The Teletubbies are coming!

Never heard of them? You will. The British imports--dubbed by one writer the “new fab four”--land at PBS in April. After comes the deluge--toys, books, videos. . . .

Already, says Kenn Viselman, president and CEO of New York-based Itsy Bitsy Entertainment Co., “We have [potential licensees] sending blank checks to us.”

While he’s “not ashamed of making money,” says Viselman, who represents the Teletubbies in the Western Hemisphere, he insists that Itsy Bitsy will not exploit the Teletubbies for “a quick buck.”

Still, he hasn’t failed to notice that since their debut on the BBC last April, sales of Tubbie products are approaching a $48-million gross by year’s end. Not bad for characters named Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po, who are, in reality, grown-up actors in giant romper suits.

For the uninitiated, the Teletubbies--created by the UK’s Ragdoll Productions--are creatures who gambol about Teletubbyland eating Tubby Toast while their comic vacuum cleaner, Noo-noo, tidies up the Tubbytronic Superdome they call home. TV screens in their tummies light up, showing pictures of happy children from the real world.