Something Special (TV series)
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Something Special is a children's television programme produced and broadcast by the BBC. It is designed to teach children signing supported by Makaton gestures, and is specifically aimed at children with speech disabilities. It is aired on CBeebies (both the separate channel and CBeebies on BBC One and BBC Two).
It is presented by Justin Fletcher ("Justin" from Tikkabilla), and features various other characters (also played by Justin) and clips of disabled children. Justin speaks as well as signing, and a spoken narrative is provided over the clips of children.
The characters played by Justin (other than himself) are the Tumble Family: Mr. Tumble, Grandpa Tumble and Baby Tumble. These characters are clumsy and not very intelligent. Mr. Tumble is simply Justin in a clown's outfit, Grandpa Tumble is him with aging makeup and Baby Tumble is Justin's face, with a dummy, peeping out of baby clothes in a pram.
The name of the programme derives from the idea that all children, disabled or not, are special.
A new series for 2006 started on 17th September 2006 and features the same characters as previous series. Mr Tumble can be seen in a school in the opening credits.
In March 2007 it was alleged that the show's introduction includes Fletcher signing a swear word that is an Anglo-Saxon slang meaning to make love in British sign language. Because of that on March 20, MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann program named Fletcher as the Worst Person in the World, and the BBC has since denied these claims.
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