Sesamstraat  Sesamstraat () is a Dutch children's television show in the Netherlands, and a spin-off of the U.S. children's program "Sesame Street". In its early days the show was broadcast in Flanders (Belgium) as well. It is the second longest-running foreign adaptation of "Sesame Street" without interruptions, behind only "Sesamstraße". A blue bird, approx. age 4-years-old, a relative of Big Bird. He is always cheerful and eager to learn new things. He is a little younger than his friends Tommie and Ieniemienie, and sometimes he has a little trouble keeping up with them. Being the second youngest, he likes to play with Purk. He is best known for his funny laugh and his catchphrase "Echt waar?!" ("Really?!") He is also very sensitive and has been on the show since the beginning. Pino has had many different performers through the years, including Dirk Grijspeirt (1976), Theo Joling (1977), Bert Plagman (1979), Erik J. Meijer (1980) and Leo Dijkgraaf (1984). In 1991, Renée Menschaar started performing Pino, and she has been his regular performer ever since. She is the first woman to play Pino, who has always remained a boy character. Tommie is a six year old dog. He is clever, energetic and creative. Tommie can write a few words, including his own name, which he is very proud of. He is famous for his own made up exclamations, like "Poe hee!" (approximately pronounced as: pooh hey) and "Hatseflats!". In the 2005/2006 season, Tommie got his own racing car. Tommie has been around since the beginning in 1976. The first Tommie puppet was made by producer Ton Hasebos from an old fur coat. He was a teddy bear-like creature that walked on fours. Through the years he evolved from a 'teddy bear' kind of creature to a more doglike animal. Tommie's recent look, which was introduced in 1981, was designed by The Jim Henson Company. The recently refurbished Tommie has a lot more fur in his face. Like Pino, Tommie has had a few different performers, including Stef van der Linden in 1976 and Martin Pragt in 1978.