Tikkabilla

Tikkabilla is a British children's television series. It was broadcast on CBeebies. The series was created to educate and entertain preschool children at the same time. Tikkabilla's name comes from the Hindi word for hopscotch, a popular game for children.

Two presenters teach a talking purple dragon called Tamba about various topics. These presenters have included Justin Fletcher, Sarah-Jane Honeywell, Simon Davies, Lorna Laidlaw, Paul Ewing, Veejay Kaur (series 3 and 4), Toni Fruitin and Amit Sharma (series 4) and Beverly Hills (series 1 and 2). Tamba is depicted by a puppet, and was performed by Sue Eves (who wrote many of the series' scripts), or in some episodes Alison McGowan (series 2 and 3) and Katherine Smee (series 4).

The show is similar to Play School and Playdays. Simon Davies also presented Play School in its later years and Playdays in its early years, and Justin Fletcher played Mr Jolly in the play adaptation of Playdays. The presenters and Tamba perform songs, tell stories, play games and make things in a colourful house. It is sometimes visited by special guests, usually to show a skill or for a performance. Similar to Play School, various items are shown outside and seen through square, round and arched windows. Young children (and sometimes the presenters and Tamba) can also be seen outside.

Bonny, Banana and Mo, Sami's Worlds, Summerton Mill, Higgledy House and Hotch Potch House (the last three also separately), as well as clips from other educational BBC series, mostly Words and Pictures and Numbertime, have been shown during episodes.

Beverly Hills wrote for Tikkabilla and another similar show, The Story Makers. Francis Haines and Liz Kitchen wrote most of the show's music. Francis Haines and Jake Hook wrote one of the songs together.

• Tikkabilla at BBC Programmes
• CBeebies - Tikkabilla at bbc.co.uk (archived)