''Pigeon Street'' is a British cutout animated

children's television Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

series, written by Michael Cole, originally shown on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

in 1981 as part of its 'See-Saw' strand for preschoolers. There were two series with eight and five

episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a serial (radio and television), series intended for radio, television or Streaming media, streaming consumption. Etymology The noun ''episode'' is ...

s respectively, each programme lasting 15 minutes. The series was repeated a number of times until 1994.

Plot

The shows featured the everyday adventures of a group of characters living on ''Pigeon Street'', an area of

flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Apartment, known as a flat in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), a two-dimens ...

and

terraced housing A terrace in agriculture is a flat surface that has been cut into hills or mountains to provide areas for the cultivation for crops, as a method of more effective farming. Terrace agriculture or cultivation is when these platforms are created s ...

in a British city, also home to several

pigeon Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

s which appeared in each show but only occasionally featured in the

plot Plot or Plotting may refer to: Art, media and entertainment * Plot (narrative), the connected story elements of a piece of fiction Music * ''The Plot'' (album), a 1976 album by jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava * The Plot (band), a band formed in 2003 ...

. Characters included lorry driver Long Distance Clara, her husband Hugo the chef, Mr Baskerville the

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

, Mr Jupiter the

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

, Mr Macadoo the petshop owner, and twins Molly and Polly, who were only distinguishable by the letter M and P on their jumpers.

Production

The animation was created by Alan Rogers and Peter Lang of the Cut-Out Animation Co., who later went on to do a nursery rhyme series with similar animation called ''

Rub-A-Dub-Dub "Rub-a-dub-dub" is an English language nursery rhyme first published at the end of the 18th century in volume two of Hook's ''Christmas Box'' under the title "Dub a dub dub" rather than "Rub a dub dub". It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3 ...

''. Voices were performed by

George Layton George Layton (born George Michael William Löwy; 2 March 1942) is a British actor, director, screenwriter and author best known for three television roles – junior doctor Paul Collier in the comedy series ''Doctor in the House'' and its sequ ...

, with additional voices by John Telfer. Music was by Benni Lees, and played by Soulyard.

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1

Series 2

Characters

*Ranjit Bains: Jim, Gerald, Molly and Polly's friend. *Mr Baskerville: The detective is always carrying his magnifying glass and has a dog called Watson. *Betty Cox: The school dinner lady and is William's wife and Jim's mother. *Jim Cox: William and Betty's son. *William Cox: The window cleaner and is Betty's husband and Jim's father. *Flash: Mr Jupiter's dog. *Rose Fogg: The other old lady who is another next door neighbour to Daisy and scares the pigeons away. *Fiona Glossop: The owner who made strawberry jam and is Gerald, Molly and Polly's mother and the wife of John. *Gerald Glossop: Molly and Polly's older brother and son of John and Fiona. *Dr John Glossop: The doctor and is Fiona's husband and Gerald, Molly and Polly's father. *Molly Glossop: Gerald's sister, Polly's twin sister and twin daughter of John and Fiona. *Polly Glossop: Gerald's other sister, Molly's twin sister and other twin daughter of John and Fiona. *Mr Jupiter: The astronomer is always carrying his telescope and has a dog called Flash. *Mr Macadoo: The pet shop owner. *Clara Newman: The lorry driver and is Hugo's wife. *Hugo Newman: The local chef and is Clara's husband. *Bob Pottage: The owner of the cycle shop called "Bob's Bikes" and is Reg's brother and Doreen's brother-in-law. *Doreen Pottage: The owner of the launderette and is Reg's wife and Bob's sister-in-law. *Reg Pottage: The park sweeper and is Doreen's husband and Bob's brother. *Tom: Mr Macadoo's cat. *Daisy Waldron: The old lady who is a next-door neighbour to Rose and feeds the pigeons on her window sill. *Watson: Mr Baskerville's dog. Rogers and Lang went on to create many animations for programmes like '' Words and Pictures'', ''

Numbertime ''Numbertime'' is a BBC educational numeracy television series for primary schools that was aired on BBC Two from 20 September 1993 to 3 December 2001. For its first four series, it was presented by Lolita Chakrabarti. El Nombre, an animated ...

'', ''

Rosie and Jim ''Rosie and Jim'' (sometimes written as ''Rosie & Jim'') is a British children's television programme which was produced by Ragdoll Productions and aired on the Children's ITV block on ITV from 3 September 1990 to 16 May 2000. The programm ...

'', ''Hotch Potch House'', ''Rat-A-Tat-Tat'' and ''The Number Crew''.

References

External links

PigeonStreet.comPigeon Street Fan Club on Facebook
*{{IMDb title, tt0281477 1981 British television series debuts 1981 animated television series debuts 1981 British television series endings 1980s British children's television series Animated television series set in the United Kingdom BBC children's television shows 1980s British animated television series Fictional doves and pigeons British stop-motion animated television series British English-language television shows BBC animated television series