Raise your hand if you fondly remember watching The Clangers as a child… Originally airing in the late 60s, the little knitted and puppet-like critters captured the childish hearts of so many generations, and we can joyously report that they will be gracing our screens once more!
The Clangers were pink and mousy, living inside craters on a Moon-like planet. The craters were covered in dustbin lids that ‘clanged’, giving the creatures and the show their names. The Clangers, kind-hearted and generous creatures, also communicated with one another in whistles, while the narrator translated and commented on the events taking place.
The Clangers was first shown in November 1969, only four months after man first stepped foot on the moon, and this idea was incorporated into one of the episodes, showing the Clangers making use of a flag left behind on their little Blue Planet.
The show is being co-produced by the BBC’s preschool television channel, CBeebies, as well as a preschool tv channel in the US called Sprout, which will broadcast The Clangers to North America. Media company the Coolabi Group and Smallfilms, behind the Clangers and other classics like Bagpuss and Ivor the Engine, will also play a role in the production of the new series.
“The world of the Clangers is delightful and irresistible,” Mr Palin said. “It is a real pleasure and a great privilege to be a part of its return to television.”
Peter Firmin, who created The Clangers with Oliver Postgate (the narrator in the original series who has since passed away), said that he had wanted Palin as the new narrator, and had wished and hoped for it to happen. “Once in a blue moon, wishes come true,” he said. “This is once in a blue moon. I hope Michael enjoys his voyage to our little Blue Planet.”
Daniel Postgate, son of Oliver Postgate and executive producer of the new series, said that Palin had been his first choice, too, so he was delighted the Python had agreed. “Among other things, he has been a warm and charming guide for us all in his extensive travels around this world,” he added. “It seems wonderfully appropriate that he should pack his bags once more, go off across the starry expanse of space and do the same for the world of the Clangers.”
The whole affair has been deemed as “incredibly exciting” by CBeebies controller Kay Benbow, enhanced all the more by Palin’s involvement.
Production is costing around £5 million and in the UK, the 11-minute show will hit CBeebies in the Spring, when it won’t be surprising if there are grown adults around the country sat cross-legged in front of their television set, reliving their youth.
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