This week, it was revealed that Justin Fletcher, the cherished Mr Tumble of CBeebies fame, is taking a step back from his iconic role in ‘Something Special’.
After 22 years, the 54-year-old entertainer is “temporarily stepping back” from the show and the channel.
The programme will now feature additional presenters, including TV host, YouTuber, and podcaster Maddie Moate, who is set to be one of the new faces on the show alongside Justin, with George Webster and Ben Cajee also joining.
‘Something Special’, which has been a staple since 2003, is designed to help children with communication challenges, incorporating Makaton sign language. It’s understandable that Fletcher would need some time off.
But who exactly is Maddie Moate? Here’s everything we know about Mr Tumble’s ‘replacement’..
The 36-year-old presenter hails from Witney, Oxfordshire, and is no stranger to CBeebies, having her own series, ‘Maddie’s Do You Know’. Her show delves into how everyday objects function and are made, earning her the Best Presenter BAFTA at the Children’s BAFTAs in 2017.
Maddie discovered her passion for performance at an early age at the Jill Stew School of Dance and Dramascope and later pursued studies in theatre, film, and television at Bristol University.
Before joining CBeebies, Moate created and hosted The App Show, an online comedy series on LadyGeek, alongside Nicola Hume from 2011 to 2012. This series, which garnered over 850,000 views, saw them tackle tech issues from a female viewpoint and was sponsored by Nokia.
Following this, she presented Newsburst on O2 Guru TV in 2012, which amassed more than four million views. She also fronted the Channel 4 show Home of the Future that same year.
Subsequently, she produced three films for Samsung between 2012 and 2013 and also presented a series of films for Intel and Argos, used in their ‘Superhuman Academy’ and ‘Smarten Up’ campaigns.
Since 2014, Maddie has been the main presenter of BBC Earth Unplugged, a BBC-produced YouTube channel with over 480,000 subscribers. She also had her own spin-off show on BBC America titled ‘It’s a Mad Mad Maddie World!’
When the Covid pandemic struck, Maddie and her then-partner Greg Foot filmed a YouTube livestream titled ‘Let’s go Live’, featuring different themes each week.
Each stream was science-based and included ideas for activities people could do at home during lockdown. Continuing her YouTube success, Maddie became a presenter on ‘Fully Charged’, a Youtube channel exploring battery-electric vehicles and renewable energy.
In the same year, she launched her podcast ‘Maddie’s Sound Explorers’ – which even won her the Best Family Podcast title in the British Podcast Awards back in 2021.
In 2022, Maddie continued her journey in online presenting with the YouTube Original series ‘Maddie’s Urban Jungles’. She also took on international duties, hosting ‘Make Yourself At Home’ for Magnolia, available on Discovery+.
Alongside these projects, Maddie has been a staple as the resident technology expert on BBC 5 Live Saturday Edition since 2014 and is a regular contributor to BBC 5 Live’s Big Share, Good Morning Britain, and BBC Breakfast. In September 2021, she released a book titled ‘Stuff’, designed to spark children’s curiosity across various subjects.
Not resting on her laurels, Maddie authored another book, ‘Very Curious Christmas’, in 2023, offering “Festive fun and seasonal science from around the world”.
Her stage presence is equally impressive, having appeared in De Montfort Hall’s production of Sleeping Beauty during 2021-2022, playing Tinkerbell at York Theatre Royal’s Peter Pan, and both writing and starring in ‘A Very Curious Christmas’, a live science show with a festive twist at the Apollo Theatre last year.
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