‘He’s magical, isn’t he?’: an audience with Mr Tumble, the king of kids’ TV

Something Special, his show for children with special educational needs, has earned its star Justin Fletcher an MBE, children’s Baftas and generations of fans. Our writer and his daughter spend a day in the company of CBeebies royalty

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.”