Anne Wood facts for kids

Anne Wood is a famous English TV producer who creates shows for children. She was born on December 18, 1937. You might know her best for creating popular shows like Teletubbies and In the Night Garden.... She also created Tots TV and Rosie and Jim. Anne Wood has received a special award called the CBE for her amazing work in children's television.

Early Life and Education

Anne Wood grew up in a small village called Tudhoe Colliery in County Durham, England. It was a coal-mining village. She went to Bingley Training College in Yorkshire to become a secondary school teacher. Her first teaching job was back in her hometown of Spennymoor.

In 1959, she married Barrie Wood and moved to Surbiton. There, she continued teaching at Hollyfield Road Secondary School.

A Champion for Children's Books

During her teaching years, paperback books for children were just starting to become popular. Anne became a pioneer, helping to set up a book club for schools with Scholastic Publications. After her daughter was born, she stopped teaching and started working for Scholastic as an editor for their Children's Book Club.

In 1965, Anne started her own magazine called Books for Your Children. This magazine was published four times a year and was for parents, teachers, and librarians. It helped them find great books for kids. The UK Arts Council even gave her a small grant to support the magazine.

To help even more, Anne set up the Federation of Children's Book Groups in 1969. This group still exists today and helps promote children's books. Because of her big efforts to encourage reading, Anne Wood received the Eleanor Farjeon Award in 1969.

Becoming a TV Producer

Anne Wood then moved into television, creating shows that would become favorites for many children.

Early TV Work

• Tyne Tees Television (1977): She worked on Puzzle Party, a show hosted by Gyles Brandreth.
• Yorkshire Television (1979–1987): Anne produced The Book Tower, a show that made children excited about books. It won a Children's BAFTA award twice! She also produced Ragdolly Anna, a series about a ragdoll that seemed to come to life.
• Head of Children's Programmes for TV-am (1983): Anne introduced the famous character Roland Rat. This character was so popular that he helped save the breakfast television service! Roland Rat's shows brought in millions of viewers. She also produced Rub-a-Dub-Tub, a show for very young children.

Ragdoll Productions

In 1984, Anne Wood started her own company called Ragdoll Productions Limited. This company created many of the well-known children's shows we know today. She retired from Ragdoll in 2021.

Popular Ragdoll Shows

Here are some of the famous shows Anne Wood's company produced:

• Pob's Programme (1985–1987)
• Rosie and Jim (1990–2000): A show about two ragdolls who live on a canal boat.
• Brum (1991–2002): About a small, yellow car that comes to life and has adventures.
• Tots TV (1993–1998): Featuring three friends, Tom, Tiny, and Tilly, who live in a secret house.
• Teletubbies (1997–2001): This show became a worldwide hit with its colorful characters Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa, and Po.
• Boohbah (2003–2005): Another unique show with five colorful characters.
• In the Night Garden... (2007–2009): A magical show set in a beautiful garden with characters like Igglepiggle and Upsy Daisy.
• The Adventures of Abney & Teal (2011–2012): About two friends living on an island in a park.
• Twirlywoos (2015–2017): Four bird-like characters who explore the world.

Awards and Recognition

Anne Wood and her shows have won many awards over the years.

Personal Awards

• 1969: Eleanor Farjeon Award (for helping children's books)
• 1997: The Baird Medal of the Royal Television Society
• 1999: The Veuve Clicquot Award for Business Woman of the Year
• 2000: Made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her services to children's broadcasting. This is a very high honor!
• 2000: BAFTA Special Award for her amazing contribution to Children's Television and Film.
• 2010: Lifetime Achievement award from Mother and Baby Magazine.
• 2014: Voice of the Listener and Viewer Award for her contribution to Children's Television.

Awards for Her Shows

Many of Anne Wood's productions have won important awards:

• The Book Tower won Children's BAFTA awards in 1979 and 1982.
• Tots TV won a Prix Jeunesse and Children's BAFTA awards in 1996 and 1997.
• Teletubbies won the Grand Prize at the Japan Prize International Contest in 1997 and a Children's BAFTA for Best Pre-School Programme in 1998. It also won many licensing awards because its characters were so popular.
• In the Night Garden... won the BAFTA Children's Best Pre-school Live Action Programme award in both 2007 and 2008.

See Also

• List of children's television series