Hey Duggee

Hey Duggee
Created by	Grant Orchard
Narrated by	Alexander Armstrong
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	52
Production
Running time	7 minutes
Production company(s)	Studio AKA
Distributor	BBC Worldwide
Release
Original network	CBeebies
Original release	17 December 2014 – present
External links
Page from Studio AKA

Hey Duggee is a British animated television series aimed at 2 to 5 year olds. Created by Grant Orchard,^[1] it was produced by Studio AKA.^[2] The initial run is for 52 episodes.

The show is based around The Squirrel Club, which is similar to an after school — or day centre — activity club for pre-school children. The children take part in all kinds of activities, have adventures and earn badges for their accomplishments.

Format

In each episode, a situation will present itself that can be solved by learning a new skill. When the skill has been learned, and the situation resolved, the Squirrels receive one of Duggee's badges, which are similar to scout badges. Each episode ends with a "Duggee Hug", where all the children hug Duggee at once. They then return to their parents with the badge they have earned.

The voice of the narrator is provided by English entertainer Alexander Armstrong, actor and presenter of Pointless.

Characters

Main characters

• Duggee - A nursery school teacher who is a brown dog. He is the leader of The Squirrel Club. Unlike the children, he does not speak and only communicates via the onomatopoeia "Woof". Voiced by Sander Jones, who is an animator at Studio AKA and also the Assistance Director for the series
• Betty - An intelligent and imaginative octopus. Voiced by Jasmine Bartholomew
• Happy - A small, happy crocodile who enjoys playing in the water. Voiced by Duke Davis
• Norrie - A chatty, giggly and fast moving mouse. Voiced by Poppie Boyes
• Roly - An enthusiastic, loud and hyperactive hippo. Voiced by Leo Templer
• Tag - A sweet-natured rhino with thick skin. Voiced by Alfie Sanderson

Supporting characters

• Enid - Duggee's pet cat. First seen in "The Rescue Badge"
• Freddie - A green triangular frog. First seen in "The Cake Badge" and first made a ribbit noise in "The Hair Badge"
• Rabbits - They live in the field near the clubhouse. They all speak in similar voices and sound like 60's hippies. First seen in "The Cake Badge"
• Mickey - A monkey who is very naughty. First seen in "The Jam Badge"
• Mice - A gang of three trouble making mice styled as a 50's biker gang; usually leaving with the phrase "Let's bounce". First seen in "The Rescue Badge"
• Lord Fingal of Skye Castle - A scotty dog, who is Scottish, complete with a kilt. First seen in "The Castle Badge"
• Soldier Ants - Literally an army of ants, complete with uniforms. One particularly large ant is a parody of Sylvester Stallone. First seen in "The Paper Boat Badge"
• Tino the Artistic Mouse - A perfectionist mouse, or as Roly describes him; "grumpy!" First seen in "The Balloon Badge"
• Hedgley - A hedgehog. First seen in "The Bouncing Badge"
• Thomas - A somewhat dramatic, yellow crab. First seen in "The Treasure Hunt Badge"
• Eugene - The leader of the parade. First seen in "The Big Parade Badge"
• Nigel - Mr Crab's best friend. He also is a silent type. First seen in "The Sandcastle Badge"
• Penguins - They make fun of Duggee's snowman because it wasn't that perfect... First seen in "The Snowman Badge"
• Duglee - Duggee's little nephew. He is cute and loves to cause chaos in the whole clubhouse. First seen in "The Puppy Badge"
• Henny - A tall sports-loving ostrich. First seen in "The Omelette Badge"
• Bucky - Duggee's old rocking horse. First seen in "The Rocking Horse Badge"
• Wilbert - A postman. First seen in "The Sheep Badge"
• Ethel - An elephant who has a shape shifting trunk. First seen in "The Paddling Pool Badge"
• Diesel - A very angry bull who often chases Duggee and the squirrels. First seen in "The Be Careful Badge"

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Viewers (millions)
1	"The Drawing Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	12 January 2015	N/A
Duggee and the squirrels stay indoors because it is raining outside and they draw.
2	"The Cake Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	13 January 2015	N/A
While playing outside Happy comes across a cake in a field and eats it. The owners of the cake are not too pleased.
3	"The Hair Badge"	Grant Orchard	Myles McLeod	14 January 2015	N/A
The Squirrels try to help Duggee's hair better.
4	"The Summer Holiday Badge"	Grant Orchard	Myles McLeod	15 January 2015	N/A
The Squirrels pack summer holiday stuffs for a bird named Mawk who was migrating "to find summer" just with a photo camera around his neck and a toothbrush in a suitcase.
5	"The Rescue Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	16 January 2015	N/A
Duggee and the Squirrels rescue Enid the cat who was stuck on a tree branch while chasing a mouse.
6	"The Super Squirrel Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	19 January 2015	N/A
Duggee helped the Squirrels play superheroes, eventually helping a duckling to find one's family.
7	"The Jam Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	20 January 2015	N/A
The Squirrels were watching Duggee making a jar of jam when a "naughty monkey" steals a barrel of fruits; the team eventually share jam toasts with the monkey.
8	"The Treasure Hunt Badge"	Grant Orchard	Danny Stack	21 January 2015	N/A
The Squirrels, using a treasure map, go on an adventure to find a treasure, which turns out was in fact located near the house.
9	"The Scarecrow Badge"	Grant Orchard	Danny Stack	22 January 2015	N/A
To stop the birds eating Duggee's grain the Squirrels decide to build a scarecrow.
10	"The Funny Face Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	23 January 2015	N/A
The Squirrels decide to try and cheer up the Shamanistic Owl.
11	"The Bouncing Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	26 January 2015	N/A
Duggee puts up a bouncy castle for Tag on his birthday.
12	"The Leaf Badge"	Grant Orchard	Danny Stack	27 January 2015	N/A
A weird noise is heard while the Squirrels go for a walk in the woods.
13	"The Omelette Badge"	Grant Orchard	Danny Stack	28 January 2015	N/A
Duggee wants to make omelettes, but with no eggs they need to find the chickens.
14	"The Food Growing Badge"	Grant Orchard	Sam Morrison	29 January 2015	N/A
The Squirrels want to grow things after they see Duggee sowing seeds.
15	"The Paddling Pool Badge"	Grant Orchard	James Henry	30 January 2015	N/A
On a hot day Duggee gets out his big paddling pool.
16	"The Paper Boat Badge"	Grant Orchard	Sam Morrison	2 February 2015	N/A
The Squirrels learn how to make a paper boat from Duggee.
17	"The Castle Badge"	Grant Orchard	Myles McLeod	3 February 2015	N/A
The squirrels hear a spooky voice coming from the tower in the castle.
18	"The Show and Tell Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	4 February 2015	N/A
The Squirrels watch Duggee 'Show and Tell' something interesting.
19	"The Rocking Horse Badge"	Grant Orchard	Jo Clegg	5 February 2015	N/A
Duggee and the Squirrels fix an old rocking horse of Duggee's, and then the Squirrels play around it.
20	"The Get Well Soon Badge"	Grant Orchard	Sander Jones	6 February 2015	N/A
Duggee and the Squirrels (except Norrie) help other animals in trouble while the team were on the way to Norrie's house to give her a get well soon card.
21	"The Hiccup Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	9 February 2015	N/A
A hiccupping earth worm is met by the Squirrels.
22	"The Maze Badge"	Grant Orchard	Phillip Warner	10 February 2015	N/A
The squirrels create a maze from items they find in Duggee's workshop.
23	"The Raindance Badge"	Grant Orchard	Danny Stack	11 February 2015	N/A
The Squirrels are taught by Duggee a rain dance to water his flowers on a hot day.
24	"The Acorn Badge"	Grant Orchard	Sam Morrison	12 February 2015	N/A
Duggee gets the Squirrels to gather acorns, and release them for free to other animals who were about to hibernate.
25	"The Balloon Badge"	Grant Orchard	Danny Stack	13 February 2015	N/A
Duggee shows off his balloon blowing skills to the Squirrels. They want the balloons but Duggee 'tells' them that they are for Tino on his birthday.
26	"The Tinsel Badge"	TBA	TBA	17 December 2014 (In advance)	N/A
This episode was premiered in advance on 17 December 2014 as a Christmas special before the series' regular run.
27	"The Hide & Seek Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	8 June 2015	N/A
Duggee and the Squirrels play hide-and-seek.
28	"The Sheep Badge"	Grant Orchard	Phillip Warner	9 June 2015	N/A
There's a sheep in the clubhouse.
29	"The Spider Badge"	Grant Orchard	Jo Clegg	10 June 2015	N/A
A spider is discovered in the dressing-up box by Norrie.
30	"The We Love Animals Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	11 June 2015	N/A
The Squirrels want to find strokable animals after they see Duggee stroking Enid the cat.
31	"The Snowman Badge"	Grant Orchard	Sam Morrison	12 June 2015	N/A
The Squirrels build a snowman.
32	"The Decorating Badge"	Grant Orchard	James Henry	15 June 2015	N/A
The Squirrels help Duggee to paint the clubhouse.
33	"The Tidy Up Badge"	Grant Orchard	Sam Morrison	16 June 2015	N/A
Spring clean time for the Clubhouse and Duggee has bought a new vacuum cleaner.
34	"The Circus Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	17 June 2015	N/A
The Squirrels are excited by the arrival of the circus but not when they find out it's a flea circus.
35	"The Egg Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	18 June 2015	N/A
It's egg laying time for one of the chickens.
36	"The Puppy Badge"	Grant Orchard	Jo Clegg	19 June 2015	N/A
Dugley, Duggee's nephew, stays over.
37	"The Cardboard Box Badge"	Grant Orchard	James Henry	22 June 2015	N/A
It's cardboard costume dressing up capers with the Squirrels.
38	"The Caterpillar Badge"	Grant Orchard	James Henry	23 June 2015	N/A
A hungry caterpillar consumes lots of food and gets huge.
39	"The Sandcastle Badge"	Grant Orchard	Myles McLeod	24 June 2015	N/A
The crabs need help from the Squirrels to build a new home.
40	"The Football Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	25 June 2015	N/A
Innocent of the rules of association football the Squirrels still want to play the game with Duggee.
41	"The Puppet Show Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	26 June 2015	N/A
Duggee and the Squirrels want to show everyone their adventure by performing a puppet show.
42	"The Birdwatching Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	19 October 2015	N/A
What better way to observe birds than using Duggee's binoculars.
43	"The Big Parade Badge"	Grant Orchard	Jo Clegg	20 October 2015	N/A
After the leader of the Big Parade hurts his leg Duggee and the Squirrels lend a hand (or paw).
44	"The Be Careful Badge"	Grant Orchard	Danny Stack	21 October 2015	N/A
Duggee and the Squirrels rescue Naughty Monkey after he falls into a hole.
45	"The First Aid Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	22 October 2015	N/A
Duggee and the Squirrels gives first aid to Tag after he hurts his knee.
46	"The Bubble Badge"	Grant Orchard	Sam Morrison	23 October 2015	N/A
Happy has trouble blowing bubbles with Duggee and the rest of the Squirrels.
47	"The Submarine Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	26 October 2015	N/A
It's a day out for Duggee and the Squirrels as they go on an underwater adventure with Betty's dad in his submarine.
48	"The Detective Badge"	Grant Orchard	Phillip Warner	27 October 2015	N/A
Duggee puts his homemade apple pie on the windowsill to cool down, but then it disappears. Who took it? Can the Squirrels find out?
49	"The Sewing Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	28 October 2015	N/A
Duggee and the Squirrels are sewing ponchos when they hear a loud sneeze. Someone needs a hanky - what could they use instead?
50	"The Surprise Badge"	Grant Orchard	Sam Morrison	29 October 2015	N/A
Duggee and the Squirrels have bought Hennie a present for her birthday. But before they surprise her, they need to wrap it up.
51	"The Teddy Bear Badge"	Grant Orchard	Jo Clegg	30 October 2015	N/A
Duggee and the Squirrels take their teddy bears on a picnic, where they meet a real bear who wants a teddy too so she can join in.
52	"The Story Badge"	Grant Orchard	Grant Orchard	2 November 2015	N/A
The Squirrels tire themselves out with all their activities, so Duggee suggests they take a break and listen to a story.

Release, merchandise and other licensing deals

Broadcast

The series made British television debut when the episode "The Tinsel Badge" was aired in advance on 17 December 2014 as a Christmas special on CBeebies. Its regular run began on 12 January 2015, when the first episode, "The Drawing Badge", was shown.

Internationally, the series is distributed by BBC Worldwide, a commercial arm of the BBC which also operates the versions of CBeebies channel in select areas outside the UK.

A deal announced on 23 February 2015 by BBC Worldwide for the series include RTÉ in the Republic of Ireland.^[3]

Home media and online viewing

In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, BBC Worldwide so far released two volumes of DVDs, each containing ten episodes.

Reception

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result
2015	Annecy International Animated Film Festival	TV Series[4]	For "The Rescue Badge"	Nominated

References

1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/worldwide/2014/hey-duggee
2. Studio AKA "Hey Duggee" site
3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/corporate2/mediacentre/worldwide/2015/childrens-animation
4. http://www.annecy.org/programme/index:film-20152406

External links

• Hey Duggee at BBC Online (not accessible outside the UK)
• Hey Duggee at Studio AKA