Andrew Davenport

Andrew Davenport
Born (1965-06-10) 10 June 1965 (age 59)
Folkestone, Kent, England
Occupations
  • Writer
  • puppeteer
  • producer
  • music composer
  • actor

Andrew Davenport (born 10 June 1965) 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.

Davenport co-created Teletubbies[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] (first broadcast in the UK in 1997) with Anne Wood, and wrote all of the 365 episodes.[12][1][5] He created In the Night Garden...[2][3] (first broadcast in the UK in 2007), wrote all of the 100 episodes 30-minute episodes,[13][5][8][7] and composed the title theme and music for the series.[14][15] In 2019, Davenport created Moon and Me.[16][8][17][18][6] He wrote all 50 episodes and composed all the music for the series.[8][12]

Davenport has been dubbed "the J. K. Rowling of the under fives"[1][8] and "the king of kid's TV"[10] following the extraordinary international success of Teletubbies and In the Night Garden.... His success with the preschool audience has been credited to "incredible instinct and a lot of painstaking research" and a "slightly terrifying insight into these unknowable little minds".[9]

Davenport references child developmental science in the creation of his shows[9][10][12] and has described his process as to "engage minds and feed imaginations with the unfailing power of characters and worlds forged with kindness and playfulness".[16]

  1. ^ a b c "Andrew Davenport: Ooo, what's all the fuss? – Telegraph", The Telegraph, 17 January 2008.
  2. ^ a b "In the Night Garden: Bedtime for Teletubbies – The Independent", The Independent, 18 April 2007.
  3. ^ a b "Night Fever – The Observer Magazine", The Observer Magazine, 25 November 2008.
  4. ^ "Andrew Davenport". shinegroup.tv. Shine Group. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  5. ^ a b c Patrick, Aaron O. (1 June 2007). "From "Teletubbies" Creator: High-Tech, High-Cost TV". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b Trumbore, Dave (17 May 2019). "Moon and Me Creator Andrew Davenport on His Follow-up to Teletubbies". Collider. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  7. ^ a b Kemp, Stuart (27 March 2012). "Elisabeth Murdoch Sets Up New Children's Division at Shine; To Be Led by Teletubbies Co-creator Andrew Davenport". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Andrew Davenport shoots for the moon". Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  9. ^ a b c "Moon and Me: the new baby TV show from the genius behind Teletubbies". the Guardian. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  10. ^ a b c "Secrets of In the Night Garden". the Guardian. 15 August 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies laments decline of children's TV". the Guardian. 28 January 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  12. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ http://www.bafta.org/awards/childrens/nominations/?year=2007 "BAFTA – Best Pre-school Live-Action Award – In the Night Garden...", 2007.
  14. ^ "Bring back Oliver Postgate's music of the spheres". the Guardian. 8 October 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  15. ^ "A New Tonality". Gramophone. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  16. ^ a b Robertson, Andy. "New "Moon and Me" Show Takes A Handmade Approach To Storytelling". Forbes. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  17. ^ "Review: "Moon and Me," from a mind behind "Teletubbies," has a dreamy charm". Los Angeles Times. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  18. ^ "The Creators Of "Teletubbies" Have A New Show, & Your Kids Will Fall In *Love* — CLIP". Romper. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2022.