Hey Duggee

Hey Duggee
GenrePre-school
Adventure
Comedy
Education
Created byGrant Orchard
Directed byGrant Orchard
Sander Jones
Voices ofSander Jones
Jasmine Bartholomew
Arabella Duffy
Poppie Boyes
Ollie Chequer
Duke Davis
Bella Green
Alfie Sanderson
Leo Templer
Dexter Varrell
Narrated byAlexander Armstrong
Dame Shirley Bassey (The Same Badge)
Theme music composerOliver M.A. Knowles
Opening themeIsn't It Time for Duggee?
Ending themeHey Duggee Theme
ComposerTin Sounds
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series5
No. of episodes196 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersHenrietta Hurford-Jones
Jackie Edwards
Sue Goffe
ProducersJanine Voong
Fleur Jago
CinematographyMichael Hatt
EditorAnna Kubik
Camera setupGallery
Running time7 minutes
Production companyStudio AKA
Original release
NetworkCBeebies
Release17 December 2014 (2014-12-17) –
present
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Hey Duggee is a British pre-school children's animated 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'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.

Hey Duggee has four series. It was first shown on 17 December 2014, and officially premiered on 12 January 2015. The 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 was renewed for a fourth series on 5 September 2022.[5]

On October 13, 2023, it was announced a spinoff series Hey Duggee's Squirrel Club is currently in the works[6] as well as a fifth season of the original series.

  1. ^ "Brand new children's series Hey Duggee launches on ABC Kids Australian Channel". BBC Media Centre. 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  2. ^ Jamila Atta (16 February 2016). "Global Children's Hit 'Hey Duggee' to return to CBeebies for a Second Series". BBC. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  3. ^ BBC Worldwide (2 October 2017). "More Duggee Hugs Are Coming! BBC Worldwide and CBeebies commission Series Three of the award-winning pre-school series Hey Duggee". BBC. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  4. ^ Tim Jonze (5 August 2020). "Hey Duggee: how a cult CBeebies show became the surprise TV smash of lockdown". The Guardian.
  5. ^ "Hey Duggee returns for a fourth series on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  6. ^ "BBC Studios Kids & Family orders Hey Duggee spinoff".