Teletubbies Sun Baby Jess Smith welcomes daughter

Original Sun Baby actor was nine months old when she made her ‘Teletubbies’ debut in 1997

The actor who played the Sun Baby in Teletubbies has now given birth to a child of her own.

Jessica Smith, who played the laughing baby whose face could be seen at the start of every episode of the kid’s TV show, announced the happy news on Instagram on 15 January.

“One whole week of you,” she wrote alongside a photo of her holding her baby’s hand.

Later that month, she posted a photo of her partner Ricky Latham carrying their baby daughter.

“Please welcome Poppy Rae Latham,” she wrote, revealing a nod to her Teletubbies sun character in her daughter’s middle name.

Smith made her debut on the series in March 1997 – when she was nine months old – over the narration: “Over the hills and far away, Teletubbies come to play.”

The original run of Teletubbies ended in 2001, before a reboot arrived in 2014 featuring a different baby.

Smith announced her pregnancy in October last year, making fans of the original show feel very old indeed.

“Here’s a reminder that you’re old,” one person wrote on X/Twitter while sharing a post announcing the news, with another adding: “The BABY in teletubbies is pregnant?? that’s it! who wants to get married this saturday? I’m so serious.”

Several years ago, Smith revealed she was the Teletubbies baby, writing on Facebook: “I’ve decided it’s time to tell everyone. I used to hide it but after a lot of encouragement from my friends at university, I’ve gained the confidence to come out with it.

“I am the sun from Teletubbies. There have been quite a few people pretending to be the sun but only I could tell you the real story.”

She went on to explain that she happened to be in hospital for a check-up the very same day the Teletubbies producer had asked if there were “any smiley babies”.

Smith said: “While recording my dad held a teddy bear behind the camera to get me to laugh, and rolled a toy racing car to get me to look down at the camera, and it obviously worked.”