The Treacle People
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''The Treacle People'' is a
stop motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...
animated children's television programme shown on
CITV CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and formerly a free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged ...
in the United Kingdom from 3 May 1996 to 25 July 1997 and re-run 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 ...
in the 2000s. It had 2 series, each with 13 episodes, as well as a Christmas special. It was produced by
The London Studios The London Studios (also known as The South Bank Studios, The London Television Centre, ITV Tower, Kent House and LWT Tower) in Lambeth, Central London was a television studio complex owned by ITV plc and originally built for London Weekend Te ...
for
London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00&nbs ...
(
Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...
produced the second series) and Fire Mountain Productions in association with Link Entertainment. In 2023, the series was remastered, with full episodes uploaded on the official Treacle People YouTube Channel, and in 2025, a sequel audio drama was released on
Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or ru ...
, entitled "Still Sticky".


Development

The concept for the show was created by Bill Dewhurst, a resident of Sabden, Lancashire, who created dolls on which the Treacle People characters were based during a period of unemployment in the 1980's. Dewhurst, together with his wife, son, and two daughters, sold the dolls at craft fairs, before the Dewhurst family developed the show together with a production company. The show, which used
stop-motion animation Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...
, ran for 27 episodes from 1996 to 1997.


Plot

The show was written by Brian and Jonathan Trueman (the former of whom was the writer of ''Danger Mouse'') and was based in a fictionalized version of the Northern English village of Sabden, in Pendle, where
treacle Treacle () is any uncrystallised syrup made during the refining of sugar.Oxford Dictionary The most common forms of treacle are golden syrup, a pale variety, and black treacle, a darker variety similar to molasses. Black treacle has a distinctiv ...
is (allegedly) a natural resource extracted through mines. However, the mines have run dry from overextraction, and the village may face destruction from a lack of economy. The main characters Bill Wizzle and Rosie use a Treacle finder, similar to a water dowser, to discover a vein of treacle in the abandoned mines which is home to treacle-loving creatures called
Boggarts A boggart is a supernatural being from English folklore. The dialectologist Elizabeth Mary WElizabeth Wright described the boggart as 'a generic name for an apparition'; folklorist Simon Young defines it as 'any ambivalent or evil solitary super ...
. The two series focus on reopening the mines, and problems faced (such as exportation).


Characters

* Bill Wizzle – The boy who uses a Treacle finder to find for Sabden another vein of treacle. He is voiced by Jim McManus. * Rosie – Bill Wizzle's best friend. She is voiced by Caroline Bernstein. * Bert – A white Boggart whom Wizzle and Rosie befriend. He is voiced by Caroline Bernstein. * The Professor – He seeks to research in treacle and find ingenious ways to export it, though not always succeeding. He is voiced by Alec Bregonzi. * Tapper – A miner who is also a mechanic, he also has a steam traction engine called ''Bessie''. He is voiced by Glynn Mills. * Ike – Rosie's dad who runs as a blacksmith who also works with Tapper in building things. He is voiced by Glynn Mills. * Leyland Lil – The landlady who runs the ''Bubble & Boggart'' inn that serves
ginger beer Traditional ginger beer is a sweetened and carbonated, usually non-alcoholic beverage. Historically it was produced by the natural fermentation of prepared ginger spice, yeast and sugar. Modern ginger beers are often mass production, manufactur ...
and makes parkin as hard as a rock. She is voiced by Caroline Bernstein. * Charlie – Lil's small assistant who doesn't talk much and is constantly abused by Lil when giving him orders. He was voiced by
Brian Trueman Brian Richard Trueman (16 May 1932 – 1 September 2024) was an English broadcaster, writer and voice actor. He was known mainly for his work with the animation studio Cosgrove Hall. He wrote and/or narrated children's cartoon series, mostly dur ...
* Nellie Newchurch – Lil's posh rival from Perfect Parkin Parlour shop across the street. She is voiced by Alec Bregonzi. * Brendan Robinson – Originated from
Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...
, Ireland, Brendan is the owner of a ginger beer brewery and bottling plant. He is voiced by Jim Norton. * Silas Mitton – Rosie's uncle, a wealthy investor who tries to come up with many way to put the village on the map. He is voiced by Jim Norton. * P.C. Pendle – A local policeman who is oftentimes clueless in his job. He is voiced by Jim McManus. * Digger – or ''Alaster Auchentoshen McMurdo of the Clan McMurdo of Ayr and Troon'' as his real name, is Brendan's Scottish cousin who appears in Series 2. He came for work in Sabden and dig for Porridge, which is something Boggarts like for curing their flu. He is voiced by Jim Norton. * Barrow & Furness – Two crooks who appeared in Sabden in Series 2. They are voiced by Alec Bregonzi and Brian Trueman * Santa – Only appearing in the Christmas Special, he'd gained help from Bert in finding Sabden to deliver the townsfolk their presents. He was voiced by
Willie Rushton William George Rushton (18 August 1937 – 11 December 1996) was an English cartoonist, comedian actor and satirist who co-founded the satirical magazine ''Private Eye''. Early life Rushton was born 18 August 1937 at 3 Wilbraham Place, Chelsea, ...
. * The Queen – Royalty who resembles Leyland Lil, who appears briefly at the end of the Christmas Special when making her speech, and in the very last episode of the series to unveil Sabden's statue. She is voiced by Caroline Bernstein. * Stirling – Digger's pet Haggis who resembles a bagpipe. He is voiced by Iain Russell * Boggarts – Creatures who thrive in treacle mines, unlike Bert who is white, the other Boggarts are normally brown. They are voiced by Caroline Bernstein. * Moobark – A cross between a Friesian cow and an
Airedale terrier The Airedale Terrier (often shortened to "Airedale"), also called Bingley Terrier and Waterside Terrier, is a dog breed of the terrier type that originated in the valley (''dale'') of the River Aire, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It ...
. * Narrator – A witty offscreen voice (Glynn Mills) who narrates what happened in the last episode and asking how the people of Sabden going to fix this episode's mess. It was revealed at the end of the very last episode of the series that the narrator is actually The Professor's Sound Sponge from four episodes back in "Sounds Crazy".


Episodes


Season 1


Season 2


Audio Sequel

In May 2024, an audio drama follow-up to the original series was announced, under the title "The Treacle People - Still Sticky". The set was written by Jonathan Trueman and stars Caroline Bernstein, Glynn Mills and Jim Norton, reprising their roles from the original series. The six episodes were released on Audible in April 2025.


Rights

The rights to ''The Treacle People'' are now owned by independent production company, Fire Mountain Productions Limited. Fire Mountain Productions was set up by the show's producer, Iain Russell.


Awards

''The Treacle People'', followed up by a Christmas special, was
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
nominated in the children's animation category in 1997.


Credits

* Written by: Brian and Jonathan Trueman * Developed for television by: Mike Furness and Iain Russell * From an original idea by: The Dewhurst Family * Featuring the voices of: Caroline Bernstein, Alec Bregonzi, Jim McManus, Glynn Mills, Jim Norton,
Willie Rushton William George Rushton (18 August 1937 – 11 December 1996) was an English cartoonist, comedian actor and satirist who co-founded the satirical magazine ''Private Eye''. Early life Rushton was born 18 August 1937 at 3 Wilbraham Place, Chelsea, ...
and
Brian Trueman Brian Richard Trueman (16 May 1932 – 1 September 2024) was an English broadcaster, writer and voice actor. He was known mainly for his work with the animation studio Cosgrove Hall. He wrote and/or narrated children's cartoon series, mostly dur ...
* Title song: Sticky * Music by: Simon Webb * Casting director: Nikki Finch * Director of animation: Martin Pullen * Animators: Mike Cottee, Timon Dowdeswell, Andy Joule and Daryl Marsh * Production manager: Mike Fisher * Musical co-ordinator: Rachel Williams * Music recording: Gerry Kitchingham * Musicians: Simon Clark, Nick Hitchins, Ben Kennard, Roddy Lorimer, Bob Loveday, Glynn Matthews, Wes McGee, Tamsin Rowlinson and Simon Webb * Additional animation: Tobias Fouracre and Mark Waring * Lighting cameramen: Adrian Chadlecott, John Duffy, Peter Ellmore, Colin Innes-Hopkins and Tom Kinane * Puppets built and designed by: Richard Blakey and Maggie Haden * Original art director: Alan Murphy * Sets built and designed by: Jessica Ace, Colin Armitage, Toby Burrell, Barbara Cowdery and Keith Grant * Assisted by: James Heath and Melissa Johnson * Graphic designer: Bill Wilson * Editors: Martin Hay, Paul Hudson, Alex Maddison, Andy Marangone, Alan Ritchie and Jeremy Scott * Sound supervisors: Rob Ashard, Graham Hix, Jon Matthews and Russell Smithson * Production assistant: Jo Newey * Production associates: Kathy Schulz and Sue Bennett-Urwin * Executive producers: Penny Lent and Danielle Lux * Director: Mike Furness * Producer: Iain Russell


See also

*
Treacle mining Treacle mining is the fictitious mining of black treacle (also known as molasses) in a raw form similar to coal. The subject purports to be serious but is an attempt to test credulity. Thick black treacle makes the deception plausible. The topic ...


References


External links

*.
Official YouTube Channel

Fire Mountain Productions Limited
{{DEFAULTSORT:Treacle People, The 1990s British children's television series 1996 British television series debuts 1997 British television series endings 1990s British animated television series British children's animated television shows ITV children's television shows London Weekend Television shows British stop-motion animated television series Television series by ITV Studios British English-language television shows ITV animated television series