HE is well known by almost every child in the country thanks to his incredible career in kids’ TV, but away from playing Mr Tumble, Justin Fletcher leads a very different life.
The 51-year-old is a self-confessed “workaholic”, which has led to him being worth more than £1.5 million and having the longest running CBeebies show of all time.
He developed his show, Something Special, through his own production company and it was aired first in 2004 – cementing his name in every household.
Despite being a family favourite, Justin doesn’t have children of his own and is believed to be single.
Back in 2012, he revealed he dreamed of having his own family one day, telling the Mirror: “I’m not married, live alone and have been single for a while now because I’ve been a workaholic filming Something Special, Justin’s House and Gigglebiz.
“But I do want to free up some time for myself and my family.
“I would love to have children so need to find someone who likes kids. A couple of kids would be lovely.”
He spends a lot of time with his family in Reading – he has three sisters and a brother, as well as nieces and nephews now.
Country life
Days off from filming are idyllically spent in the country side alongside his cocker spaniel dog, fishing or working on his classic car collection.
Amazingly, he isn’t a fan of TV and for many years didn’t even have one.
Speaking about his life, Justin previously told the BBC: “I’ve got a lovely family around me. I do country walks. I go fishing a bit.
“I take the dogs for a walk. I visit friends, and I’m trying to give myself a bit more time off, but it always seems to fail because I am a bit of a workaholic.”
Car lover
Discussing his hobbies, he revealed: “I’m quite into classic cars. I’m quite fascinated by things like that.
“I’ve got a couple of prop cars. They’re two minis – they’ve been cut in half and then put back together so they’re tiny. They’ve got little eyes as well. And I’ve got five 1950s bumper cars. And I’ve got a little MGB. So I tinker around with those cars when I’ve got a minute.”
Fans of Something Special will know that Justin is constantly in great spirits and the actor, who was awarded an MBE by the Queen, has previously insisted he’s just a happy person – and he doesn’t swear.
He explained: “I don’t get grumpy but when I feel really tired I get very quiet and people know I’ve hit the wall.
“I don’t swear, actually. Working in children’s television, it’s just common sense.”
Sarah-Jane feud
Justin hit headlines in 2020 when axed CBeebies presenter Sarah-Jane Honeywell claimed former co-star Justin had ‘frozen her out’ over her topless photoshoot.
At the time his mum Shelia denied the claims, saying: “It’s all a load of old rubbish. He won’t be interested in talking about this…
“He never comments on anything silly. He’s too busy. He’s just so hard-working all the time.
“All the children love him. He’s worked very hard for them over many years.”
