''Pob's Programme'' is a

children's television programme 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 ...

which was broadcast in the United Kingdom on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

. The programme is presented by a puppet named Pob (played by puppeteer Robin Stevens), who speaks with a

speech impediment Speech disorders, impairments, or impediments, are a type of communication disorder in which normal speech is disrupted. This can mean fluency disorders like stuttering and cluttering. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is co ...

and who supposedly lives inside the viewer's TV (the casing and red, green and blue

electron gun file:Egun.jpg, Electron gun from a cathode-ray tube file:Vidicon Electron Gun.jpg, The electron gun from an RCA Vidicon video camera tube An electron gun (also called electron emitter) is an electrical component in some vacuum tubes that produc ...

s visible behind him). Music was composed and performed by Mike Stanley. The opening titles of the show consist of the character breathing on the camera lens (this breathing was often mistaken for spitting, given the loud noise accompanying it and the thick condensation appearing on screen), and tracing his name in the

condensation Condensation is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle. It can also be defined as the change in the state of water vapor ...

. Each week on the programme, a celebrity guest visits Pob's garden, and entertains him — though Pob and the guest never appear on screen together. ''Pob's Programme'' was created by Doug Wilcox and

Anne Wood Anne Wood, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 18 December 1937) is an English children's television producer, responsible for creating shows such as ''Teletubbies'' with Andrew Davenport. She is also the creator of ''Tots TV'', ''Boohbah'' ...

Ragdoll Productions Ragdoll Productions Limited, or simply Ragdoll, is a British television production company founded in 1984 by Anne Wood, who had previously worked for Yorkshire Television and TV-am. It is located in Bloxham, Oxfordshire, and has produced a ...

, and was also Ragdoll's first show. Anne went on to create other programmes such as '' Rosie and Jim'' and ''

Teletubbies ''Teletubbies'' is a British children's television series created by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport for the BBC. The programme focuses on four differently coloured characters known as the Teletubbies, named after the television screens on t ...

''. Unlike the other series by Ragdoll, it is one of the only programmes not to be acquired and picked up by

DHX Media WildBrain Ltd. is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest independent library of children's television programmin ...

Series overview

Content

In a typical episode, the celebrity visitor to the show finds a label attached to a piece of string on the gates of Pob's garden; :''If in my programme you would be,'' :''Wind the wool and follow me.'' :''Follow where the wool is led first the Yellow then the Red'' The celebrity guest then follows the

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

len string, winding it as they go, and encountering a second label; :''Wind it slowly, wind it fast,'' :''A secret you will find at last.'' Ultimately the wool is found to be Pob's unravelled jumper, and he is awoken to trace his name on the screen. Over the course of the programme, the celebrity guest reads a story, and solves a word puzzle with Pob. Over 28 celebrity visitors appeared on ''Pob's Programme'' like Nigel Hayes, some appearing twice. The visitors, many of them well known as actors, included

Roy Castle Roy Castle (31 August 1932 – 2 September 1994) was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. An accomplished jazz trumpet player, he could also play many other instruments. In a career as a versatile perfo ...

Jan Francis Janet Stephanie Francis (born 5 August 1947) is an English actress. She appeared as Penny Warrender in the 1980s romantic comedy '' Just Good Friends''. Early life Francis was born at the former Charing Cross Hospital London. She is the eld ...

, Charlie Williams,

Madhur Jaffrey Madhur Jaffrey Order of the British Empire, CBE (née Bahadur; born 13 August 1933) is an Indian-born British-American actress, cookbook and travel writer, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing Indian cuisine to the weste ...

Brian Blessed Brian Blessed ( ; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor. He is known for his distinctive bushy beard, booming voice, and exuberant personality and performances. He portrayed PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars''; Augustus in the 1976 BBC television ...

, Brian Patten,

Hannah Gordon Hannah Campbell Grant Gordon
Film reference website (born 9 April 1941) is a Scottish actress and presenter ...

Su Pollard Susan Georgina "Su" Pollard (born 7 November 1949) is a British actress, singer, songwriter and author whose career has spanned over 50 years. Pollard is most known for her role in the sitcom '' Hi-de-Hi!'' She also appeared in the sitcoms '' Y ...

Kathy Staff Kathy Staff (born Minnie Higginbottom; 12 July 1928 – 13 December 2008) was an English actress known for her work on British television. She is best known for her portrayal of Nora Batty in ''Last of the Summer Wine'', the longest running si ...

John Duttine John Arthur Duttine (born 15 March 1949) is an English actor noted for his roles on stage, films and television. He is well known for his role as Sgt George Miller in '' Heartbeat'' and Bill Masen in the TV series '' The Day of the Triffids''. ...

Ross Davidson William Russell "Ross" Davidson (25 August 1949 – 16 October 2006) was a Scottish actor best known for his role as Andy O'Brien in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Career Davidson started his working life as a physical education teacher ...

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...

Toyah Willcox Toyah Ann Willcox (born 18 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter, actress, and television presenter. In a career spanning more than 40 years, she has had eight top 40 singles, released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in over 40 ...

Bill Pertwee William Desmond Anthony Pertwee (21 July 1926 – 27 May 2013) was an English actor and comedian. He is best remembered for playing Chief ARP Warden Hodges in ''Dad's Army'' and P.C. Wilson in '' You Rang, M'Lord?''. Early life Pertwee was bo ...

Anni Domingo Anni Domingo (born 1950s) is a British actress, director and writer, working in theatre, television, radio and films. She additionally holds positions on the boards of several organisations in various sectors, and has said: "You can't make a di ...

Josette Simon Josette Patricia Simon, OBE (born 1959 or 1960) is a British actor who played the part of Dayna Mellanby in the third and fourth series of the television sci-fi series ''Blake's 7'' from 1980 to 1981. She trained at the Central School of Spee ...

, Tony Armatrading,

Rupert Frazer Rupert Frazer (born 12 March 1947) is a British actor. Career His work in theatre includes performances at the Citizens Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre and the Royal National Theatre. In 1975, he played the title role in the first British st ...

, Kjartan Poskitt,

Bernard Hepton Francis Bernard Heptonstall (19 October 1925 – 27 July 2018) better known by the stage name Bernard Hepton, was an English actor and theatre director. He is known for his stage work and television roles in teleplays and series. He also appear ...

Peter Howitt Peter Howitt (; born 5 May 1957) is a British actor and film director. Biography Early life Howitt was born on 5 May 1957, the son of Frank Howitt, a renowned Fleet Street journalist who, in 1963, broke the infamous Profumo affair, Profumo ...

Cheryl Campbell Cheryl Campbell (born 22 May 1949) is an English actress. She starred opposite Bob Hoskins in the 1978 BBC drama '' Pennies From Heaven'', before going on to win the 1980 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for '' Testament of Youth'' and ''Malice ...

, Susan Gilmore,

Pat Coombs Patricia Doreen Coombs (27 August 1926 – 25 May 2002) was an English actress. She specialised in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female, comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, ...

and

Patricia Hodge Patricia Ann Hodge (born 29 September 1946) is an English actress. She is known on-screen for playing Phyllida Erskine-Brown in '' Rumpole of the Bailey'' (1978–1992), Jemima Shore in '' Jemima Shore Investigates'' (1983), Penny in '' Miranda ...

. One episode was filmed on location at Birmingham Children's Hospital with Barry Foy as a patient. Various celebrities had recurring segments on ''Pob's Programme'', including

Nigel Kennedy Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and viola, violist. His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and has since expanded into jazz music, jazz, klezmer, and other music genres. Early life and ...

(who would attempt to teach Pob to play the

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

Dick King-Smith Ronald Gordon King-Smith OBE (27 March 1922 – 4 January 2011), known by his pen name Dick King-Smith, was an English writer of children's books. He is best known for '' The Sheep-Pig'' (1983), which was adapted as the movie '' Babe'' (1995) ...

(who would follow nature trails based on clues that Pob would send him), Alan Dart (who would be seen, hands only, doing a different handicraft project each episode) and Rod Campbell (who would devise different ways to open a mystery box). Pob was often accompanied in his mischief by a silent teddy bear called Teddy, operated by Bob Berk and Wanda Szajna-Hopgood.

Recognition

In 2001, ''Pob's Programme'' was number 60 on

's ''100 Greatest Kids' TV shows''.

References

External links

* {{Ragdoll Productions 1985 British television series debuts 1990 British television series endings 1980s British children's television series 1990s British children's television series 1980s preschool education television series 1990s preschool education television series British children's fantasy television series British preschool education television series Channel 4 original programming British television shows featuring puppetry Television series by Ragdoll Productions Television series about monkeys British English-language television shows