, it won its first commission from CBeebies to make a pre-school series called Baby Jake .[ citation needed ]
In 2015, Darrall Macqueen with WildBrain (known as DHX Media at the time) and CBeebies rebooted classic British children's television series Teletubbies .[ citation needed ]
Teletubbies is a British children's television series created by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport for the BBC. The programme focuses on four differently coloured characters known as the Teletubbies, named after the television screens on their bellies. Recognised throughout popular culture for the uniquely shaped antenna protruding from the head of each character, the Teletubbies communicate through gibberish and were designed to bear resemblance to toddlers.
CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel, CBBC, is intended for older children aged 6 to 12. It broadcasts every day from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm, timesharing with BBC Four.
Tweenies is a British live action puppet children's television series created by Will Brenton and Iain Lauchlan. The programme is focused on four pre-school aged characters, known as the "Tweenies", playing, singing, dancing, and learning in a fictional playgroup in England. They are cared for by two adult Tweenies and two dogs.
Anne Wood, CBE is an English children's television producer, responsible for creating shows such as Teletubbies with Andrew Davenport. She is also the creator of Tots TV and Rosie and Jim. She was a recipient of the Eleanor Farjeon Award.
Pui Fan Lee is an English actress and television presenter. She is known for portraying Po in the original run of the children's television series Teletubbies between 1997 and 2001, and for presenting the CBeebies preschool education series Show Me Show Me.
Something Special is a British children's television programme presented by Justin Fletcher. It was created and produced by Allan Johnston. It is broadcast by the BBC, debuting on 1 September 2003. 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.
Smile was a British Sunday morning children's programme created by production company Darrall Macqueen for CBBC. It first aired in 2002 on BBC Two. The final programme was broadcast on 26 August 2007.
Howard Oliver Drinkwater Read is a British screenwriter, comedian, and animator best known for his work with his animated sidekick, Little Howard. His other creations include an angry manager with a conversational style and the worldview of Bernard Manning, Roger T. Pigeon, and H:BOT 2000, a robot from the future. Each of these characters interacts with both Big Howard and each other.
Justin Fletcher is an English children's television presenter, actor and comedian, appearing mainly on the BBC pre-school television channel CBeebies. Speaking and performing in various, often self-created, roles, he specialises in slapstick comedy and works with children with special educational needs through his show Something Special. Fletcher also appears as the comedian Mr Tumble.
Topsy and Tim is a series of children's books written by Jean Adamson and Gareth Adamson about twins and their adventures with their new friends. They were first published by Blackie in 1960; Topsy and Tim were relaunched in new editions in 1990, 2003 and 2009. In 2020, Topsy and Tim "On the Farm" was reprinted to celebrate 60-years since the first publication.
The British Academy Children's Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). They have been awarded annually since 1996, before which time they were a part of the main British Academy Television Awards. It currently includes categories for television productions, feature films and video games.
Andrew Davenport is an English writer, puppeteer, producer, composer, and actor, specialising in creating television, music, and books for young children. He is known as co-creator and writer of Teletubbies and writer, voice artist and puppeteer of "Tiny" on Tots TV. He is also the creator, writer, and composer of both In the Night Garden... and Moon and Me.
Bob Golding is an English actor and voice artist. He is best known for the voices of Milo and Max in the CBeebies show Tweenies.
Cube Interactive is a privately owned interactive media and entertainment company founded in 2005 by Wil Stephens.
Kindle Entertainment is an independent television production company based in London, England. Kindle Entertainment was formed after ITV Kids was closed, and current personnel includes Anne Brogan, the former controller of ITV Kids, and former head of development at ITV Kids, Melanie Stokes. The company is currently owned by Banijay, via its Banijay UK Productions subsidiary.
UGetMe was an interactive comedy/drama series centering on three best friends Joe, Kit and Carly and the radio station they run called "UGetMe". Written by Adrian Hewitt, Stuart Kenworthy and Steve Turner, directed by Otto Bathurst and Maddy Darrall and produced by Billy Macqueen and Maddy Darrall at Darrall Macqueen Ltd. The series was broadcast on CBBC and BBC One from 2003.
Baby Jake is a British children's television programme originally broadcast in the UK. It first aired on 4 July 2011. Baby Jake is also available on BBC iPlayer for over a year, and YouTube.
Katie Morag is the television adaptation of the series of books by Mairi Hedderwick. The programmes follow the adventures of Katie Morag whose life on the fictional Scottish island of Struay is full of stories of jealousy, bravery and rivalry and peopled by an annoying little brother, busy shopkeeper parents, a perfectly perfect best friend and a couple of grandmothers who between them know everything about everything. The series was produced by Move On Up with support from BBC Scotland and commissioned by the BBC's CBeebies and CBBC channels. It also airs on the BBC's Gaelic channel BBC Alba and BBC One Scotland. Don Coutts directed the series which Margaret Matheson produced and Lindy Cameron executive produced and edited. Katie Morag is also available on BBC iPlayer for over a year.
Waffle the Wonder Dog was a British live action children's television series produced by Darrall Macqueen for CBeebies. It is aimed at four to seven year olds. The programme was first broadcast since 26 February 2018. The Show has also aired on TVOKids in Canada. The show came back in January 2024.