‘Teletubbies’ Tinky Winky Actor Reportedly Found Frozen to Death on Street

The Teletubbies actor who played Tinky Winky froze to death last week near a waterfront in Liverpool, according to a close friend.

Police confirmed they found Simon Shelton Barnes’ body around 7:30 a.m. on January 17; they did not elaborate on the circumstances in which he was found.

But Barnes’ roommate and close friend, Judith Tynan, told the Daily Mail he died of hypothermia after collapsing on a street in Liverpool.

The father of three was visiting the city from his home in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, when he collapsed in the Mann Island area. With temperatures around 38 degrees Fahrenheit, Tynan said he froze near the waterfront.

“I’m very floored at losing him, he was just the best company. He was just the best person to live with and we got on terribly well,” she told the Daily Mail. “I’m gobsmacked at losing him. He was charming and handsome and delicate and so lovely to be around. He wasn’t difficult, he was pleasurable and a delicate man.”

She said the Teletubbies was his “pièce de résistance” and they “laughed a lot about it because it was silly and he used to tell me that costume weighed 60 pounds… It was a big to-do to wear it because it was just a big thing, but it made him — it made his life and put him on the map.”

The original Teletubbies series ran on the BBC from 1997 to 2001.

Barnes took over the role of 11-foot purple character Tinky Winky in 1998 from Dave Thompson, who claimed he was fired after 70 episodes because his “interpretation of the role was not acceptable.”

“It was a very good time in his life and he was privileged to have been part of that success, I think. I think it worked for him,” Tynan said. “If you’re famous everybody knows your face – but they didn’t know his face, but he had a big time of it, and it worked. And he had a good living from it.”

Following the news of Barnes’ death, his former castmates penned tributes to the man behind the Tinky Winky costume.

“What a week! RIP Simon Shelton aka Tinky Winky: remembering the good times. Rest easy,” John Simmit, who played Dipsy in the show, wrote on Twitter Monday.

“Lots of messaging between cast and crew as we became a tight bunch over six years on location. We’ll give him an appropriate send off in a couple of weeks,” he added. Simmit’s post was retweeted by Po actress Pui Fan Lee.

Barnes, who was a trained ballet dancer and choreographer, also voiced other children’s characters for television, including The Dark Knight in Incredible Games.