Standish913.com has been blessed to do an exclusive interview with...
"NIKKY SMEDLEY"!
Let's get into some exclusive questions...
STANDISH: What was your favorite episode of the Teletubbies?
NIKKY: Hard to choose as I loved so many - but I was always a sucker for a big prop! I loved The Chair, as that was the dawn of ‘Bibbley Cheese!!’ and The Swing was an hilarious two-hander with Po - she really made me laugh hamming up her falling over. The SeeSaw was such an amazing prop and such fun to play on, but prop-wise, LaaLaa’s Guitar has to take top prize. I also thoroughly enjoyed having to make-up little songs for certain episodes - Nowhere To Sit and Tubby Custard Tubby hold special places in my heart.
TIA: What was your favorite thing about being a Teletubby?
NIKKY: I loved the camaraderie on set most of all, and also knowing that what I did for a living made children smile.
STANDISH: Did you get to choose which color Teletubby you were?
NIKKY: No the colours were just allocated to us, likewise aerial shape and favourite things.
STANDISH: Were the rabbits ever a problem on set? Did you have a favorite rabbit?
NIKKY: We had five rabbits, they were all girls and it was the nineties so obviously we named them after the Spice Girls! They were only a problem when they decided to do… well, what rabbits do - regardless of them all being female - and no, I didn’t have a favourite. We loved them all.
TIA: What would a day in your life be like without talking about Laa Laa?
NIKKY: Most of my days are devoid of conversation about LaaLaa, except when I’m touring my live show Confessions of a Teletubby or when a lovely fan contacts me.
STANDISH: Was it hard to see in the costume? how was movement with walking or dancing?
NIKKY: We could see very little from inside the costumes. I’m not really sure how we managed it to be honest - some kind of weird Tubby telepathy. I came from a dance background and that level of physical fitness really helped. The suits were very responsive, but incredibly hard work - even just to stand in! We had weekly sports massage (more pain than enjoyment) to keep us going.
TIA: Was there a big process of getting the role of becoming a Teletubby?
NIKKY: The audition process was pretty long-winded. Unbelievably, I answered an ad in the back of The Stage (trade newspaper) got called up and kept getting asked back as they whittled down from hundreds, maybe thousands, of applicants. I think my first audition was at the beginning of October 1995 and it was only a day or two before Christmas when I got the call to say I had the job.
STANDISH: How often do you find yourself singing Teletubbies?
NIKKY: Only when waiting backstage to start a show.
STANDISH: Is there anything on your bucket list you'd like to share with us?
NIKKY: I’d like to see a whale shark, preferably from alongside its flank, in the water.
TIA: If they ever did a Teletubby remake would you want to be involved?
NIKKY: I don’t think my knees could take it!! Seriously though, there was a remake in 2014 and I was very much involved backstage in casting and training up the new Tubs.
STANDISH: What are your social links?
NIKKY:
FB - Nikipedia111
Twitter&Insta - @RealTubbyLaa
Youtube - @NikkyLaa
TikTok - @nikkysmedley
TIA: Anything else you'd like to include?
NIKKY: Just big love and a great big hug to everyone who grew up with LaaLaa and was a TV friend ♥
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