Rag, Tag and Bobtail

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Rag, Tag and Bobtail
Created byFreda Lingstrom
David Boisseau
No. of episodes26
Production
ProducerBBC
Running time12 minutes[1]
Release
Original networkBBC Television Service
Original release1953 (1953) –
1965[2]

Rag, Tag and Bobtail is 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 are Rag, a hedgehog; Tag, a mouse; and Bobtail, a rabbit; five baby rabbits also appeared occasionally. All the characters are 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. ^ Jump up to: a b c Rag, Tag and Bobtail (1953–54), BFI Screenonline, retrieved 29 June 2012
  2. ^ Feeney 2009, p. 146.
  3. ^ Steven, Alasdair (9 March 2012), "Louise Cochrane", The Herald  – via HighBeam (subscription required), archived from the original on 17 November 2018, 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

External links[]

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