We meet in his dressing room at the New Victoria Theatre, where he is appearing as Wishy Washy in Aladdin. Edie seems nonplussed. He hands her a copy of the Something Special magazine, which she promptly starts to rip up before loudly demanding a banana. I apologise for her rudeness and we sit down to talk. I am hoping the truth about Justin Fletcher will start to… well, tumble out.  Fletcher was born in Reading 44 years ago into a showbusiness family. His father, Guy, is a songwriter who has penned music for Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Frankie Valli and Tom Jones. Every house the Fletcher family lived in had a recording studio attached to it. “I remember [the composer] Ron Goodwin coming to the studio once and playing Where Eagles Dare. I was just blown away. I must have been about seven or eight. I couldn’t believe I was hearing this beautiful music on the piano. And that’s stuck with me – all of my ideas are created through music first.”  From a young age, he was fascinated by silent comedy. “I would watch episodes of Laurel and Hardy over and over again. When I was five or six, I would watch programmes about Bugsy Malone. Anything that had visual comedy in it worked for me – that slapstick just looked effortless.”  Studying drama at the Guildford School of Acting, he knew that children’s television was for him, and that he wanted to incorporate slapstick into whatever he did (his job involves throwing himself around an awful lot). He made up a show reel containing many of the characters you see today on his CBeebies show Gigglebiz, and was given work on CITV before moving to the BBC, where he voiced a character in Tweenies. He was given his own show, Something Special, in 2003. That was joined by Gigglebiz in 2009, and Justin’s House in 2011, in which an audience of children shriek at him and generally behave as if they have been let loose in a Haribo factory. He seems to have that effect on pre-schoolers – apart from mine, who has gone into the corner to do a poo, having had her second banana.  Bryony Gordon with Mr Tumble and his biggest fan her daughter Edie  “Some people use it [children’s television] as a stepping stone to other things, like adult daytime presenting,” says Fletcher, politely looking away from the red-faced child in the corner of the room. “But I’ve stayed where I am because I enjoy it. Also, you can’t fool children. They’ll know if you’re not having fun.”  Does he get mobbed walking down the street? “I have a huge collection of baseball caps,” he smiles. “I went to see my niece in a music recital recently and there were lots of whispers, but I try to be discreet and sit at the back.  “There’s more of a flurry among the mums at the school gates than the children,” says his assistant Juliet, who turns out to be his sister. Justin tells me he has four nieces and nephews, and this seems as good a time as any to ask the question all Mumsnetters want to know the answer to. I take a deep breath. So Justin, is there a Mrs Tumble?  We both shift in our seats.  I swear I see a Mr Tumbleweed blow through the theatre.  “Well I’m single at the moment.” He smiles politely. “I would love to have a family, of course.” When was his last relationship? “Oh, about three or four months ago. I’m trying to train myself, with Juliet’s help, to quieten down a bit.”  Juliet says his diary is “ridiculous” and he can’t remember the last time he had a proper holiday. “I think the key thing for me, Bryony, is that I don’t like to sit still. I’m probably my own worst enemy, trying to take on too much.”  He lives in Berkshire with his cocker spaniel Bluebell and a lock-up full of theatrical props – snow machines, carousel horses, bumper cars. He is every inch the big kid. “I’m a very quiet lad. I like country walks, and fishing with my dad. He’s got a little boat and we go out. It’s probably a very boring life. I work very, very hard.”  I go and change Edie, and when we return Fletcher starts to sing the Something Special song to her. She is transfixed; a different child. “I have to pinch myself,” he says later, when talking about his job. “I’m so lucky to do what I really love, and I really, genuinely mean that. I couldn’t do anything else really.  “It’s the simple things – running out on stage and going 'HI EVERYONE!’” – he honks his nose – “and then hearing 7,000 children laughing. You can’t beat that. I live for that.”  Justin Fletcher is starring in 'Aladdin’ at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking until Jan 10; see atgtickets.com/woking. Justin & Friends: Mr Tumble’s Circus Tour, April 1-14; cbeebieslive.com
Superfan of big kid Justin Fletcher, aka Mr Tumble, Bryony Gordon meets   the man who's entertaining the kids this Christmas