A generation grew up watching Tellytubbies, but who would think of looking behind the mask? This is a fun, no holds barred look at what life was like at the centre of a once in a life time TV phenomenon. Those masks don't sound like much fun either...

Teletubbies as I said, was a global phenomenon as Nikky Smedley recalls. It also turns out, which I think is nice and respectful, that she is to be a consultant for its rebooted version. There were Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po, who were these funny characters who lived over the hill and far away.

The book is insightful into what the author is doing now for the reboot, but also in her memories of what it was like to be part of the production and some of the things behind the scenes, such as a certain clause makes for stark reading and makes you feel sorry for the cast of actors. It’s a real eye-opener into what one would assume was something that happened pre-90s.

She reminisces about what it took to get the part and then to be Laa-Laa, to create that character and truly embody her, costume and all on set in the countryside. She lifts the lid on what looks easy and perfect on-screen had its challenges to make it look accomplished. Then she regales the merchandise, of which there was loads.

With the success came extended contracts in 1999, which is when I first heard about it. It had been filmed for 3 years and at the end of the run, more series were wanted, despite some criticism along the way.

There is also an interesting look into life after Teletubbies for Smedley and the others who played the other Teletubbies and what became of them as it all came to an end in 2002.

It’s also interesting what being in Teletubbies meant to her and her lifestyle. The book is so down to earth, with concerns, happiness, sadness that is relatable on some level to people in and out-with show-biz. If you’ve heard of The Teletubbies or watched it in your youth, this is actually worth reading and more so than I originally anticipated.

This is such a lovely look behind the curtain of one of the biggest phenomena of the late 90s/early 00s. LaaLaa was My Girl when I was younger, so reading Nikky's thoughts from her time portraying her was wonderful. The mention of the venerable Anne Wood as well, whose creations have dotted my childhood at various stages, was like a warm hug. This is a beautiful book, one for the child in all of us.

I have no shame in saying that growing up the show was probably my favourite and I lovingly toted my LaaLaa doll around with me for months (I did want Po but let’s not talk about the late 90s debacle!) so this book was right up my street and I loved it.

The author clearly loves her character and it felt like she really wanted to engage with the reader. A wonderful book.

Is there a children's programme more famous than the Teletubbies? I think not! I was a bit old for it the first time round but I remember my little brother watching it and the kids in school having animated discussions over Tinky Winky's sexuality. I also remember Po being the most popular children's Christmas toy with everyone wanting one and no one being able to buy one!

Well, this book is LaaLaa's memoir. Kind of. The person who played LaaLaa for several years in the original programme, Nikky Smedley.

It's certainly a memoir told from a unique point of view and it was a light hearted, interesting read. You can tell how much love Smedley still has for LaaLaa, the cast and crew and the Teletubbies even after all these years. It's a very positive, happy book!

There is a lot of behind the scenes Teletubby information. I had no idea how hard it was for the performers inside the costumes or how strange it must have been to play one of the most famous characters in the world but be completely anonymous yourself.

I enjoyed this book and it's a must read for any Teletubby fan!

Over the hills and far away: my life as a teletubby by Nikki Smedley

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Well let’s face it my 100th read on goodreads was always going to end with a less than usual book 😂

Over the hills and far away in a memoir by former teletubby Laalaa aka Nikki Smedley.

Born in the end of the 80s I was just a little bit too old to fully enjoy the teletubbys but that didn’t change the fact I had a po and a laalaa come Christmas that year (thank you mum and dad).
The teletubby’s were a global phenomenon but I never really noticed how little I actually knew about the people in those costumes.

At quite a few times it can be a little repetitive but stick with it and you won’t be disappointed.

The only other massive downside is I discovered I had the teletubby theme tune in my head for 3 days straight ! “Time for teletubby’s, time for teletubby’s”… no at 2 in the morning brain it is not time for teletubby’s🤦🏼‍♀️

Overall this book gives a fascinating insight to the production of the tele world and the realities of living with fame whilst being anonymous at the same time and I would highly recommend

Probably the most recognisable squishy teddy puppet things in the world the teletubbies are definitely popular; love them or hate them. But this book dives into the real life story of the original actor playing Lala and the joy and struggles of being a teletubby.

I was slightly too old for Tubby mania, but my cousin was practically brought up in our house and LOVED them! So yes okay, I am very familiar with the teletubbies. This book was really interesting though to learn most about the academia behind the programme and the realities of being a world famous puppet. It was quite repetitive at times which I guess makes sense but overall I did enjoy it.

Funny and insightful, I loved finding out about Nikky’s life as Lala, I guess with the element of nostalgia we always kind of wonder how it felt to be part of something from a different perspective and this really gave the reader that insight. I was thrilled that this was an enjoyable time for Nikki and loved the humour of the stories told. Fantastic

Over the hills and Far Away has a sunshine yellow energy permeating through it. It's warm, funny and simply a joy to read.

I picked this up because I was prime Teletubby watching age, and remember them with a lot of affection. It never occurred to me as a kid that underneath their fuzzy exteriors there was a fully grown adult frolicking about Warwickshire countryside. So it was wonderful to step back into tubbyland with adult eyes and discover more about the people behind the show, antics on set, the groundbreaking techniques used and the vast cultural impact the Teletubbies had.

There is such joy in the way Nikki Smedley (AKA LaLa) writes that it makes the reader a little happier. I was genuinely thrilled to learn that, despite working long shifts in the tubby suit itself sounding like borderline torture, (albeit hilarious torture) it really was a labour of love for the team behind the Teletubbies. I came away with a newfound appreciation for the show and a fuzzy warm feeling - one I imagine would be akin to a hug from a tubby.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sandstone Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely incredible! Nikky has done a fabulous job making this book logical, insightful and hilarious.

The book itself flowed well, chapters in a logical order and follows her life well. It was great to hear about her life post-tubby too. As a child of the mid-90’s I was an avid Teletubby watcher and found myself searching YouTube to confirm the anecdotes she mentioned. It was beautifully nostalgic. I chuckled to myself at many times and felt so joyous each time I picked it back up. An awesome book and no doubt I’ll reread it again in future.

If you have ever wanted to sit down and have a conversation with a grown up teletubby then this is the book for you. After rising to fame playing LaLa on the hit kids tv show teletubbies Nikky’s honest account of life before during and after teletubbies is a great read and not to be missed.

Like thousands of other people, I loved the Teletubbies both for myself to watch as well as for my children. I adored the seemingly simplicity of the show. This was a fascinating read from Laa Laa herself, explaining how she was chosen to play the character, details about the costumes and logistics of making the programme. It was all far more complicated than I had imagined. A great "behind the scenes" book.

I recall lots of elements from the Teletubbies because one of my children watched Teletubbies. We even had each of them as a plush toy. They were an interesting concept, from a parent’s perspective, but I definitely understood that they were not marketed towards me, but to very young children. Nikki Smedley takes you on a deep journey into the life of a Teletubbie: Laa Laa, to be precise. We hear about the sheer exhaustion of putting on that yellow costume for several years, and also hear about the reward knowing so many children were so excited by the show and the characters. Even though there was no direct or immediate recognition, Nikki knew that somewhere around the world there was a child watching the show, and watching her as Laa Laa, and enjoying it immensely.

Equally it was interesting to hear about Nikki’s work later on with BooBah and In The Night Garden, and the work undertake to train future performers for children’s shows. It was so interesting to hear about the woman behind the famous yellow Teletubby. I found it so interesting reading about how the world of Teletubbies and the huge amount of time, effort, thought, and sweat that made it happen! There was so much dedication from everyone involved to make this children’s favourite come to screen. It was so interesting to hear more about the brains behind it.

Some of the detail provided was really interesting, such as the high security protecting the site and the actors, and the breed of rabbits they chose to match the dimensions of the Teletubbies. Some of it seemed to be a lot of fill about Nikky’s personal life. It did provide a good illustration of the life of someone who is in front of the camera, and hidden away under costume, and the impact of recognition for work in this field. I enjoyed reading this; it was a good stroll down memory lane, and reminded me of all the TV shows of that style that were produced that my kids were fascinated with.

There is a scene in a Teletubbies episode where a figure stands in a cardboard house, peeking out from behind a curtain. It makes gurgling noises, running back and forth inside the house, giving the viewer a brief glimpse of the figure inside.
It has terrified me for over 20 years.
Over The Hills And Far Away is the autobiography of LaLa actress Nikki Smedley, exploring how Teletubbies came to be, and the joys of filming as a giant puppet. It was an absolutely brilliant read, and Nikki comes across as so much fun. I would love to go for a drink with her, as she seems so lovely and so full of life.
She goes into a lot of depth about how Teletubbies “work”, and how the repetition is used to create a link to the toddler watching, and how children make predictions based on things that they have seen. I found this really fascinating, especially as someone who was the target audience for Teletubbies when it came out. Am I a more developed individual because I watched LaLa and Dipsy play around with Tubby Custard?
Nikki is so kind about her fellow actors, even certain people who “sold out” the Tubbies. When she talks about her relationship with Simon Shelton, and her reaction to his death, I got genuinely emotional. I never met the man, but I was so upset that such a fun and kind man had passed away.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who remembers the Teletubbies, and was also emotionally scarred by The Magic House. It may not solve the everlasting fear of people creeping behind windows, but it is such a great book to read.

Let’s be honest, we’ve all seen at least one episode of Teletubbies in our lives right? I was a bit old for it by the time it came out but my little brother loved it! And now, my daughter loves saying Eh-Oh to the tubbies too!

Who would’ve thought that reading about Laa Laa would stir so much emotion?! I loved how much this giant yellow suit completely changed Nikky’s life around.

It was so interesting to hear about the woman behind the famous yellow Teletubby. I found it so interesting reading about how the world of Teletubbies and the huge amount of time, effort, thought, and sweat that made it happen! There was so much dedication from everyone involved to make this children’s favourite come to screen. It was so interesting to hear more about the brains behind it.

I loved Nikky’s story and she had a lovely way of telling it. It was a well written, heartwarming memoir that tells of such an important part of Nikky’s life, and shows just how much she loves Laa Laa even now. Lovely read!

A marvellous memoir from Laa-Laa the Teletubby, aka Nikki Smedley, who is a dancer, choreographer, producer and teacher. One of the more unusual memoirs I’ve read, it’s a funny, insightful book which I very much enjoyed.

I was a little too old for the Teletubbies programme when it was first broadcast in 1997 but I remember seeing it at my childminder’s house. I’ve been exposed to it since then as my kids like watching it. In fact, while I was finishing this book, they made their Teletubby toys fight each other (Po was a policeman and Tinky Winky was the bad guy). What’s interesting about the TV programme is how popular and long-lived it is – this year is the 25th anniversary – which proves that Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport (the creators) were on to a winner, although as Nikki Smedley recounts, what they were doing was quite new and no one could predict how successful it would be.

The memoir focuses on what it was like to be in the Laa-Laa suit, channel the character and work with everyone involved in the programme. It’s packed full of production secrets and amusing anecdotes. I was super impressed with how considered every detail was and that, far from the dumbing down of children’s TV that the media had latched on to, Teletubbies was designed to support children’s early development in several ways. After finishing work on the show, Nikki was involved with the next Ragdoll productions Boobah (no, I haven’t heard of it either) and the phenomenally successful In the Night Garden, before doing various Teletubbies events and being a consultant on the rebooted Darrall Macqueen series.

In summary, a recommended read, unless you’ve never heard of the Teletubbies (unlikely) or you have a phobia of them (apparently some people do).

[Review will appear on my blog, 31st July]

It was such a treat to get an advanced review copy of this, my inner child thanks you very much. I absolutely loved it. I like most children adored the Teletubbies, even though by the time I watched it at age 7, when it first started in 1997, I was probably too old, but I was absolutely hooked. It was very interesting as an adult to learn all the behind-the-scenes stuff. PS, I still love the Teletubbies, the old series of course.

Once upon a time well over 25 years ago, Nikki Smedley was given the opportunity of a lifeline. Having been unemployed or certainly underemployed as a dancer up until that point, Smedley won the role of La La in an ingenious new children's series called Teletubbies. She could have little dreamed quite what a phenomena the show would turn out to be or for that matter just how gruelling the production process would prove.
Nikki Smedley turns out to be both a good-natured and funny writer and tells the story of her life as a Teletubby (the yellow one) very well. The process of filming - in large suits specifically designed to create the illusion that they were in reality both small and toddler-like sounds hellish: Smedley was initially tormented by recurring fears tat she might die at any moment. But she remains justifiably proud of her role in a major (if undeniably weird) part of our cultural history.

Famous, and yet not famous?

Absorbing, honest and entertaining account of the years spent inside that yellow fluffy suit

This book was just the tonic that I didn't know I needed.
I was too old for Teletubbies but my young brother watched it, so I saw and knew about it at the time
I cannot believe its now on its 25th anniversary.
This book is the perfect backstage pass to life in the teletubbies. From the set, to the huge costumes, to the newspapers hounding them for information. It was a fascinating read to catch a glimpse of this world. I can't say until this read that I thought much/at all about the people behind the characters. Now I've read the book I can see that Nikky absolutely is LaaLaa and I adore her passion to this character.

This has some heartfelt moments too and has a great blend of some early comedy, sheer hard work, and life after the show.

For anyone interested in TV, or the teletubbies, or just fancies reading something like you've never read before, look no further. This is an absolute unique gem.