Sandstone signs Laa-Laa star Smedley's Teletubby memoir

Sandstone Press has acquired Over the Hills and Far Away: My Life as a Teletubby by Nikky Smedley, the actress who played yellow Teletubby Laa-Laa in the children’s TV series.

The publisher obtained UK and Commonwealth rights from Laurie Robertson at PFD. It will be published in August 2022.

"Lifting the curtain on what it was like to be Laa-Laa and experience the astonishing success of the ’Teletubbies’ phenomenon, Nikky Smedley’s enchanting story is warm, affectionate and as lively and funny as the Teletubbies themselves," the synopsis says.

Sandstone’s director Moira Forsyth added: "I’m absolutely thrilled that Sandstone is publishing Nikky Smedley’s immensely entertaining memoir of her years as Laa-Laa the yellow Teletubby. The television series was loved by children all over the world and it’s fascinating to have this peek behind the scenes."

Smedley, who writes and performs stories for young children, said: "It warmed my heart that during my first meeting with Sandstone they exuded the same smiley, happy sense of joy that was such an essential part of ’Teletubbies’. I couldn’t have asked for a more enthusiastic and professional publishing house to work with."