Justin Fletcher is known to millions of children as Mr Tumble or MR TUMBLE as they shout at the TV!
Justin also hosts another children’s favorite, Justin's House, which is also on CBeebies. Plus he also fronts Something Special, Gigglebiz, and GiggleQuiz. All of these shows are currently available to watch on iPlayer.
Amazingly, Justin plays all the characters in Gigglebiz! But there’s more to Justin than that. Here are several things you probably don’t know about the children’s TV star…
1. Justin Fletcher — who plays Mr Tumble — was awarded an MBE by The Queen in 2008
The star, who's now been working on children's TV for over 25 years, received the award for services "to children’s broadcasting and the voluntary sector" and he recalled that one of the guards called out MR TUMBLE! But Justin didn’t catch the cheeky guard!
2. Justin Fletcher’s hit show Gigglebiz was inspired by The Fast Show!
He commented: "I wanted to bring a children’s version of The Fast Show really and there wasn’t anything out there at the time. So I pitched it to the commissioning editor of the Beeb and he replied, ‘Look we’ll make it but you’ve got to play all of the characters!’ The gauntlet was set."
3. Justin was helped on the road to stardom by Phillip Schofield
Justin once told Phillip on This Morning: “You are responsible for my career, that’s very true. At my third year in drama school, I met Phillip and he very kindly gave me some advice and he said go out there and make a showreel and get it out there… and I did and I got my first job about three weeks later. You were my inspiration!”
He's also spoken about how he drew inspiration from comedy legend Rik Mayall, telling The Guardian: " I think Rik Mayall had an amazing range of facial expressions and I picked up a lot of tips from him as I developed my own comedy characters."
4. His cousin was in Dire Straits!
Yep, Justin’s cousin Guy Fletcher (his dad is also called Guy) is a musician. Speaking to Metro once, Justin said: “My cousin, Guy Fletcher, used to be the keyboard player in Dire Straits at the time of the Brothers In Arms album.”
5. Justin provides the bleats on children’s favorite Shaun the Sheep!
Justin voices Shaun and Timmy, most recently for Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas, but he reckons the animators are the real stars. “I do the easy bit really, the heroes are the animators,” he told The One Show.
Did you know that Justin also voiced Jake and Doodles the dog in The Tweenies! And Shaun isn’t the only famous animal Justin has voiced as he played loyal Timmy the dog in Famous 5: On The Case, an animated TV series based on the legendary Famous Five stories by Enid Blyton.
6. He went to drama school with EastEnders legend Michael Greco
Great to see my old drama school pal Justin Fletcher in Panto at Reading. Been nearly 30 years since we last saw each other and you’ve been amazing. Love ya. pic.twitter.com/5u8HooxiKqDecember 19, 2022
Justin went to drama school with ex EastEnders star Michael Greco, who famously played Beppe di Marco in the soap from 1998 to 2002. Michael recently shared a photo with Justin, saying: "Great to see my old drama school pal Justin Fletcher in Panto at Reading. Been nearly 30 years since we last saw each other and you’ve been amazing. Love ya."
7. Justin's songwriter father, Guy Fletcher, penned Cliff Richard’s Eurovision entry, Power to All Our Friends in 1973.
Justin's dad also wrote for Elvis and Ray Charles. Reflecting his father’s musical skills, Justin has released his own pop albums, including Justin Fletcher Gold. It features Justin singing classics like The Hokey Cokey and The Wheels On The Bus.
8. Justin loves music and classic cars.
He once told the BBC: “I’m quite into classic cars. I’m quite fascinated by things like that… Film music is so important to me. I was brought up in the music industry.”
Justin Fletcher’s Fact File
For everything else Justin Fletcher, see our in-depth fact file below.
How old is Justin Fletcher?
Justin Fletcher’s age is 52. His date of birth is 15 June 1970.
Is Justin Fletcher married?
Justin Fletcher’s not currently dating anyone.
Does Justin Fletcher have kids?
Justin Fletcher doesn’t have any children, but he is the son of songwriter Guy Fletcher, and he has three sisters and one brother.
Where was Justin Fletcher born?
Justin Fletcher’s place of birth is Reading, Berkshire.
How tall is Justin Fletcher?
Justin Fletcher’s height is 5ft 7inches.
Something Special, Justin’s House, Gigglebiz, and GiggleQuiz are all shown on CBeebies.
We work hard to ensure that all information is correct. Facts that change over time, such as age, will be correct, to the best of our knowledge, at the time of the last article update.
