The year was 2007, in Yorkshire, England, Little A
The year was 2007, in Yorkshire, England, Little Alice was at home watching Teletubbies with her mum on Cbeebies, but when the ending credits rolled, something horrible happened, there was the Ragdoll Productions logo standing next to the BBC logo, Little Alice was terrified but her mother wasn’t, Little Alice hid under the covers.
Ragdoll Productions Limited, or simply Ragdoll, is a British television production company founded in 1984 by Anne Wood, who had previously worked for Yorkshire Television and TV-am. It is located in Bloxham, Oxfordshire, and has produced a number of children’s programmes, most notably Pob’s Programme (1985-1990), Teletubbies (1997-present), Rosie and Jim (1990-2000), Brum (1991-2002), Boohbah (2003-2006), Tots TV (1993-1998), and In the Night Garden…(2007-2009), most of which are now owned by WildBrain.
The year was 2007, and in the cozy living room of a Yorkshire cottage, little Alice, barely four years old, was transfixed by the vibrant colours and bouncing Tubbies on the television. Her mum, Sarah, sat beside her, humming along to the catchy tunes of “Teletubbies” on Cbeebies. As the familiar, cheerful ending credits rolled, a chilling change occurred.
Where the BBC logo usually stood, a second logo appeared. It wasn’t anything familiar to Alice. It was a swirling, brightly coloured swirl with the words “Ragdoll Productions” emblazoned across it. It seemed to pulse and shimmer on the screen, somehow absorbing the colours of the ending credits until it was the only thing Alice could see.
A wave of terror swept over her. The bright, friendly world of the Tubbies had become sinister, replaced by this menacing new logo. Tears welled up in Alice’s eyes, and she buried her face in the soft, worn fabric of her mother’s cardigan.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Sarah asked, concerned by her daughter’s sudden distress. She looked at the screen but saw nothing unusual. The credits were finishing, and the screen was about to go blank.
“The Tubbies… they’re… they’re gone,” Alice mumbled into her mother’s sweater, her voice choked with fear.
Sarah chuckled, brushing her daughter’s hair. “No, love, the Tubbies are just saying goodbye for now. They’ll be back tomorrow.”
But Alice knew something was different. The familiar, comforting world of the Tubbies had been invaded by something dark and unknown, represented by that swirling logo. She couldn’t explain it to her mother, but the feeling of dread stayed with her long after the screen had gone dark.
Later that night, as Alice lay in her bed, the image of the Ragdoll Productions logo lingered in her mind. It was as if it had burrowed its way into her thoughts, growing larger and more menacing with every passing moment. Fear kept her awake, and she clung to her teddy bear, desperately trying to shut out the encroaching darkness.
She didn’t know what the logo meant, or why it had replaced the familiar BBC symbol. But she knew, in her young heart, that something had changed. The innocent world she knew had been touched by something sinister, and the familiar, comforting world of the Tubbies had become a little less safe. And that was a terrifying thought for a little girl like Alice.
