''Little Howard's Big Question'' is a 2009–11

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

edutainment Educational entertainment (also referred to as edutainment) is media designed to educate through entertainment. The term was used as early as 1954 by Walt Disney. Most often it includes content intended to teach but has incidental entertainmen ...

programme starring

Howard Read Howard Oliver Drinkwater Read is a British screenwriter, comedian, and animator best known for his work with his animated sidekick, Little Howard. His other creations include an angry manager with a conversational style and the worldview of Bern ...

as Big Howard and his six-year-old

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

friend, Little Howard. The programme was first broadcast on 8 January 2009, running for a series of 13 episodes. Series 2 began airing on 6 October 2010, and series 3 began on 18 May 2011.

Format

Animated boy Little Howard and his

live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...

guardian Big Howard live together in

Purley, London Purley is an area of the London Borough of Croydon in London, England, south of Charing Cross, with a history going back at least 800 years. It was originally granted as an estate from holdings at Sanderstead and until as a district of Surrey ...

. Each episode typically begins with a short comedy sketch, which inspires Little Howard to blow a loud animated

klaxon A horn is a sound-making device that can be equipped to motor vehicles, buses, bicycles, trains, trams (otherwise known as streetcars in North America), and other types of vehicles. The sound made usually resembles a "honk" (older vehicles) or a ...

and ask a "big question" on a related topic. After a credit sequence involving an animated

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incom ...

song-and-dance routine, the remainder of the programme investigates possible answers to the big question, using a combination of research, expert advice, fantasy, and song. Further assistance is provided by Mother, a pink (series 1) or orange (series 2/3)

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tech ...

that wears clothes and feels emotions. Although the programme is broadcast on the BBC, which does not show commercial advertising, each episode features a comedy " advertising break" with imaginary products vaguely related to the big question. Similarly, a frequent element throughout the series is the use of humorous pop culture references to appeal to an adult audience, and which would fly over younger viewers' heads.

Awards

On 16 November 2011, the episode ''Why do Things Have to Die?'' from series 2 won a

Writers' Guild of Great Britain The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG). History The ...

award for Best Children's Television Script.

List of episodes

Series 1

Series 1 began airing on 8 January 2009. Performers who appeared in series 1 included:

Kirsten O'Brien Kirsten Lindsey O'Brien (born 23 February 1972) is an English television presenter and actress. She is perhaps best known for her work presenting for the BBC, including the popular CBBC art programme '' SMart'' from 1999 to 2009, and CBeebies ...

, Lucy Porter, Justin Edwards,

Ishia Bennison Ishia Bennison is a British actress, best known for her television appearances, although she is also a veteran stage actress. Bennison is originally from Hull in Yorkshire. Career One of her earliest roles was playing a nurse in the 1980 Charlt ...

, and David Penn.

Series 2

Series 2 began airing on 6 October 2010. The first two episodes were shown on BBC Two (because the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

were being aired on BBC One), and the rest of the series on BBC One. The series introduced many new characters, real and cartoon, including Little Howards "Sort-of half-brother, kind-of" Little Albert. Actors who appeared in series 2 included David Schneider,

Sy Thomas Sy (SLY) George Thomas (born 24 August 1979 in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) is a British TV presenter, stand-up comedian and actor. Early years and career Thomas attended Aberystwyth University, Wales, where he studied drama from 1998 to 2001 ...

, Lucy Porter,

Siân Lloyd Siân Mary Lloyd (born 3 July 1958) is a Welsh television presenter and meteorologist from Maesteg. She was the United Kingdom's longest-serving female weather forecaster, having appeared on ITV Weather for 24 years, from 1990 until 2014. Bi ...

, Jarred Christmas,

Tim Brooke-Taylor Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE (17 July 194012 April 2020) was an English actor and comedian best known as a member of The Goodies. He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at the University of Cambridge and became president o ...

, Marek Larwood, Barney Harwood, and

Andre Vincent Andre Vincent (born 2 May 1964 in Penge, England) is a comedian, writer, actor and comedy historian. A situational comic, Vincent is known for his observations about health matters, including his experiences with diabetes, cancer and kidney surge ...

Helen Lederer Helen Margaret Lederer (born 24 September 1954) is an English comedian, writer and actress who emerged as part of the alternative comedy boom at the beginning of the 1980s. Among her television credits are the BBC2 sketch series '' Naked Vide ...

featured in more than one episode as Big Howard's Mum.

Series 3

Series 3 began airing on 18 May 2011. Actors who appeared in series 3 included:

Rusty Goffe Rusty Goffe (born 30 October 1948) is an English actor, best known for his appearances in ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'', ''Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope'', and the ''Harry Potter'' franchise. Early life Goffe was born on 30 Octo ...

, Ben Moor, Daniel Hill, Chris Cox, Doc Brown, Trevor Neal, and Thomas Nelstrop.Series 3 Episode 10 Where is Big Howard?
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References

External links

Official website at www.littlehoward.co.uk
* *{{IMDb title, 1360434 BBC children's television shows British children's comedy television series British television series with live action and animation 2010s British television series 2009 British television series debuts