For love of Bagpuss

Former Blue Peter star Janet Ellis and CBeebie’s Mr Bloom, Ben Faulks, are the readers for this nostalgic evocation of the world of Bagpuss

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Bagpuss – that much-loved, furry cat – first appeared on TV screens on 12 Feb 1974. There only ever were 13 episodes but it was such a hit with 1970s children that it was re-run many times, entrancing generation after generation. Part of the secret of the Bagpuss attraction were the characters at the heart of Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin’s series: the yawning, baggy cloth cat of course, but also the wise child Emily, the chattering woodpecker Professor Yaffl (said to be a send-up of the philosopher Bertrand Russell), Gabriel the banjo-playing toad, Madeleine the rag doll and those magic mice. This Words and Music looks to these characters for inspiration.

Sandra Kerr and John Faulkner provided the music for the series and you’ll hear some of that alongside compositions by Tchaikovsky, Elgar, Hindemith, Florence Price, Ailbhe McDonagh and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Readings include novels by George Eliot and Roald Dahl, Eleanor Farjeon’s poem Cats and Robert Louis Stephenson’s To Any Reader, read by the former Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis and the CBeebies actor and presenter Ben Faulks – also known as Mr Bloom.

Producer in Salford: Olive Clancy

You can find a Free Thinking discussion about Bagpuss and the other worlds conjured by Oliver Postgate including The Clangers, and Pogles’ Wood. With guests including Sandra Kerr and Daniel Postgate. Available on BBC Sounds

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