Unearthed Teletubbies episode was CENSORED and BANNED for being ‘too scary’ for young children – but do YOU remember the ‘creepy’ scenes?
- Episode ‘The Lion and the Bear’ was banned in the US in 1999 for being too scary
- It was censored by BBC two years later to involve far less menacing elements
- Read more: Teletubbies returns to our screens narrated by Tituss Burgess
A ‘creepy’ Teletubbies episode from the late 1990s was censored and even banned around the world for being too scary for young children.
The episode, titled ‘The Lion and The Bear’, was aired in 1997 in the first series of the children’s television programme – aimed at those aged one to four years old.
But several of the scenes were quickly deemed too frightening for children – and the episode was later censored by the BBC and banned completely in the US.
The episode was even dubbed ‘the greatest horror show of all time’, while others questioned the menacing music that plays in the background of the creepy scenes.
The reason for the outrage wasn’t the Teletubbies themselves, but two cardboard characters which were introduced for the scenes – predictably, a lion and a bear.
The episode, titled ‘The Lion and The Bear’, was aired in 1997 in the first series of the children’s television programme – aimed at those aged one to four years old
Several of the scenes were quickly deemed too frightening for children – and the episode was later censored by the BBC and banned completely in the US
The colourful, beloved Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po are seen in the episode looking very worried as a brown bear enters their otherworldly garden.
It says: ‘I’m the bear, I’m the bear, and I’m coming.’
The bear rolls around the grassy area, before a lion suddenly appears on the screen.
‘I am the scary lion, with big scary teeth,’ the new addition says. ‘I’m scary on the top and I’m underneath.’
In the episode, Laa-Laa tells the rest of the Teletubbies to ‘hide’.
The episode was even dubbed ‘the greatest horror show of all time’, while others questioned the menacing music that plays in the background of the creepy scenes
The reason for the outrage wasn’t the Teletubbies themselves, but two cardboard characters which were introduced for the scenes – predictably, a lion and a bear
The scene was edited in 2001 to remove the majority of the ‘scary’ elements
The scene was edited in 2001 to remove the majority of the ‘scary’ elements.
The BBC decided to change the voice of the bear to make it far less frightening – and the music was edited to be more lighthearted.
It also featured an alternate ending, in which the Teletubbies are seen celebrating when the lion chases away the bear. In earlier iterations, they had appeared afraid.
The colourful, beloved Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po are seen in the episode looking very worried as a brown bear enters their otherworldly garden
The episode was unearthed months after it was confirmed the Teletubbies would be returning to our screens in a Netflix reboot.
The beloved children’s show returned to the streaming service on November 14, narrated by actor Tituss Burgess.
The iconic series was first broadcast in 1997 until 2001, before it had another run on CBeebies from 2015 to 2018.
Source: Read Full Article