| Tikkabilla | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 280 |
| Production | |
| Production location | BBC Elstree Centre |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBeebies |
| Release | 14 October 2002 – 27 January 2007 |
Tikkabilla is a British children's television series. It was shown on CBeebies. The show was created to entertain preschool children while educating them. Tikkabilla is named after the Hindi word for hopscotch, a popular game for children.[source?]
Each episode features two presenters, who teach a talking purple dragon called Tamba (who is depicted by a puppet) about various topics. These two presenters have included Justin Fletcher, Sarah-Jane Honeywell, Simon Davies, Lorna Laidlaw, Paul Ewing, Veejay Kaur (in series 3–4), Toni Fruitin and Amit Sharma (in series 4) and Beverly Hills (in series 1–2). Tamba was performed by Sue Eves (who also wrote many scripts for the show), or for some episodes instead Alison McGowan (in series 2 and 3) and Katherine Smee (in series 4).
The show is similar to Play School and Playdays. Simon Davies also presented Play School in its later years and Playdays in its earlier years, while Justin Fletcher played Mr Jolly in the live stage show version of Playdays. The presenters and Tamba perform songs, tell stories, play games and make things in a colourful house, which special guests sometimes visit, usually to show a skill or to play a performance. Similar to Play School, there are square, round and arched windows that take the viewer outside, where certain items are shown. When outside, young children, and sometimes the presenters and Tamba, can be seen.
Various series have been shown during the show, including Bonny, Banana and Mo, Sami's Worlds, Summerton Mill and Higgledy House. The last two have also been aired separately. Clips from other educational BBC shows, mostly Words and Pictures and Numbertime, have also been shown. One episode showed an animated clip from Hotch Potch House.
Beverly Hills wrote for the show and another similar show, The Story Makers. Francis Haines and Liz Kitchen wrote most of the show's music. Francis Haines and Jake Hook wrote one of the songs together.