Ragdoll Productions

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Ragdoll Productions Limited

Logo used since 2000
Formerly	Ragdoll Productions (U.K.) Limited (1985-2000) Ragdoll Video Limited (1991–2000)[1][2] Ragdoll Limited (2000-2013)[3]
Company type	Private
Industry	Television production
Founded	26 July 1984; 40 years ago (1984-07-26)
Founder	Anne Wood
Headquarters	Bloxham, Oxfordshire , England
Key people	Christopher Wood
Owner	Ragdoll Ltd.
Subsidiaries	The Ragdoll Foundation
Website	ragdoll.co.uk
Footnotes / references [1]

The evolution of WildBrain

1968	FilmFair London is founded
1971	DIC Audiovisuel is founded
1972	Strawberry Shortcake brand is first developed
1974	CPLG is founded
1976	CINAR and Colossal Pictures are founded
1982	DIC Enterprises is founded
1984	Ragdoll Productions is founded
1987	DIC Audiovisuel closes
1988	Studio B Productions is founded
1992	Epitome Pictures is founded
1993	DIC Enterprises becomes DIC Entertainment
1994	Wild Brain is founded‚ and Red Rover Studios is founded, DIC Entertainment brands as The Incredible World of DIC
1995	Platinum Disc Corporation is founded
1996	CINAR buys FilmFair's library
1997	Decode Entertainment is founded
1999	Wild Brain acquires Colossal Pictures' employee base
2002	Nerd Corps Entertainment is founded
2004	Halifax Film Company is founded, CINAR rebrands as Cookie Jar Group
2005	Platinum Disc Corporation merge as Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
2006	Decode and Halifax Film merge as DHX Media, DIC acquires CPLG, and Ragdoll Worldwide is formed with BBC Worldwide
2007	DHX Media buys Studio B Productions and Wild Brain becomes Wildbrain Entertainment
2008	Cookie Jar Group absorbs DIC and House of Cool absorbs Red Rover Studios
2010	DHX Media buys Wildbrain Entertainment‚ and Peanuts Worldwide is founded
2011	Decode Entertainment and Red Rover Studios closes
2012	DHX Media buys Cookie Jar Group
2013	DHX Media acquires Ragdoll Worldwide’s back catalogue
2014	DHX Media buys Epitome Pictures, Nerd Corps, and Echo Bridge Home Entertainment's family content library, as well as Family, the English version of Disney Junior, the French version of Disney Junior and Disney XD; Cookie Jar Group is absorbed
2016	The WildBrain multi-channel network launches and Studio B and Nerd Corps merge as DHX Studios
2017	Wildbrain Entertainment closes; DHX Media buys Peanuts Worldwide and Strawberry Shortcake
2018	Halifax Film becomes Island of Misfits
2019	DHX Media rebrands as WildBrain, Epitome Pictures closes, and the WildBrain MCN becomes WildBrain Spark
2020	CPLG becomes WildBrain CPLG
2021	Echo Bridge folds into SP Distribution
2023	WildBrain acquires House of Cool
2024	WildBrain Spark merged into its parent company as WildBrain London
v t e

Ragdoll Productions Limited, or simply Ragdoll, is a British television production company founded in 1984 by Anne Wood, who had previously worked for Yorkshire Television and TV-am. It is located in Bloxham, Oxfordshire, and has produced a number of children's programmes, most notably Pob's Programme, Teletubbies, Rosie and Jim, Brum, Boohbah, Tots TV, and In the Night Garden..., most of which are now owned by WildBrain.

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.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.^[6]

In January 2002, Teletubbies: Everywhere, a spin-off of Teletubbies, was announced to air on CBeebies within its launch window.^[7] On 14 June, a new series titled Boohbah was announced and was pre-sold to CITV and GMTV for a 2003 delivery.^[8] 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.^[9] By September 2005, the series was renamed Blips, and soon premiered on 29 September 2005 as part of the CITV's autumn schedule.^[10][11] 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.^[12] 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.^[13]

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.^[14]

In January 2013, Ragdoll opted to end their agreement with BBC Worldwide and put up Ragdoll Worldwide for sale.^[15] On 16 September, Canadian studio DHX Media (currently named WildBrain) purchased the venture from both companies for £17.4 million (or USD$24 million)^[16] 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?.^[17]

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.

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.
• The Book Tower - first broadcast in 1979, hosted by Tom Baker and Stephen Moore.
• Ragdolly Anna - first broadcast in 1982, based on the children's books by Jean Kenward.
• Roland Rat - first broadcast in 1983.

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.^[18]

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.

• Ragdoll website
• History of Ragdoll