Rag, Tag and Bobtail
| Rag, Tag and Bobtail | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Freda Lingstrom & David Boisseau |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | BBC |
| Running time | 12 min[1] |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Television Service |
| Original release | 1953 – 1965[2] |
Rag, Tag and Bobtail was a BBC children's television programme that ran from 1953 to 1965 as the Thursday programme in the weekly cycle of Watch With Mother. The scripts were written by Louise Cochrane,[3] and the series was produced by Freda Lingstrom and David Boisseau. Narration was by Charles E. Stidwell, David Enders, and James Urquhart.[1]
The three main characters were Rag, a hedgehog; Tag, a mouse; and Bobtail, a rabbit; five baby rabbits also appeared occasionally. All the characters were glove puppets, created and operated by Sam and Elizabeth Williams. The stories were simple and there were no catch-phrases as there were in other programmes in the cycle, but the series is still remembered with affection. Twenty-six 12-minute episodes were made, two of which were never broadcast,[1] each shot in a single take.
The repeat showings came to an end in December 1965, replaced by Tales of the Riverbank (moved from its normal Monday slot by Camberwick Green).
In 1987, a Watch With Mother video was released by the BBC. The episode of Rag, Tag and Bobtail featured a scene in which Bobtail discovered that the baby rabbits had been playing in a muddy pool and had turned black. He was unable to clean them, but in the end the mud was washed off.
References
Notes
- 1 2 3 Rag, Tag and Bobtail (1953–54), BFI Screenonline, retrieved 29 June 2012
- ↑ Feeney 2009, p. 146.
- ↑ Steven, Alasdair (9 March 2012), "Louise Cochrane", The Herald – via HighBeam (subscription required) , retrieved 1 June 2012
Bibliography
- Feeney, Paul (2009), A 1950s Childhood: From Tin Baths to Bread and Dripping, the History Press, ISBN 978-0-7524-5011-7