Anne Wood facts for kids

Anne Wood, who has been honored with the CBE, was born on December 18, 1937. She is a famous English producer of children's television shows. Anne Wood is well-known for creating popular series like Teletubbies (with Andrew Davenport), Tots TV, Boohbah, and Rosie and Jim. She has received many awards for her work, including the Eleanor Farjeon Award.

Anne Wood's Early Life

Anne Wood was born in Spennymoor, a town in County Durham, England. She grew up in a small coal-mining village nearby called Tudhoe Colliery.

Anne Wood's Career Journey

Anne first became a secondary school teacher after studying at Bingley Training College in Yorkshire. She started her teaching career back home in Spennymoor. In 1959, she married Barrie Wood and moved to Surbiton in Surrey, where she continued teaching at Hollyfield Road Secondary School.

This was a time when paperback books for children were becoming popular. Anne was one of the first to support a children's paperback book club for schools, set up by Scholastic Publications. After her daughter was born, she stopped teaching and began working for Scholastic as an editor for their Children's Book Club.

Connecting Kids with Books

When Anne's family moved to Byfleet in Surrey, she became even more interested in how books could help children grow and learn. In 1965, she started and edited a magazine called Books for Your Children. This magazine was for parents, teachers, and librarians, and it was supported by children's book publishers. The UK Arts Council even gave the magazine a small grant to help it get started.

To further promote children's books, Anne Wood also created the Federation of Children's Book Groups in 1969. This organization still exists today! In the same year, she received the Eleanor Farjeon Award for her great work in promoting children's books.

Becoming a TV Producer

Anne Wood then moved into television, where she created many beloved shows.

• Tyne Tees Television (1977): She worked on Puzzle Party for ITV, hosted by Gyles Brandreth.
• Yorkshire Television (1979–1983): Anne produced five series of The Book Tower, a show that encouraged children to read. This program won a Children's BAFTA award in 1979 and 1982, and the Prix Jeunesse in 1980. She also produced Ragdolly Anna in 1982, a series that brought a ragdoll to life using new technology.
• Head of Children's Programmes for TV-am (1983): Anne introduced the famous character Roland Rat in The Spectacular Shedvision Show. Roland Rat became incredibly popular and helped save the struggling breakfast television service, increasing its audience from 100,000 to 1.8 million viewers! Anne produced several more series with Roland Rat, including Rat on the Road and Roland Goes East. At the same time, she also produced Rub-a-Dub-Tub, a Sunday morning show for very young children.
• Ragdoll Productions Limited (1984): Anne Wood started her own independent children's television production company, Ragdoll Productions. She retired from Ragdoll in 2021.

Ragdoll Productions: Popular Shows

Here are some of the well-known shows produced by Ragdoll Productions, with the year they first aired:

• Pob's Programme (1985)
• Playbox (1988)
• The Magic Mirror (1989) – This was the first children's show in British television to have a sponsor.
• Boom! (1990) – A show designed for children with special needs.
• Rosie and Jim (1990)
• Brum (1991)
• Tots TV (1993)
• Open a Door (1994)
• Teletubbies (1997) – A global hit with 365 episodes!
• Badjelly the Witch (2000) – A movie.
• Teletubbies Everywhere (2002)
• Boohbah (2003)
• What Makes Me Happy (2005)
• Blips (2005)
• In the Night Garden... (2007)
• Tronji (2009)
• The Adventures of Abney & Teal (2011)
• Dipdap (2011)
• Twirlywoos (2015)
• B.O.T. and the Beasties (2021)

Awards and Recognition

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

Personal Awards for Anne Wood

• 1969: Eleanor Farjeon Award (for her work with 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.
• 2000: BAFTA Special Award for her amazing contribution to Children's Television and Film.
• 2007: The Harvey Lee Award for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting.
• 2010: Lifetime Achievement award from Mother and Baby Magazine.
• 2014: Voice of the Listener and Viewer Award for Contribution to Children's Television.

Awards for Her Productions

The Book Tower (Yorkshire TV)

• 1979: Children's BAFTA
• 1980: Prix Jeunesse
• 1982: Children's BAFTA

Rosie and Jim

• 1992: TV Ontario Award

Tots TV

• 1993: TV Quick – Gold Award
• 1996: Prix Jeunesse
• 1996: Children's BAFTA (Best Pre-School Live Action)
• 1997: Children's BAFTA (Best Pre-School Live Action)

Open a Door

• 1996: Prix Jeunesse
• 2000: Prix Jeunesse (BMW Special Prize)
• 2001: Gold World Medal, New York Festivals
• 2002: Grand Award, New York Festivals
• 2004: Gold World Medal, New York Festivals
• 2004: The Japan Foundation President's Prize

Teletubbies

• 1997: Grand Prize, Japan Prize International Contest
• 1997: Royal Television Society Children's Entertainment Award
• 1998: Children's BAFTA Best Pre-School Programme
• 1999: International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association Awards (License of the Year, and more)
• 2000: Royal Television Society Best Pre-School & Infants Award
• 2014: Joint Winner of the Most Edgy Programme of the last 50 Years at Prix Jeunesse

Teletubbies Everywhere

• 2002: Children's BAFTA Best Pre-School Live Action Award

What Makes Me Happy

• 2007: Golden Butterfly Award – Iran
• 2007: 9th China Children's Film Festival Special Award
• 2009: Cine Golden Eagle Award

In the Night Garden...

• 2007: BAFTA Children's Best Pre-school Live Action Programme
• 2008: BAFTA Children's Best Pre-school Live Action Programme
• 2010: Broadcast Magazine Award Best Pre-school show
• 2010: Voice of the Listener & Viewer Award for Excellence in Broadcasting Best Children's Television Programme

Dipdap

• 2011: Children's BAFTA Best Children's Short Form Programme