A summer show for all the family as Hey Duggee heads to Leeds Grand Theatre

The point is, if you think this is just a children’s show, you need to think again. There’s a reason it’s coming to Leeds Grand for almost a week later this month - the big theatre is a deservedly impressive space for such a show.

If you’re still unconvinced of the pedigree of Hey Duggee, take a closer look at the team behind the stage adaptation.

Vikki Stone is the multi-talented writer and composer and the band leader of ITV primetime show Romeo and Duet, while Matthew Xia is the artistic director of the Actors Touring Company.

Xia says: “When the producer Kenny Wax first approached me, he said ‘I’m not sure if you’ve heard of Hey Duggee’ and I immediately said ‘it’s one of my favourites’. My daughter was born in 2014, the same year Hey Duggee started, so we’ve really grown up with the show.”

Stone, on the other hand, hadn’t seen a single episode when she received the call from the producer.

“I didn’t know Hey Duggee at all when I was approached, so I spent a long time getting very closely acquainted with the show and now I love it. I very quickly got pulled into it and caught up in the world of Duggee, the Squirrels and their friends. It’s very funny and full of joy and laughs.”

For the uninitiated, Hey Duggee is the CBBC show that tells the story of doggy (I believe, it’s not entirely clear) Duggee, the head of the Squirrels club (think of the Cub Scouts) and the Squirrels (who are in fact a menagerie of animals) who join him for fun, adventures and hands-on learning. If you haven’t had the pleasure, it’s an anarchic, fun ride of a show.

Xia says: “Kenny had given us pretty much free reign, but that also made the challenge even greater. Taking 156 episodes, each one seven minutes long and turning them into a complete theatrical experience for children.

“Series one and two I knew really well – I’d seen those episodes a lot – any parent knows what it’s like.

“So, I kind of knew where the hits were. We had to keep the big format of the show, you know where the narrator says to the Squirrels ‘Do you know what time it is?’, well that’s the start of the adventure and that had to be the same on stage.”

Before he moved into theatre and became artistic director of ATC, Xia was known as DJ Excalibah and was in the original line-up for BBC Radio 1Xtra and DJ’ed at the London Paralympic Games.

“Essentially, we have created a big quest story. The Narrator’s voice has been really important, the big question that sets up each episode is Hey Duggee, what are you doing?

"Without spoiling it, we use that and have the Squirrels, who have never been to a show before, and they set out to learn about all the things that go into making a show and earn the relevant badges.

“We’re brought in some of our favourite Hey Duggee starts to help the Squirrels, Mrs Weaver, Hennie and Chew Chew – those are the ones I can mention, but there are several more that I can’t. And the children and families in the audience are very much going to be part of the Squirrel Gang.”The music in the stage show, as it is in the television show, is integral.

Stone says: “We were spoilt for choice with the songs. I wanted to treat Hey Duggee the live theatre show as a musical, where the songs could move the story along and the songs we’ve pulled from the TV series do that brilliantly.

“We’ve taken those songs, added harmonies and dance breaks, made them longer, done all the things which would make them work for stage rather than TV.

“And there is a brand new song, unique to the stage show, which we think is just fantastic.”

Xia says: “When adults enjoy a kids’ programme, that’s a very sweet spot to hit.”

Hey Duggee Live Show is at Leeds Grand Theatre, July 19 to 22.