Pui Fan Lee
Birth datec. 1970
Birth placeBirmingham, England
OccupationActress · television presenter
Notable worksTeletubbies
CBeebies
Show Me Show Me

Pui Fan Lee (/pɔɪ/; born c. 1970[1]) is an English actress and television presenter. She is known for portraying Po in the original run of the children's television series Teletubbies between 1997 and 2001,[2] and for presenting the CBeebies preschool education series Show Me Show Me.[3]

Early life and education

Lee's family came from Hong Kong.[4][5] She was born in Birmingham,[6] and grew up in Nottingham, where her family helped to run a Chinese take-away.

Career

She studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), and once qualified, appeared in a number of TV shows before successfully applying and securing the role of Po in a new CBBC show called Teletubbies. Lee was not only the voice of the character, but also was inside the costume for 365 episodes between 1997 and 2001.[7][8]

Along with Sue Monroe, Chris Jarvis, and Sidney Sloane, Lee was one of the first presenters on CBeebies, the BBC digital television channel for younger children.[9] Lee, alongside Chris Jarvis, were the first presenters to introduce programming on the CBeebies channel.[3]

In 2004, Lee had a minor role as a Thai jail girl in the 2004 film Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.[1]

In 2006, she presented the BBC programme Fun with Phonics.

In 2019, she made a guest appearance in the British soap opera EastEnders.[2]

From 2021-2023, she appeared as Su Ping Lam on HBO's The Nevers.[citation needed]

Personal life

Lee lives in North London.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Red Teletubby unmasked". Enfield Independent. 30 January 2014. Archived 30 November 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Teletubbies star Pui Fan Lee makes a guest appearance in EastEnders". Entertainment Daily. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Interview: CBeebies' Chris Jarvis on The Chris & Pui Roadshow". The List. 14 October 2013. Archived 18 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  4. ^ "BBC - Press Office - BBC Global Channels Asia-Pacific launches three channels on Hong Kong's now TV". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived 13 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  5. ^ "Pui Fan Lee". sheil-land. Archived 28 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  6. ^ Broadhead, Ivan (20 February 2011). "Diaspora diaries". South China Morning Post. Archived 4 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Pui Fan Lee". www.nmplive.co.uk. Archived 19 April 2024 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ^ "Where are the Teletubbies, 20 years on?". New Statesman. 6 April 2017. Archived 24 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  9. ^ Swettenham, Lee (26 January 2015). "CBeebies". Manchester Evening News. Archived 16 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 September 2020.