Puppets And Animation: Bagpuss, Trumpton, Button Moon And Postman Pat

Britain made children's animation out of felt, wool, washing-up bottles and enormous patience, and nobody has bettered it since.

Here are the shows and the people behind them.

Smallfilms - Postgate and Firmin

• Oliver Postgate wrote and narrated; Peter Firmin built and drew. They worked out of a disused cowshed in Kent.
• Bagpuss, 1974, thirteen episodes: the saggy old cloth cat, Professor Yaffle, the mice on the mouse organ and Emily's shop.
• The Clangers, knitted by Firmin's wife Joan, speaking in swanee whistles - and the scripts were written out in full words first.
• Ivor the Engine, Noggin the Nog, Pogles' Wood and Pingwings.
• Bagpuss has been voted the best British children's programme more than once, on the strength of thirteen episodes.

Gordon Murray's Trumptonshire

• Camberwick Green, 1966, with the musical box opening and one character emerging each week.
• Trumpton, 1967, and the fire brigade roll call: Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grubb.
• Chigley, 1969, with the biscuit factory and the six o'clock dance.
• Brian Cant narrated all three, and Freddie Phillips wrote the music on a guitar.
• Only 39 episodes exist in total across the three series.

The puppets

• Button Moon, 1980, made from household objects - Mr Spoon flew to the moon in a baked bean tin, and the theme was sung by Peter Davison's then wife Sandra Dickinson.
• Rainbow, with Zippy, George and Bungle, and Rod, Jane and Freddy.
• Sooty, Sweep and Soo, passed from Harry Corbett to his son Matthew.
• The Muppet Show, made in England at Elstree, which almost nobody realises.
• Pipkins, Fingerbobs, Playbus and Playdays.
• Spitting Image was not for children and everybody watched it anyway.

The animation

• Postman Pat, 1981, written by John Cunliffe, set in the fictional Greendale based on the Lake District, with the theme sung by Ken Barrie.
• Fireman Sam, 1987, from Wales, and originally in Welsh as well as English.
• Thomas the Tank Engine, 1984, narrated by Ringo Starr, from the Reverend W Awdry's books.
• Danger Mouse, Count Duckula and The Wind in the Willows from Cosgrove Hall in Manchester.
• Morph and then Wallace and Gromit from Aardman in Bristol.
• Pingu from Switzerland, Pippi and the European imports that filled the pre-school hours.

Shop cards

How to write it so it lands

• Bagpuss is thirteen episodes. Trumptonshire is 39 in total.
• The Muppet Show was made in Hertfordshire.
• Everything great here was made by about six people in sheds.

Where to shop next

• 70s kids' TV shows
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• Scariest kids' TV moments
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• ITV or BBC childhood
• TV theme tunes quiz
• Adverts we can all still recite
• Test card, Ceefax and the three-channel years
• Soap moments that stopped the country
• Nostalgic quiz questions
• Growing up in the 80s and 90s
• Playground games we all played
• 80s and 90s party ideas
• Free feel good tools
• Shop cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Birthday cards for kids
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

Who made Bagpuss?

Smallfilms - Oliver Postgate, who wrote and narrated, and Peter Firmin, who built and drew everything. They worked from a disused cowshed in Kent.

What is the Trumpton fire brigade roll call?

Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grubb. It comes from Trumpton, the middle programme of Gordon Murray's three-series Trumptonshire trilogy.

What was Button Moon made from?

Household objects. Mr Spoon was a wooden spoon, his rocket was a baked bean tin, and the whole set was built from kitchen items and scrap.

Where is Postman Pat set?

In the fictional village of Greendale, based on the Lake District where the writer John Cunliffe lived. The theme tune was sung by Ken Barrie, who also voiced Pat.

Do you sell DVDs or TV merchandise?

No - we make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This is written for the pleasure of remembering it, and the only products on this page are our own cards.