Something Special (TV Series)

Something Special (TV Series)

Something Special is a children's television programme produced and broadcast by the BBC. The producer is Allan Johnston who worked as a teacher of children with special needs before joining the BBC in 1989. It is designed to introduce children to Makaton signing, and is specifically aimed at children with delayed learning and communication difficulties. It is aired on the CBeebies channel and in the past was also broadcast as part of the CBeebies programme strand on BBC One and BBC Two).

The name of the programme derives from the idea that all children, irrespective of their position on the learning spectrum, are special.

It is presented by Justin Fletcher 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, a clown who himself displays delayed learning and communication difficulties, Grandad Tumble and Baby Tumble. Other members of the Tumble family to have made appearances include two Aunts - Polly and Suki (as in the popular nursery rhyme "Polly Put the Kettle On"), Lord Tumble and King Tumble.

There format of the show has evolved considerably since the original series. In 2012, a new series, "Something Special - We're All Friends" started, introducing some minor changes to the "Out and About" format. This format change has also included a change in location, and introduced the Tumble Tapp, a tablet computer showing the "special things" to look for.