Tweenies

Tweenies is a British live action puppet children's television series created by Will Brenton and Iain Lauchlan, and produced by Tell-Tale Productions and the BBC. The programme was focused on four preschool-aged characters, known as the "Tweenies"; Jake, Fizz, Milo & Bella, whilst playing, singing, dancing and learning in a fictional playgroup in England. They are cared for by two adult Tweenies; Judy & Max and his dog; Doodles, and later another dog, Izzles who belongs to Judy.

Tweenies first premiered on 6 September 1999 on the BBC's children's block and consisted of a total of 390 episodes, with the final episode airing on 25 July 2002. Repeated episodes of the series aired on CBeebies from 2002 to 2016. In 2000, the show won a British Academy Television Award for Best Pre-school Live Action Series, and singles featuring exclusive songs spent several weeks in the charts during the early 2000s.

Tweenies also released music in the early 2000s and achieved five top 20 singles on the UK singles chart.

The idea for the programme came from Will Brenton and Iain Lauchlan, a pair with a track record of being involved in children's programming for the BBC. Together they set up Tell-Tale Productions at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, in 1994. Lauchlan was a presenter on Play School, Fingermouse, and Playdays, meeting Brenton, a director, writer and also presenter, during the latter. Together they started producing two of the Playdays strands before forming Tell-Tale Productions (later rebranded as Wish Films). They also created Fun Song Factory, Boo!, BB3B, and Jim Jam and Sunny.

Tweenies is a production of Tell-Tale Productions in association with the BBC. Animation for the show was produced by A Productions, an animation studio based in Bristol, England, with Ealing Animation providing some animation in a few early episodes. Computer animation for the series was provided by Clockwork Digital, with Ben Mars animating Mungo, the computer creature who appears in some later episodes.

Episodes consist of a mixture of story, song, and creative activity. Music plays an important part in the programme and children are encouraged to join in with songs and actions.

The programme is set in a nursery in England attended by four puppet characters called The Tweenies: Jake, Fizz, Milo and Bella. They are in the care of two adult helpers, Max and Judy, and their dog, Doodles, later joined by another dog, Izzles.

There was also meant to be a character called Syd/Sid, however he was axed by the BBC before production, leaving the four other Tweenies.