Dave Thompson
Dave Thompson, the original actor to play Tinky Winky, was unceremoniously fired after the completion of the first batch of episodes. Thompson is, to this day, unsure of why this action was taken, although the BBC blamed it at the time on dissatisfaction with his performance. Things went even worse for the next actor to take on the role.
Simon Shelton
Sadly, Simon Shelton, the replacement Tinky Winky, died of hypothermia in January 2018. His former colleagues all publicly mourned his passing, saying that they had thoroughly enjoyed working with him over the years.