CBeebies' new series: Meet Ruff-Ruff, Tweet and Dave!

Hello, can you tell us who you are, and what you do on Ruff-Ruff, Tweet & Dave?

Hello! My name is Tony Collingwood and I'm the creator of Ruff-Ruff, Tweet and Dave. I also co-directed the series with the show's designer, Andrea Tran, and in my spare time, I've written some of the episodes. It's been a fun journey

Can you tell us a bit about the characters?

Ruff-Ruff is an excitable puppy who loves digging holes, finding bones and chase squirrels! Tweet is a fun-loving little chick who giggles a lot and loves to sing. Being a chick, she can't fly very well, but we did attach balloons to her in one episode to give her more air time! Dave is a blue Panda. He's the wild card character, who has lots of ideas and likes to joke around. He’s obsessed with bananas - for reasons I still don't understand, other than it’s funny! (I did check online when writing the show and discovered that it is okay for pandas to eat bananas, just in case any end up watching the show and copy him.)

Hatty the Hamster is our question-master, a grown-up character, who guides our three friends and the children at home through the adventures. He's voiced by an actor called David Holt whom I first worked with years ago on a show called "Oscar's Orchestra" and another show we did for the BBC called “Gordon the Garden Gnome”.

What's the show about and what inspired you to create it?

The show is about three friends, Ruff-Ruff, Tweet and Dave, who love playing games and answering questions. At the start of every episode, Hatty the Hamster arrives in his colourful spinning-top craft called, The Spin-Again and takes them on a fun adventure.

These are multiple-choice adventures for pre-schoolers. The format is very simple; whatever question the children at home are asked by Hatty the Hamster during the adventure, the answer is always either, Ruff-Ruff! Tweet! or, Dave! - as each character champions a different answer. For example, "Who is holding the biggest balloon? Is it, Ruff-Ruff, Tweet, or Dave?" "Who is singing the highest note? Is it Ruff-Ruff, Tweet or Dave?"

I wanted to make an interactive show that engaged with children in a real way. As a father of three boys, I know how thrilled and proud of themselves children can be when they get an answer right! (And how proud parents can be when they do so!) At an early age, children understand far more than they can say, so multiple choice is a great route through that barrier.

So how will little ones be able to join in with the action on Ruff-Ruff, Tweet and Dave?

We hope the young children will join in and shout out the answers whilst watching the show. During the development period we worked very closely with nurseries and day-care centres, testing out the stories with children, making sure we got the pacing and questioning right. We kind of created the show ‘with children for children’. I'd read out the stories to kids as I held up picture cue-cards, and asked them the Ruff-Ruff, Tweet and Dave questions. Then we went back in with animatics (filmed storyboards) based on what we had learnt.

When you read a picture book to your children you can stay on a page for as long as they want, letting your child take in the pictures until they are ready for you to turn over. With film, it's the film maker who decides when to move on. If we move on too quickly we confuse the children, move on too slowly, and they get bored. Which is why we spent so much time with kids finding out what works best. Hopefully we've got the pacing right on this show for everyone to join in and have fun. Time will tell!

What do you hope that children will take from the series?

Each episode is based on a single theme. We explore many subjects, including high and low notes, recognising simple shapes, patterns and colours, and introducing new words. The show is really about learning how to learn; getting in the mindset of making comparisons and decisions based on the information given. I think it's called cognitive learning?! But most of all, it's about enjoying being a part of the Ruff-Ruff, Tweet and Dave adventures and helping them out along the way!

 What do you think parents will enjoy about the programme?

This show isn't just about children interacting with the show - it's also a sharing experience with parents, carers and friends. Getting a question right is fun - but it's even more fun when there is someone there to congratulate you! We have played some of the early episodes to young children with their parents and found that even the mums and dads can't resist shouting out the answers too!

Do you have a favourite character and favourite moment in the show?

A favourite character? That's the hardest multiple choice question of all! Who do I like best, Ruff-Ruff, Tweet or Dave? Much like my three kids at home - I love them all the same! (How could I say anything else!?) My favourite moment in the show is right at the end, when we're always asked to guess who will fall asleep first, Ruff-Ruff, Tweet or Dave? It's always Dave!