Ragdoll Productions was founded on 26 July 1984 by Anne Wood, who produced shows for the ITV network. It was incorporated as Ragdoll Productions (U.K.) Limited in April 1985 and was originally based in Birmingham.[3] The company's first show, Pob's Programme, premiered on Channel 4 later that year. The company was later commissioned by Central Independent Television to produce Playbox, which demonstrated the ability for the company to produce their own characters. In 1989, The Magic Mirror and BOOM! marked the company's debut in the animation and live-action markets.[4] The company at first produced puppet-based programmes, and their mascot was originally a female rag doll that was based on one that belonged to Wood's daughter.
In 1992, the company moved their operations to Stratford-upon-Avon and opened up The Ragdoll Shop.
In the mid-1990s, Ragdoll expanded operations to the United States, and signed a deal with The Itsy Bitsy Entertainment Company to sell their programmes in the market.
In 2000, Ragdoll dropped their rag doll mascot for a more simplistic logo designed by Lambie-Nairn, with the company also adopting a new name of Ragdoll Limited by that point. During that time, the company started to move away from puppet-based shows (which started with Teletubbies in 1997), by making animated cartoons. Ragdoll still produced live-action shows, but would use costumes and animatronics instead of puppets.
In October 2001, Ragdoll parted ways with Itsy Bitsy following a failure to reach an agreement with the company's majority owner, the Handleman Group. Ragdoll then started to sell their programmes on their own from then-on, forming Ragdoll USA.[5]
In January 2002, Teletubbies: Everywhere, a spin-off of Teletubbies, was announced to air on CBeebies within its launch window.[6] On 14 June, a new series titled Boohbah was announced and was pre-sold to CITV and GMTV for a 2003 delivery.[7] The show later saw an international roll-out.
At MIPTV 2005, Ragdoll announced a new series titled Blurrfect and that CITV had acquired broadcasting rights for an autumn 2005 delivery.[8] By September 2005, the series was renamed Blips, and soon premiered on 29 September 2005 as part of the CITV's autumn schedule.[9][10] On 13 October, Ragdoll unrevealed two new series that were pre-sold to the BBC: In the Night Garden... and Tronji, for a 2007 delivery.[11] In October 2005, Ragdoll subsidiary The Ragdoll Foundation announced that Five's Milkshake! block had commissioned a series of six short films titled What Makes Me Happy?, which would air daily from 19 December.[12]
In September 2006, Ragdoll formed a joint venture with BBC Worldwide called Ragdoll Worldwide, to sell and license the company's programmes outside of the UK and North America. In the Night Garden... and Tronji would be the first two programmes created as part of the venture, while existing programmes were handled by BBC Worldwide, which managed the international broadcast sales and the UK and international licensing of all Ragdoll properties (including Blips, Boohbah, Brum, Tots TV, Rosie and Jim, and Open a Door), with Ragdoll retaining all British broadcast rights. A new subsidiary, Ragdoll USA Inc., part of the new joint venture, would manage Ragdoll's distribution in North America.[13]
In January 2013, Ragdoll opted to end their agreement with BBC Worldwide and put up Ragdoll Worldwide for sale.[14] On 16 September, Canadian studio DHX Media (currently named WildBrain) purchased the venture from both companies for £17.4 million (or USD$24 million)[15] The deal included the rights to most of Ragdoll's programming produced from 1990 to 2012. The company also changed to its current name of Ragdoll Productions Limited, with "Productions" added back to the name after 13 years.
In 2015, Ragdoll produced the live-action/stop-motion series Twirlywoos with DHX, making it the first and only co-production between the companies.
In 2018, the company co-produced a short film with Disney UK for the Hope Works initiative, titled What Shall We Do With The Angry Monster?.[16]
In 2021, Ragdoll formed a deal with British distribution company Cake Entertainment for them to distribute their new series, B.O.T. and the Beasties, for CBeebies. On 29 March, the company was relocated to Shenington, with Anne Wood retiring from the company on 14 December, and leaving her son Christopher as director of the studio.
On 13 June 2024, Ragdoll would once again move their operations, this time to Bloxham, another small town in Oxfordshire.
Pre-Ragdoll productions
The following are some of productions made by Anne Wood before Ragdoll was founded, accompanied by a brief description and vital statistics:
Puzzle Party - first broadcast in 1977. Hosted by Gyles Brandreth and featuring characters Gnigel and Gnu, the show was one of Anne Wood's earliest TV shows for the BBC.
Productions 1984-today
Ragdoll's programmes produced between 1990 and 2017 (excluding Pob's Programme, BOOM! and Storytime) are currently owned by WildBrain (formerly known as DHX Media), the company no longer owns the rights of any of their shows.
The Ragdoll Shop in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire was a store that consisted of themed play areas based on Ragdoll properties and an area where merchandise was sold. The store first opened in 1992, and traded until 2005, because of expansion limits and failure to find a new larger venue.[17]
The building that formerly housed the shop is now a optometrist's practice named Dr. CP Grey's. The picture of Rosie and Jim waving can still be seen in the black window at the top of the building.
