SuperTed Set to Fly Onto Our Screens Again!

It’s been around 35 years since we last saw SuperTed on our screens, and boy do I feel old. Having missed it first time round, I watched the reruns and I’m almost certain I owned a few of the series on VHS. Created by Welsh writer and animator, Mike Young, SuperTed is an animated show about… well, a teddy who has superpowers. Discarded to a dusty storeroom at the toy factory he was made, a Spotty man from space happens upon him. Spotty brings Ted back to life with his cosmic dust and they travel to a magic cloud where Mother Nature gives Ted his magical powers. Henceforth, he becomes SUPERTED!

Ahem… sorry, I was caught up in the moment. Now, where was I? Ah yes, SuperTed reboot – in 1976, then salesman Mike Young was struggling to get his stepson Richard to sleep as he was deathly afraid of the dark. In the middle of doing the dishes, his stepson called out to him again. Arriving in Richard’s room, he noticed a teddy bear next to his stepson. With tea towel in hand, he adorned the teddy in a cape and told Richard “…this teddy bear is also afraid of the dark but when you whisper a secret magic word the turns into SuperTed.” And thus, SuperTed was born.

SuperTed: Fit for a Future King

Urged on by a nursery teacher, Richard pitched his idea to a new television channel for Wales, S4C. The first episode aired in November of 1982 and was a roaring success. English language episodes were then made for the BBC and shown in 1983. SuperTed became so popular it was shown in 128 different countries and dubbed into 32 different languages before its final episode in 1986. Children across the world may very well have loved SuperTed but there were two very special kids who adored it too: Prince William and Prince Harry.

When Young met Princess Diana at a hospital ward opening, she told him of her sons love of the show. Young then gave her two SuperTed’s, which Diana promptly asked her lady-in-waiting to put in the car. “I’ve got the future king and Prince Harry with us, they grew up with SuperTed and are big fans.” Young told the BBC.

To Hollywood, and Beyond!

Now a Hollywood-based Emmy and Bafta award winning animator who runs his own entertainment production company, Mike Young is planning to relaunch SuperTed for a more modern audience. Young would like Hollywood’s Welsh elite to voice characters in the revamp, such as Michael Sheen, Rhys Ifans and Ioan Gruffudd. Sadly original voice actors Victor Spinetti (Mike Young’s cousin and voice of Texas Pete), Jon Pertwee (Spotty) and Roy Kinnear (Bulk) have since passed away but Young would love it if Derek Griffiths and Melvyn Hayes could return, voices of SuperTed and Skeleton, respectively.

Young said he’d like to pitch it to popular streaming services; “We’d have to pitch to Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and the big guys because you’re looking at an investment of about $11m (£7.9m) for a full series in CGI.” Work on the new episodes are said to start later this year and Young is hopeful that the show will air sometime in 2023. A long wait, certainly, but I’d say it’ll be worth it.

How do you feel about this relaunch? Let us know in the comments below.
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