Stars venture out for 'In the Night Garden' premiere

The hit pre-school BBC TV series, narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi and created by the same people behind the Teletubbies, has been turned into a 1m musical theatre production.

TV star Billie Piper was at the London premiere

with actor husband Laurence Fox and their son Winston, while Martin Freeman, currently playing Watson in Sherlock Holmes, and actress Samantha Morton also attended with their families.

Over 120,000 fans of Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy, Makka Pakka, the Tombliboos and the other bizarrely named In The Night Garden characters are expected to see the stage tour, which kicked off in Liverpool last month.

The production, which also features the CBeebies show's surreal modes of transport – the Pinky Ponk and the Ninky Nonk, will move to Glasgow and Birmingham following its London run.

Featuring full-sized costumes, music, puppets and panoramic projections, the show takes place in an inflatable, purpose-built touring theatre, now housed at the Meridian Gardens at The O2.

In the Night Garden co-creator, writer and composer Andrew Davenport said: "Seeing hundreds of children singing, dancing, laughing and falling over with Igglepiggle has to be the highlight of my career."