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Report - - Tots TV house, Stratford upon Avon - August 2013 | Other Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Tots TV house, Stratford upon Avon - August 2013

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captainwow

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Been a member on here for a long time, but never actually posted a report. Please go easy on me.

Since I was a child, when Tots TV was a current TV show, I've always wanted to see the miniature cottage used for filming. I always remember being able to see the chimney from the access road, and as it was near another very famous children's TV filming location, it didn't take much searching to work out where it was again. Which, coincidentally, was about a 10 minute bike ride from my house. So, one sunny August day, we decided to go and have a look.

I've heard stories of the land owner not taking too kindly to people trying to find it, which is understandable as it involves brazenly walking across his fields. He was seemingly distracted by a huge garden party in full swing, which worked well for us.

So, here's the standard issue "copied from Wikipedia" blurb:

Tots TV is a British children's television programme, produced by Ragdoll Productions and Central.

The programme featured three ragdoll friends: Tilly, a French girl, with red hair, who speaks in basic French (changed to Spanish in US broadcasts and English in French broadcasts), Tom, a blue-haired boy with glasses, and Tiny, the youngest Tot, who is smaller than the others and has green hair.

Tots TV was written by two of its puppeteers, Robin Stevens (Tom) and Andrew Davenport (Tiny). Tilly was played by three actresses – initially Veronique Deroulede, then Claire Carre and Alexandra Hogg. The series won two BAFTA awards for its producer Anne Wood and director Vic Finch. Originally broadcast in the UK on the ITV network (as part of CITV), CBeebies, the BBC's television channel for young children, picked up the series from 2004.

The Series was also broadcast in the United States on the PBS network from 1996 with Tilly speaking Spanish, instead of French. In 2000 Discovery Kids broadcast the series throughout Central and South America, the Caribbean and the Falkland Islands.

The house was once surround by beautifully manicured lawns, protectively surrounded by a small copse:
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Unfortunately getting that shot now would be all but impossible. Today, it's all more than slightly overgrown. This was our first view of the house: (apologies for the quality of the shots, they were shot on a phone and I'm no photographer.)
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Coming around the side, towards that red front door. The green tarpaulin cover a sunken pit and entrance into the house, which is full height and was occupied by the production team:
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Our first view of that famous little door:
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Inside, it's obvious just how small this place is. The floor is no longer, and there are holes in the roof, but the stair case and upper rooms are intact:
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And, last but not least, Donkey's shed:
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dweeb

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Re: Tots TV house, Stratford upon Avon, August 2013

Jeez... I remember that!
 

the126

Reckless & irresponsible
28DL Full Member
Re: Tots TV house, Stratford upon Avon, August 2013

That could actually be a nice house!good find :thumb
Years ago, My GCSE media studies exam had questions in it about the production methods used in filming Tots Tv :(
 

WildBoyz

Is this the future?
28DL Full Member
Re: Tots TV house, Stratford upon Avon, August 2013

Haha, I remember this. Good effort! :thumb Nice find.
 

captainwow

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Re: Tots TV house, Stratford upon Avon, August 2013

Thanks guys. It's actually a really nice cottage, but in miniature. I'd imagine there were a lot of trap doors in the floor for the puppeteers etc, the joists were a good couple of feet off the base, and in a few places even more than that.
 

Stopford_lad

foul-mouthed oaf
28DL Full Member
Re: Tots TV house, Stratford upon Avon, August 2013

Nice mate, always good to see something a bit different...f*cking hated that show though :eek:
 

unplugged

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Re: Tots TV house, Stratford upon Avon, August 2013

Top find :) a bit of a lot of peoples childhood right there
 

captainwow

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Re: Tots TV house, Stratford upon Avon, August 2013

What's with all the green plastic sheeting?

It's a room sunk into the banking. I'd imagine it was a production room, it was full height and seemed to go into the crawl space under the floor, I'd imagine for the puppeteers.
 

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