TeleTubbies' Tinky Winky actor Barnes dies

Tue 23 Jan 2018 at 13:36

The actor who played Teletubbies' Tinky Winky in the hit BBC children's show has died.

Father-of-three Simon Shelton Barnes, from Bedfordshire, had celebrated his 52nd birthday just a number of days ago.

Barnes found fame after replacing original Tinky Winky actor Dave Thompson on the BBC show.

A trained ballet dancer and choreographer, he was reluctant to portray the character at first, but later called the Teletubbies “a bit like the Beatles or Take That of television”.

Barnes’s son Henry posted a tribute on Facebook, writing: “I lost my lovely dad on Wednesday, he was the kindest and most gentle man I knew and I love him more than anything!

“I always used to be embarrassed as a child that he was a dancer and an actor but now I couldn’t be more proud! He is in a better place now and I know he wouldn’t want me to be sad, so I’m going to live my life the way he would want me to.”