Justin Fletcher visits Bluestone
Justin, who also plays starry-waistcoat-wearing Mr. Tumble, visited the resort to meet a local schoolboy to film an episode of his BAFTA award-winning programme, Something Special.
He’s something of a hero for us here at Bluestone and particularly to the army of little people who visit us each year. As all young children and their parents know, Justin Fletcher is the biggest star on British children's TV. He has been on screens for more than two decades.
So when the CBeebies star came to the resort to film Something Special, it caused quite a stir.
The BAFTA award-winning programme sees Justin using sign language to help children learn how to communicate and develop language skills in a fun and exciting way.
The signing called Makaton helps support speech and encourages viewers, young and old, to learn how to sign too.
During his visit, Justin met Delton who was joining him to film the episode with the CBeebies film crew. The pair went to the resort’s Camp Smokey for fun and games. After making a den in the woods with Chris Dyson from the Bluestone Activities team, Justin and Delton enjoyed marshmallows around a campfire.
“We were so excited about the CBeebies team’s visit with Justin,” said Sales and Marketing Manager, Glenn Hewer.
“Justin and the character he plays, Mr. Tumble, is so relentlessly upbeat, infectiously goofy, and lovable, you can’t help but adore him. Not only does Justin engage young children on Something Special, but he’s also a hoot for slighter older children in his shows, Justin's House and Gigglebiz.
“Anyone who has children will know what an icon he is. One of our main aims here at Bluestone is to engage children, young and old and whatever their ability, with lots of engaging activities, so we can’t help but be inspired by Justin. It wasn’t just Delton who had a lovely time. We were all giggling away having fun with Justin and the CBeebies team”.
For Justin, the trip to Pembrokeshire was also a delight.
“There’s no doubt that Pembrokeshire is a stunning part of Wales. Not only does it have some beautiful coastline, but it’s also blessed with its wonderful National Park, the only coastal National park in Britain.”
To ensure Delton and the BBC crew could access the den area of the resort’s Camp Smokey, a new path was laid by the Bluestone maintenance team. This is now a permanent fixture in the resort which will allow all guests to enjoy this area for many more years to come.
Justin’s was a visit which delighted Bluestone housekeeper Rose Davies, who is a huge fan of the Something Special series, having watched it lots with her son, Lewie.
Lewie was born with Tongue-tie (ankyloglossia), where the strip of skin connecting his tongue to the floor of his mouth was shorter than usual.
“Lewie was born with a few medical difficulties in his first year which meant he couldn’t speak,” said Rose.
“At sixth-months-old, he had stopped breathing and again at 12 months. Doctors said he may never speak but did so for the first time aged six.”
Rose said as well as intense speech therapy, she began to learn sign language to communicate with her son.
“It was at this time we realised how amazing Mr. Tumble was. We watched CBeebies all the time. Lewie began to learn Makaton signing with Mr. Tumble. I wanted to get Mr. Tumble DVDs to help him to sign. He’s an inspiration to so many people. We were so delighted when we heard he had visited Pembrokeshire”.
Series 11 of Something Special can be viewed on CBeebies from 9.45 am, repeated at 1.45 pm, and on the BBC iPlayer.