Hey Duggee
Hey Duggee is a British animated educational children's 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 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 four 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 on 5 September 2022.[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 (Police Officers)
- Narrator (born
20 March 1969
(aged 57) or
20 March 1994
(aged 32)
, voiced by Alexander Armstrong) – the narrator of the show.
- Duggee (born
17 December 1992
(aged 33)
, woofs done by Sander Jones) – a friendly big brown male dog and the police leader of the squirrel club.
- Betty (born
11 April 2009
(aged 17)
, voiced by Jasmine Bartholomew series 1-series 3 episode 32; Arabella Duffy series 3 episode 33-present) – a talkative and intelligent purple police octopus.
- Norrie (born
17 February 2009
(aged 17)
, voiced by Poppie Boyes series 1–2; Bella Green series 3–present) – a sweet-natured and curious brown police mouse.
- Roly (born
4 August 2009
(aged 16)
, voiced by Leo Templer series 1; Dexter Varrall series 2–present) – an enthusiastic, loud and hyperactive grey police hippo.
- Tag (born
26 January 2009
(aged 17)
, voiced by Alfie Sanderson series 1–2; Ollie Chequer series 3–present) – a gentle, clumsy blue police rhino.
- Happy (born
15 March 2009
(aged 17)
, voiced by Duke Davis series 1-series 3 episode 32; Forest Davis series 3 episode 33-present) – a tall, easy-going green police crocodile, with a love of water and splashing in puddles.
- Daniel Samardžić (born
30 March 2011
(aged 15)
, voiced by Daniel Samardžić) - the new policeman and one of the 6.d. class in Elementary school Eugen Kvaternik.
- LEO Pencil (born
14 June 1995
(aged 30)
) - the new policeman.
- Pinkiey (born
30 July 1998
(aged 27)
) - the new policewoman.
- Orange Tall Guy (born
23 May 2000
(aged 25)
) - the new policeman.
- Mini Vain P. (born
29 October 2015
(aged 10)
) - the new policeman.
- Annoying Red Guy (born
28 June 1973
(aged 52)
) - the new policeman.
- Kaja Gračanin Štern (born
31 October 2011
(aged 14)
) - police officer and Daniel's friend.
- Vid Vučak (born
3 September 1983
(aged 42)
) - police chief and professor from the community and fine arts class.
- Snježana Grgorinić (born
17 September 1965
(aged 60)
) - the mayor and Daniel's assistant.
- Melita Delić (born
19 September 1960
(aged 65)
) - Croatian language professor.
- Gordana Berković Kosor (born
26 September 1965
(aged 60)
) - mathematics teacher.
- Dalia Kager (born
1 September 1983
(aged 42)
) - professor of computer science.
- Vesna Godinić (born
5 November 1977
(aged 48)
) - teacher of nature/biology.
- Mato Matijević (born
10 November 1998
(aged 27)
) - English teacher.
- Nada Grgurević (born
21 January 1962
(aged 64)
) - professor of history.
- Dubravka Vešligaj (born
7 October 1974
(aged 51)
) - professor of geography.
- Marijana Ćorić (born
13 July 1969
(aged 56)
) - professor of music culture.
- Stanko Čudić (born
26 December 1967
(aged 58)
) - professor of physical and health education.
- Kristina Panižić (born
23 July 1986
(aged 39)
) - teacher of technical culture.
Episodes
Series 1 (2014–2015)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Tinsel Badge" | Grant Orchard | Grant Orchard | 17 December 2014 |
|
It's nearly Christmas time and Duggee is wrapping up all the presents to go underneath the Christmas tree. This episode was premiered in advance on 17 December 2014 as a Christmas special before the series' regular run. | |||||
| 2 | 2 | "The Drawing Badge" | Grant Orchard | Grant Orchard | 12 January 2015 |
| Duggee and the Squirrels stay indoors because it is raining outside, and they decide to do some drawing. | |||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Cake Badge" | Grant Orchard | Grant Orchard | 13 January 2015 |
| While playing outside, Happy comes across a cake in a field and eats it. The owners of the cake, who turn out to be rabbits, are not very pleased with that. | |||||
| 4 | 4 | "The Hair Badge" | Grant Orchard | Myles McLeod | 14 January 2015 |
| The Squirrels try to help fix Duggee's hair. | |||||
| 5 | 5 | "The Summer Holiday Badge" | Grant Orchard | Myles McLeod | 15 January 2015 |
| The Squirrels pack summer holiday (summer vacation) stuff for a bird named Mawk, who was migrating to "find summer" just with a photo camera around his neck and a toothbrush in a suitcase. | |||||
| 6 | 6 | "The Rescue Badge" | Grant Orchard | Grant Orchard | 16 January 2015 |
| Duggee and the Squirrels rescue Enid the cat, who was stuck on a tree branch while chasing a mouse. | |||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Super Squirrel Badge" | Grant Orchard | Grant Orchard | 19 January 2015 |
| Duggee and the Squirrels play superheroes, eventually helping a little duck to find its family. | |||||
| 8 | 8 | "The Jam Badge" | Grant Orchard | Grant Orchard | 20 January 2015 |
| The Squirrels are watching Duggee making a jar of jam when a "naughty monkey" steals a barrel of fruit; the gang eventually share jam toasts with the monkey. | |||||
| 9 | 9 | "The Treasure Hunt Badge" | Grant Orchard | Danny Stack | 21 January 2015 |
| The Squirrels, using a treasure map, go on an adventure to find a treasure to bring to Duggee. It turns out that the treasure was located near the Clubhouse. | |||||
| 10 | 10 | "The Scarecrow Badge" | Grant Orchard | Danny Stack | 22 January 2015 |
| To stop some birds from eating Duggee's grain, the Squirrels decide to build a scarecrow. Betty, Happy, Norrie, and Tag help Duggee with the scarecrow, while Roly keeps a close eye on the birds, though it was tiring for him later on. | |||||
| 11 | 11 | "The Funny Face Badge" | Grant Orchard | Grant Orchard | 23 January 2015 |
|
Duggee and the Squirrels decide to try and cheer up their friend Whoooooo the Shamanistic Owl. When thinking for more ideas, Betty makes some funny faces, and the Squirrels decide to cheer up Whoooooo with more funny faces. Note: This episode was pulled off the air by the BBC due to a funny face tower breaking. | |||||
| 12 | 12 | "The Bouncing Badge" | Grant Orchard | Grant Orchard | 26 January 2015 |
| Duggee puts up a bouncy castle for Tag on his birthday. But a thunder cloud was about to rain on the castle, so the Squirrels decide to blow it away. | |||||
| 13 | 13 | "The Leaf Badge" | Grant Orchard | Danny Stack | 27 January 2015 |
| A weird noise is heard while Duggee and the Squirrels go for a walk in the woods while searching for a new leaf for Duggee. | |||||
| 14 | 14 | "The Omelette Badge" | Grant Orchard | Danny Stack | 28 January 2015 |
| Duggee wants to make omelettes, but there are no eggs, so Duggee and the Squirrels need to find the chickens and get them to help. | |||||
| 15 | 15 | "The Food Growing Badge" | Grant Orchard | Sam Morrison | 29 January 2015 |
| The Squirrels want to grow things after they see Duggee doing this as well. However, Happy doesn't think that his strawberry will grow at all. | |||||
| 16 | 16 | "The Paddling Pool Badge" | Grant Orchard | James Henry | 30 January 2015 |
| On a hot day, Duggee gets out his big paddling pool. The Squirrels love paddling pools. | |||||
| 17 | 17 | "The Paper Boat Badge" | Grant Orchard | Sam Morrison | 2 February 2015 |
| The Squirrels learn how to make a paper boat, and help some ants get to a picnic. | |||||
| 18 | 18 | "The Castle Badge" | Grant Orchard | Myles McLeod | 3 February 2015 |
| Duggee and the Squirrels hear a spooky voice coming from a tower in a big castle. | |||||
| 19 | 19 | "The Show & Tell Badge" | Grant Orchard | Grant Orchard | 4 February 2015 |
| The Squirrels watch Duggee 'Show and Tell' something interesting, and then they decide to find their own things for Show and Tell. Norrie found a Ladybird which was exciting. | |||||
| 20 | 20 | "The Rocking Horse Badge" | Grant Orchard | Jo Clegg | 5 February 2015 |
| Duggee and the Squirrels fix Bucky, Duggee's old rocking horse, and then the Squirrels play with him. | |||||
| 21 | 21 | "The Get Well Soon Badge" | Grant Orchard | Sander Jones | 6 February 2015 |
| Duggee and the Squirrels help other animals in trouble while the team heads to Norrie's house to give her a Get Well Soon card. | |||||
| 22 | 22 | "The Hiccup Badge" | Grant Orchard | Grant Orchard | 9 February 2015 |
| The Squirrels' friend, Worm, has the hiccups, so the Squirrels need to cure him, and they turn to Duggee for some help. | |||||
| 23 | 23 | "The Maze Badge" | Grant Orchard | Phillip Warner | 10 February 2015 |
| The Squirrels create a maze from items they find in Duggee's workshop. Their maze works too well when Duggee gets lost in it, so they must find him. | |||||
| 24 | 24 | "The Acorn Badge" | Grant Orchard | Sam Morrison | 12 February 2015 (normal) 11 February 2015 (unknown) |
| Duggee gets the Squirrels to gather acorns and give them to other animals, who are about to hibernate. | |||||
| 25 | 25 | "The Balloon Badge" | Grant Orchard | Danny Stack | 13 February 2015 (normal) 12 February 2015 (unknown) |
| Duggee shows off his balloon blowing skills to the Squirrels. They want the balloons, but Duggee tells them that they are for Tino the Artistic Mouse on his birthday. | |||||
| 26 | 26 | "The Rain Dance Badge" | Grant Orchard | Danny Stack | 11 February 2015 (normal) 13 February 2015 (unknown) |
| The Squirrels are taught a rain dance by Duggee in order to give his flowers water on a hot day. | |||||
References
- ↑ Brand new children's series Hey Duggee launches on ABC Kids Australian Channel (2014)BBC Media Centre. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ↑ Jamila Atta. Global Children's Hit 'Hey Duggee' to return to CBeebies for a Second Series (16 February 2016)BBC. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ↑ BBC Worldwide. More Duggee Hugs Are Coming! BBC Worldwide and CBeebies commission Series Three of the award-winning pre-school series Hey Duggee (2 October 2017)BBC. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- ↑ Tim Jonze. Hey Duggee: how a cult CBeebies show became the surprise TV smash of lockdown. The Guardian (5 August 2020).
- ↑ Squirrels! Isn't it time for… Hey Duggee series 4?.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 INTERVIEW: 'Hey Duggee' Creator Grant Orchard On Creating An Unconventional Preschool Show (28 February 2017)Cartoon Brew. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
- ↑ Ladywood School. TVGuide.com.