As with his other works, Hey Duggee speaks to Xia’s own quest, too. “Duggee asks us to imagine a world in which we can behave differently. All my stuff about otherness, accessibility, playfulness, inclusion, politics – big or small P – is all in this work. I don’t know how to make theatre without that.”

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. In Hey Duggee, he says, “we’ll give the audience just enough to help them suspend their disbelief”. Xia promises “the world’s most adorable puppets” with no hiding the actors giving them life, adding: “It’s got lots of music and laughter and Duggee might have his own DJ booth. The series follows Bluey, a six-year-old Blue Heeler dog who loves to play and turn everyday family life into extraordinary adventures that unfold in unpredictable and hilarious ways, bringing her family, friends and community into her world of fun. Find sources: "Hey Duggee"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( November 2023) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Heritage, Stuart (5 January 2018). "Do British children really need saving from YouTube and Netflix?". The Guardian . Retrieved 20 May 2018.

Rochelle (11 years old) (voiced by Poppy Green in " The Making Friends Badge" and Mio Eagar in " The Same Badge") The Rabbits – live in the field near the clubhouse and all sound like hippies, apart from one who speaks French. On October 13, 2023, it was announced a spinoff series Hey Duggee's Squirrel Club is currently in the works. [6] Production Buggee – a small insect who feels useless due to her small size until the Squirrels show her otherwise. Those messages of fearlessness and tolerance will be embedded in Hey Duggee’s 55-minute live show. If Xia – who was one of Britain’s 2022 Eurovision judges – is known for holding up a mirror to society’s ills with one hand, he is adept at turning his other to full of fun, fantastical theatre. Productions of Into the Woods (at Manchester’s Royal Exchange, 2015) Sleeping Beauty (Stratford East’s 2018 pantomime) and The Wiz demonstrated an ease with the kind of joy and illusion that makes theatre magical.

Hey Duggee is a fun, inclusive and educational series devised by Grant Orchard, senior director of Studio AKA, and narrated by comedian Alexander Armstrong. Sometimes, those characters carry a message: Rochelle in The Making Friends Badge uses a wheelchair, and Mr and Mr Crab are married, although there are no gay rights badges or disability badges. Instead, inclusivity is left as a natural aspect of the show. “It would be disingenuous to say that we didn’t think about inclusivity, but we didn’t want to be preachy with it,” says Orchard. One of the questions he is most commonly asked is: why, when all the mums and dads arrive with their children at the start of each episode, the crocodile Happy has an elephant for a parent. “Most people get that he’s adopted, but I’m pleased we are posing that question, even if we don’t explicitly answer it on the show,” he says. The programme's characters are talking anthropomorphic animals, with Duggee communicating in woofs. The episodes are based around The Squirrel Club, an activity club for children that Duggee leads. The children–the club's Squirrels–take part in all kinds of activities, have adventures and earn badges for their accomplishments. Each episode shows the Squirrels completing an activity or adventure relating to a badge that they earn at the end of each episode. There is no set formula for every episode, with many referencing or parodying pop culture. Making Hey Duggee is a highly collaborative experience, says the show’s script editor and writer Jenny Landreth, even if it is ultimately Orchard’s vision. She thinks there’s a misunderstanding about who the show is written for. “People have said to me: ‘It’s clearly a show written for adults that kids also enjoy,’ which is not the case. Our aim is to entertain our young audience. We’re not on some secret mission; nothing is: ‘Wink, wink, this one’s for the grownups.’”Henrietta Hurford-Jones, Director of Children’s and Executive Producer of Hey Duggee for BBC Studios, said: “Hey Duggee is so popular with both parents and children and I’m sure they’ll be as delighted as we are that a new series is on the way. We’re really proud of what we’ve achieved so far and how much people love Duggee and The Squirrels – so we’re delighted to be working with the hugely talented Studio AKA once more and can’t wait for you to see it!” The Hummingbirds – The other group of older animals in the episode The Making Friends Badge, with their very own version of Duggee. They are: Naughty Mice – a gang of three trouble-making mice styled like a 1950s biker gang; they usually leave the scene with the phrase "Let's bounce". Children and adults alike will be delighted to hear that Duggee and The Squirrels will return for 40 brand new episodes of the much-loved show.