Teletubbies Tinky Winky actor Simon Shelton Barnes dies

The Daily Mail

Barnes, 52, played the role of Tinky Winky on the BBC kids’ show from 1998 to 2001. He died of hypothermia after collapsing on the streets of Liverpool. Tinky Winky was embroiled in controversy in the late 1990s when the Rev. Jerry Falwell accused the character of being a "gay role model" for kids for carrying a handbag.