Tweenies follow the teletubbies to Russia

Krasotitsa! The Tweenies are heading for Russia in their latest bid to become the most popular children’s TV show on the planet.

The BBC said today it had struck a deal to screen the exploits of youngsters’ favourites Milo, Bella, Jake and Fizz over there.

The show will still be called the Tweenies and the characters will keep the same names, but their catchphrases are definitely different.

“Fab-a-rooney” becomes “Krasotitsa”, “cool” is “klas” and “are you ready to play” translates as “poigraem”.

Russian channel ORT will broadcast the programme three times a week.

The Tweenies have already been shown in 60 countries worldwide and translated into 24 languages.

They will follow in the footsteps of the Teletubbies, who went to Russia in 2000 and became an instant hit.

BBC Worldwide Chief Executive Rupert Gavin said: “Tweenies have won phenomenal acclaim and popularity around the world, proving that strong programmes can transcend international boundaries.

“This agreement with ORT marks the opportunity for Bella, Milo, Fizz and Jake to reach millions of Russian children for the first time and I am confident that they will be a huge success in this very important market.”

The Tweenies are still hugely popular in Britain where they have sold more than 2.4 million books and 2.7 million videos.

Their new single Have Fun Go Mad is out this week and they will release their third album later this month.