Why Justin Fletcher Is A Rock Star To My Toddler

Last week, I was in the office. It was the end of the day, and I suddenly punched the air and shouted “Yessss! I’ve got Justin tickets!”  The girls who sit behind me (the magazine’s fashion team) looked over. “Justin Timberlake? Is he touring?” one of them asked. “No,” I replied. “Justin Fletcher.”

Blank stares from all of them.

I then had to explain to my colleagues who Justin Fletcher is. “Well, you see, there’s this kids’ TV character called Mr Tumble…” I began. Very quickly, their quizzical looks turned to glazed expressions and I resorted to saying, “When you have kids, you’ll TOTALLY understand!”

But to my two year old, Justin Fletcher is like Justin Timberlake. He’s a rock star. And for her, going to see Justin & Friends Live is as exciting as getting front row seats at a Take That concert is for me. Justin’s album has been on repeat in our car since we bought it a few months ago (I know all the words to Hands Up) so when I found out he has a new album out this week, I could have wept. Not with disappointment, but with joy. We’ll finally have some new Justin songs to listen to. This can only be a brilliant thing after months of the same songs on repeat. He’s even got a new single out, I’ve discovered, and he’s going on ITV1’s This Morning this week, to promote it. I’m not even kidding…

I’ve got to admit, before Grace was old enough to watch CBeebies (back in the day when I was on maternity leave and watched daytime TV like The Wright Stuff and Come Dine With Me), I thought Justin was a bit creepy. “Have you seen that guy who seems to be on every TV show on CBeebies?” I’d say to my friend Katie, whose baby was five months older than mine. “Yes, eurgh!” she’d reply. “He’s a bit weird.”

Oh how I was wrong! As soon as I watched his shows (first Something Special, then Gigglebiz, then Justin’s House) and saw the reaction that kids have to him, I realised how talented he is, and how he deserved nothing but respect from us parents. Reading up on him, Justin comes from a showbiz family (his dad, Guy Fletcher, was a songwriter who penned songs for Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard – so that’s where the inspiration for Cliff Tumble comes from) and since attending the Guildford School of Acting, all he’s ever wanted to do is entertain kids. He’s got an MBE and Simon Pegg and Gary Barlow are fans. This guy is a dude! One of my mum friends last week even admitted to fancying him. There’s always someone who goes a step too far…