Dave Thompson (born 30 June 1959) is an English actor, stand-up comedian and writer, who made headlines in July 1997 after being removed from the role of Tinky Winky in the children's television series, Teletubbies after 70 episodes. The BBC said in a letter to Thompson that his "interpretation of the role was not acceptable".[1][2]

Dave Thompson
Dave Thompson performing at Downstairs at the Kings Head, a stand-up comedy venue in Crouch End, North London
Born	(1959-06-30) 30 June 1959 (age 62) Bristol, England
Occupation	Actor, stand-up comedian, writer
Years active	1979–present
Notable work	Teletubbies
Website	www.davethompson.org.uk

Thompson recounted bursting into tears upon learning the news of his termination. In interviews, he supposed that the dubbing of his voice, unlike the other actors, was an indication of dissatisfaction over his performance.[3]

Thompson later appeared in the 2000 Ben Elton film Maybe Baby as Dave the Comedian/Mrs. Furblob. He also appeared in Harry Hill's live tour Hooves as the minor characters of the Horse, the ballboy and the Greek man who grabs Harry's neck. Thompson also made appearances in each night of Hill's Hooves tour.

Filmography

Film

• Hardcore (1979) - Willem
• Area (1989) - Doctor
• Huge (2010) - Martin Luckhust
• The Harry Hill Movie (2013) - Brain Number Two
• Down the Back of the Sofa (2017) - Himself/Host

Television

• Red Dwarf (1993) - Cowpoke
• Teletubbies (1997; Season 1, 70 episodes) - Tinky Winky
• Harry Hill (1998) - Fake Alan
• Screech Owls (2002) - Himself
• Time Gentleman Please (2000–2002) - Dave
• TV Burp (2004–2012) - Various characters
• Blessed (2005)

Production credits

Writer

• The Sketch Show (8 episodes)
• TV Burp (2 episodes)

Books

• Sit-Down Comedy (contributor to anthology, ed Malcolm Hardee & John Fleming) Ebury Press/Random House, 2003. ISBN 0-09-188924-3; ISBN 978-0-09-188924-1

References

External links

• Official website
• Dave Thompson at IMDb