CBeebies' 'Something Special' is set for a huge shake-up as legendary children's presenter Mr Tumble, a.k.a. Justin Fletcher, is 'temporarily stepping back' from the show after 22 years. Maddie Moate is one of the stars set to 'replace' him
11:02, 09 Jan 2025Updated 11:04, 09 Jan 2025
It was announced this week that CBeebies icon Justin Fletcher, famed for his role as Mr Tumble, is taking a step back from the hit show 'Something Special' after 22 years.
The 54-year-old legend is "temporarily stepping back" to take a well-deserved breather, and the beloved children's channel has confirmed that Fletcher will be joined by new faces on the show.
The CBeebies programme, which has been a staple since 2003, uses Makaton language to help kids with communication difficulties engage through signs, speech, and symbols. With such a legacy, it's no surprise that Fletcher is ready for a pause, passing the baton.
TV sensation, YouTuber, and podcast guru Maddie Moate is one of the fresh talents stepping in, alongside George Webster and Ben Cajee, but who exactly is this rising star?
Maddie, 36, hails from Witney, Oxfordshire, and isn't a stranger to the CBeebies family. She's already captured young hearts with her own series 'Maddie's Do You Know', where she delves into how everyday objects work, earning her a Best Presenter BAFTA at the Children's BAFTAs in 2017.
Her performing journey began at the Jill Stew School of Dance and Dramascope, igniting a passion for performance that led her to study 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. The series, which garnered over 850,000 views, saw them tackle tech issues from a female perspective and was sponsored by Nokia.
She then moved on to present Newsburst on O2 Guru TV in 2012, which amassed more than four million views. In the same year, she also hosted Channel 4's Home of the Future.
Between 2012 and 2013, she produced three films for Samsung and also presented a series of films for Intel and Argos, used in their 'Superhuman Academy' and 'Smarten Up' campaigns.
Content cannot be displayed without consentFrom 2014 onwards, 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 called '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.
Maddie has been keeping busy with her online gigs in 2022, presenting a YouTube Original called 'Maddie's Urban Jungles'. She's also been hosting an international series for Magnolia Network titled 'Make Yourself At Home', available on Discovery+.
Content cannot be displayed without consentNot only that, but Maddie has been the go-to tech guru on BBC 5 Live Saturday Edition since 2014 and is a regular on BBC 5 Live's Big Share, not to mention her spots on Good Morning Britain and BBC Breakfast.
She's also an author, having released a book in September 2021 named 'Stuff', designed to spark children's curiosity across various subjects. Fast forward to 2023, and she's out with another read, 'Very Curious Christmas', promising "Festive fun and seasonal science from around the world".
As if her plate wasn't full enough, Maddie has been dazzling on stage too. She appeared in De Montfort Hall's production of Sleeping Beauty during 2021-2022.
She's sprinkled her magic as Tinkerbell at York Theatre Royal's Peter Pan and even wrote and starred in 'A Very Curious Christmas', a live science show with a festive twist at the Apollo Theatre last year.
We can't wait to see what she has in store with her big new CBeebies role!
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