3 hours ago
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After a long, hot, summer’s day drive, we finally arrive at Mr Tumble’s house (which for today’s filming is located in rural Oxfordshire), and suddenly everything looks just like it does on TV. There are the coloured spotty flags, the spotty Tumble Sofa and – at the centre of it all – Mr Tumble in his trademark orange shirt, stripy yellow trousers and red nose. As my 11-year-old daughter, Molly, runs on set to greet this giant of children’s broadcasting, I don’t know who feels more starstruck: her or me.
We’re here to watch the filming of the latest series of Something Special, the CBeebies show specifically aimed at children with delayed learning and communication skills, although all children tend to love it. Its star Mr Tumble, AKA Justin Fletcher, stops to show us his famous props: the Tumble Tapp – his specially modified iPad – and the Spotty Bag. We sit on the Tumble Sofa and, as we sing and sign along to the famous Hello Song, I’ve never felt under more pressure to perform: “Hello, hello. How are you? Hello, hello. It’s good to see … Molly.”
“Good signing, Dad,” adds Mr Tumble. I’ve never felt more proud. Mr Tumble has long been on my bucket list of interviewees. He’s a hero to Molly, making him my number one hero, too.
Molly has special educational needs and disabilities (Send). Her neurodivergence includes just the sort of speech, language and developmental delays Something Special caters for. But she’s constantly learning and developing, and is one of the brightest, most inquisitive, and – most importantly – funny children you’ll ever meet. Her party trick is to ask questions to everyone she meets: “What’s your name?”; “What colour is your front door?”; “Have you got a dog?”; “What did you have for breakfast?”
Raising a Send child in the current political climate is not easy. In December, the Guardian reported that councils in England spent more than £100m trying to block support for Send children, despite succeeding in only 1.2% of cases. The number of Send tribunals is also soaring, from 13,083 in the year to June 2023 to 20,102 in the year to June 2024. In a survey by the charity Sense, 45% of parents said that proposed Send reforms in England made them worried that their children would lose their legal protection. So anything that makes raising a Send child even a tiny bit easier is a godsend.
First aired on the BBC in 2003, Something Special is the brainchild of BBC producer and ex-Send teacher, Allan Johnston. What makes it so compelling to so many children is its use of Makaton, a sign language invented in the 70s that replaces words with simple hand gestures. You can pick up Makaton from books and online courses, but learning from the show – like we have – is a lot more fun. Before you know it, you’ll be signing along effortlessly: “The cow” (make horns) “is behind” (shuffle hands) “the red” (stroke lips) “spot” (draw circle).
The show’s other secret weapon is Fletcher. In Something Special he works overtime, playing Mr Tumble, Grandad Tumble, Lord Tumble, Fisherman Tumble, Baker Tumble and Aunt Polly – who appear together through the magic of split-screen. Fletcher also appears as himself – Justin – in scenes when he goes out into the real world to meet the Send children – the biggest stars of the show. His work on Something Special has earned him three children’s Baftas and an MBE in 2008 for services to children’s broadcasting.
On set, Molly jumps up to give Mr Tumble a hug, tells him she loves him, and runs off to pick him some flowers. Penguin pebbling – giving small, meaningful gifts as a way of expressing affection – is common in neurodivergent children. “You should put these in some water,” she says. “I will,” says Mr Tumble. There’s a tight filming schedule, so we’re keen not to overstay our welcome. As we wave our goodbyes – although it’s more of an au revoir, as we are to meet again – Mr Tumble pretends to fall over a tent for our amusement and, phew, what a day.
“He’s magical, isn’t he?” says Anna Perowne, executive producer for BBC Studios Kids & Family Productions, as we catch up over Zoom to debrief on my and Molly’s magical visit. “Mr Tumble’s comedy is universal because everything Justin does as a performer exudes warmth,” Perowne continues. “I laugh out loud when Mr Tumble gets his foot stuck in a bucket and falls over, because that’s funny.”
It’s not just Mr Tumble who is famous: his props are, too. “I was standing in a field, concentrating on my job, and could feel these eyes on me,” says series producer Sheila Chatrath. “I turned around and a crowd of teenagers were going: ‘Is that the Spotty Bag?’ You’re constantly reminded how important Something Special is to children, parents, grandparents, thanks to the passion and commitment of the BBC.”
The latest series also introduces CBeebies presenters Maddie Moate, Ben Cajee and George Webster. For Moate, this meant learning Makaton with help from The Makaton Charity, who have worked with Something Special since day one. “The Makaton sunk in nicely because a lot of the signs are the most obvious thing you’d expect,” she says. She demonstrates her favourite – “caterpillar” – by crawling one hand up her other arm. I demonstrate Molly’s favourite – “helicopter” – by spinning a palm on the other forefinger.
Webster has Down’s syndrome, and also grew up with some language delay, so had first-hand experience of Makaton. “Even my friends at school learned it to join in,” he says. He finds it “surreal” to be performing alongside Fletcher. “Mr Tumble was my hero growing up, and now we’re friends.”
Six months later and I’m nervous all over again. It’s shortly after Christmas, and I’m backstage at Reading’s Imagine theatre, for a quick meet and greet with Fletcher – where he is starring in a panto production of Beauty and the Beast, though as Justin Fletcher, not as Mr Tumble.
Does Fletcher mind people confusing his two personas? “I’m so used to people calling me ‘Justin’ or ‘Mr Tumble’, I answer to both,” he says. “I was walking through Windsor Castle, on my way to collect my MBE, and one of the guards acknowledged me by simply saying: ‘Mr Tumble’. It really made me chuckle.” Then there’s the rumour that he constantly fends off marriage proposals from over-excited mothers. “I might have got an email or two,” he smiles.
Fast-forward to early spring, and I’m sitting on the sofa at home with Molly, watching the episode of Something Special we saw being filmed. “Tumble!” exclaims Molly, spinning one forefinger around the other (Mr Tumble is so special, he even has his own Makaton sign). “Look! We’ve sat on the Tumble Sofa!” I exclaim. “Look! We’ve held the Tumble Tapp and the Spotty Bag!” Even on the other side of the TV screen, here we both are, getting starstruck all over again.
Something Special is on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer.
