How Mr Tumble conquered the world: Justin Fletcher turned a talent for clowning into millions in the bank, a six-bedroom country mansion and now a new girlfriend 21 years his junior

If you don't have young children, the chances are you've never heard of Justin Fletcher and should you bump into this slightly nondescript middle aged man in the street, you still might be none the wiser.

But if you do - or if your children have grown up over the last two decades - you'll know pre-schoolers think he is just about the biggest star in the showbiz universe and – if you're a mum – you might even have a secret crush on him yourself!

For Justin, aged 55, is the man behind the phenomenon that is children's TV megastar Mr Tumble, the colourful clown with a talent for slapstick and entertaining young children.

And his background is just as colourful - he has a link to Elvis through his father, Cliff Richard was a regular at his home and he grew up as a big fan of Laurel and Hardy, the Muppets, adored Brian Cant in Playschool and, perhaps more surprisingly for a squeaky clean children's TV star, was a big fan of the late comedian Kenny Everett who specialised in a more adult kind of sketch.

His fame has even garnered him unlikely celebrity fans like Johnny Depp, Simon Pegg and Bryan Adams along the way.

Beloved by generations of young children for his repertoire of characters and CBeebies daytime shows like Something Special, Justin has quietly created a brand that is believed to have amassed him a net worth of more than £1.5 million.

He has done so by turning his talent for gentle clowning which appeals to tots into a winning commercial formula which has spanned television, panto, CBeebies live tours and been translated into stunning sales through DVDs

Sales of his Something Special DVDs alone are understood to have topped 100,000, bringing in an estimated £1 million for the star while an accompanying magazine is said to bring in another £180,000 a month.

He has been lauded for his work with children with special educational needs on and off screen, won the highest accolades children's TV has to offer - in the shape of three children's BAFTAs - and was even awarded an MBE for services to children's broadcasting in 2008.

In his downtime, he relaxes in his idyllic six bedroom £2.5m country mansion in Henley on Thames in Oxfordshire.

And now the slightly portly 50 something star – an unlikely sex symbol to millions of mums – some of whom have even sent him marriage proposals – finally has someone to share it with.

He has also struck it lucky in love, appropriately for the fairy tale that is Justin's life – with his on screen partner who is 21 years his junior.

Samantha Dorrance has been a part of Justin's life since she landed the role of silly best friend Tootsie in The Tale of Mr Tumble in 2015 when she was just 23. Now, 11 years later the pair are said to be an item and madly in love and on tour together in his Justin Live: Justin Time to Rock! Tour.

But how did this – let's face it – rather unlikely star make it so big and become so fabulously wealthy.

One reason is certainly that he has a work ethic like no other and when he is not filming his now various shows on the BBC's children's network, he is busy on tour or in panto promoting his brand.

His rise to fame coincided with the boom in children's television when standalone children's TV stations started to become mainstream and parents delighted in the 'electronic babysitter' that they provided.

And with the heritage of the BBC behind it, CBeebies and its programming was appropriately guiltfree in that respect. It was trusted by parents to educate and entertain when it was launched in 2002 rather than just to distract them.

Step forward Justin Fletcher who became the star of an innovative show aimed at normalising children with special educational needs while attracting a mainstream audience. No easy feat.

Justin was born and brought up in Reading and grew up in a showbiz home dreaming of performing. His father was celebrated songwriter Guy Fletcher who wrote hits for Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, Ray Charles and Cliff Richard.

'I was brought up in that kind of creative world and I got to meet some very interesting people,' he once said in an interview with the Guardian.

'Dad wrote Cliff Richard's 1973 Eurovision Song Contest entry, Power To All Our Friends, and Cliff came over a few times. I was only three then but my big sister Juliet was madly in love with him and used to hug him and not let him go.'

But it was creating characters rather than music that Justin gravitated towards and he fell in love with making films when his Dad gave him a cine camera.

'From as early as I can remember I was much more into creating characters. I used to write little characters down and observe people. Particularly schoolteachers. I was quite good at mimicking people. But what really started it off was my dad giving me his Super 8 cine camera. That was it for me. I was out there making my own films,' he said.

In his first year of drama college at Guildford School of Acting in Surrey in the 1990s, he says he knew he wanted to do children's television and it is perhaps this desire to focus exclusively on the genre that has given him such enduring longevity.

He started his career at the BBC in 1999, voicing characters on shows like the Tweenies and presenting on pre-school show Tikkabilla.

But it was Something Special which launched in 2003 and was the brainchild of BBC producer and ex SEND (special educational needs) teacher Allan Johnston, that launched his career into the stratosphere.

The show was a colourful fiesta inviting children into Mr Tumble's world but crucially aimed at providing content for children with special educational needs.

Resplendent in his trademark multicoloured dayglo outfits, with stars, stripes and patches and a painted on red nose, Mr Tumble the clown would appear with a cast of SEND children.

Fun was the order of the day as children at home and on the show took part in singing - especially the show's cheery 'Hello' song and games and activities on a set bedecked with coloured spotty flags and featuring his spotty Tumble sofa and his Tumble bag of tricks and surprises.

Although it was primarily aimed at children with delayed learning and communication skills, it soon became clear that the show featuring the effervescent Mr Tumble appealed to all children and as such it was a blueprint for inclusivity for the BBC and a huge success.

At the same time, escalating numbers of children with SEND in the UK meant the show was recognised as a trailblazer, providing vital service for parents anxious to entertain their children.

It cleverly integrates the Makaton sign language into the show, meaning it became second nature to children not just who needed to learn it but also to others, helping children with SEND become more accepted.

As the show became more and more popular, Justin soon developed his own cast of characters playing Mr Tumble, Grandad Tumble, Lord Tumble, Fisherman Tumble, Baker Tumble and Aunt Polly and also appeared as himself in scenes when he goes out into the real world to meet SEND children.

The show remains his – and the network's - biggest hit with 14 series to date although he has also gone on star in other shows for the BBC including Gigglebiz and Justin's House.

Fletcher has joked that he frequently gets called by both Justin and Mr Tumble when he is recognised in public and 'answers to both'.

When he collected his MBE at Windsor Castle, he said one of the guards on duty acknowledged him as 'Mr Tumble' which 'really made me chuckle'.

Famously single until his relationship with Samantha, admitting he has been a 'workaholic', he has joked about receiving marriage proposals from mums but he has made no secret of his desire to settle down.

He has previously said: '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.'

Last year he stepped back as the show's presenter with new presenters Maddie Moate, Ben Cajee and George Webster taking up the baton - but no plans are afoot to retire Mr Tumble.

And after all he can afford to rest on his laurels after two decades in the limelight as Mr Tumble while the money is likely to come pouring in from live tours and the pantos he loves to star in in his home town at the Hexagon Theatre and around the UK.

He has been a regular as Justin at the theatre for prolific annual performances as well as going on tour around the UK and voicing other children's TV productions like Shaun the Sheep.

Now he looks set to enjoy the family life he has talked about wanting as former child star Samantha has reportedly moved in with him at his Henley retreat where they enjoy rearing chickens together.

A source told the Daily Mail: 'Justin and Samantha are madly in love and couldn't be happier. Although there is an age gap, it isn't an issue between them. For Justin, Samantha is 'the one'.'

One man who might be breathing a sigh of relief if fatherhood means we don't see Mr Tumble on screen quite so much is former England footballer Wayne Rooney.

After bringing up four children who enjoyed watching Justin's shows, he has joked that his relentless cheeriness pushed him into having a vasectomy.

'The reason I hate him - well, I don't hate him for what he does, it's just that I've had to sit through it four times with every kid,' he said.