The popular children’s program Hey Duggee, hosted by Alexander Armstrong, will feature animated characters from the Ukrainian film Mavka: The Forest Song, with their dialogue translated into Ukrainian.
A special episode of Hey Duggee featuring Ukrainian characters and subtitles has been released to welcome the thousands of Ukrainian children seeking sanctuary in the United Kingdom as a result of the Russian invasion.
In addition to the much-loved figure of Duggee (a huge dog), The Welcome Badge will feature Ukrainian-famous characters Mavka and Swampy the Kittyfrog, as well as some new squirrel club members.
To welcome their new friends, the show’s regular characters, Happy, Betty, Tag, Roly, and Norrie, will sing The Welcome Song, complete with Ukrainian translations.
Mavka and Swampy are characters from the Ukrainian animation Mavka: The Forest Song, produced by the Animagrad company and based on old Slavic traditions and a famous Ukrainian novel by Lesya Ukrainka.
Alexander Armstrong, the voice of Hey Duggee, narrates the story, joined by children from the United Kingdom and newly arrived children from Ukraine, whom all sing the song’s lyrics in their original tongues.
In addition, it aims to encourage British youngsters to acquire words from the language and set a good example by being friendly and courteous to others.
Independent creative company Mother introduced Mavka and Hey Duggee as part of its Friendly Faces project.
Partner at Mother London Felix Richter stated, “Working together on this initiative to help thousands of children understand the value of friendship despite language obstacles has been an amazing honor.
Harriet Newby-Hill, vice president of marketing for children and families stated, “We are extremely happy that Hey Duggee is helping children from Ukraine feel welcome in the United Kingdom in such a lovely and instructive way.”
Hey Duggee, for which a fourth season was recently ordered, has approximately 200 episodes and over 40 unique songs available for young fans.
In each episode, the Squirrel Club members explore, learn, and overcome obstacles to earn a new badge from Duggee, a large dog that watches after them.
It has over 2.4 million social media followers, and its YouTube channel has over billion-lifetime views.
Recently, Hey Duggee collaborated with Sir David Attenborough on The Green Planet Badge, a unique episode designed to teach young children about the wonder of plants and the significance of safeguarding the environment.
From December through late August 2023, Hey Duggee will tour 37 theatres in the United Kingdom and Ireland with its first-ever live theatre production.
The new episode is accessible across all Hey Duggee social channels, on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer, alongside all three previous seasons.
