Born in Henley, Berkshire, in 1970, Justin Fletcher MBE – better known as Mr Tumble – is the BAFTA Award-winning children’s entertainer behind BBC shows including Something Special and Gigglebiz, not to mention the voice of Shaun the Sheep. The son of Guy Fletcher – a songwriter for the likes of Elvis Presley and Joe Cocker – Justin is one of five and lives in Berkshire with his dog, Bluebell
You’re an award-winning performer adored by generations of children – where did it all start?
My inspiration was Phillip Schofield in the broom cupboard with Gordon the Gofer. One day when I was in my third year at drama school, I had a chance meeting with Phillip and he advised me to put a showreel together. My sister who was a newsreader for Meridian at the time secured the studio for an hour after work, and a couple of weeks after sending it out I landed my first job.
How would your friends describe you?
I’m very much the same individual in real life as you get on-screen. I’m really quite a high energy chap, I like to joke and giggle a lot. I am also a workaholic, I realise that. I have five brothers and sisters, was born in Henley, grew up in the Reading area, and went to school in Berkshire. I still live there and I’m very close to my family; we go on lots of country walks, and have BBQs, and get-togethers, go fishing. I also have a dog called Bluebell.
Do you harbour secret ambitions to spread your wings and your talents beyond children’s entertainment?
I’m certainly going to carry on in children’s TV – it’s my love, my passion, especially doing live shows because it’s so important to encourage children to go to the theatre. I’m not going anywhere in that respect but yes I will look at other things; I’d love to do adult comedy, and a live action movie one day would be fun – I’d put as many characters in there as possible. It’s been an absolute honour to work on programmes like Shaun the Sheep, and it’s a busy year ahead, with the Justin and Friends Mr Tumble Circus about to tour around the country. But then, who knows?
How did you come to work with sign language?
I knew of British Sign Language (BSL) and had used a small amount of it in a couple of shows. Then when I was working on Tikkabilla for the BBC, a producer called Allan Johnston secured a small budget to create four episodes of a new show called Something Special. He decided to use the Makaton signing system and asked me if I’d liked to present the show. We started filming this tiny series, and I was presented with a character called Mr Tumble. I put my own bit of Oliver Hardy-esque slapstick skills into that, and it went down very well. It became a crucial programme to make; I think it has broken down barriers and I think we could certainly do with more programmes for children with learning difficulties. The Makaton system is brilliant because it relieves the frustration children often have when they can’t vocalise their thoughts, in that sense it helps give children a voice.
