Postman Pat | |
---|---|
Postman Pat and his black-and-white cat in the original series.
|
|
Genre | Children's stop motion |
Created by | John Cunliffe |
Developed by | Ivor Wood |
Written by | John Cunliffe |
Directed by | Ivor Wood |
Voices of |
Ken Barrie Carole Boyd Kulvinder Ghir Janet James Archie Panjabi Melissa Sinden Anji Kreft Angela Griffin Jimmy Hibbert |
Narrated by | Ken Barrie (1981–96) |
Theme music composer | Bryan Daly |
Composer(s) | Simon Woodgate |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
No. of series | 8 |
No. of episodes | 181 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) |
Theresa Plummer-Andrews, Michael Carrington and Chris Rose (CBBC) Jane Smith and Oliver Ellis (Entertainment Rights) Chris Bowden (Cosgrove Hall Films) |
Producer(s) | Debbie Pears Jo Jorden |
Editor(s) | Martin Bohan |
Running time | 15 minutes (Series) 30 minutes (Specials) |
Production company(s) |
Woodland Animations (1981–96) Cosgrove Hall Films (2003–08) Classic Media (1981–present) MacKinnon and Saunders (2013–present) |
Release | |
Original network |
BBC1 (1981–2002) CBeebies (2002–present) |
Picture format |
4:3 576i (1981–96) 16:9 576i (2003–present) |
Audio format |
|
Original release | 16 September 1981 – present |
Chronology | |
Related shows | Guess with Jess (spin-off) |
External links | |
Website |
Postman Pat is a British stop-motion animated children's television series first produced by Woodland Animations. It is aimed at pre-school children, and concerns the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman in the fictional village of Greendale (inspired by the real valley of Longsleddale near Kendal).
Postman Pat′s first 13-episode series was screened on BBC1 in 1981.John Cunliffe wrote the original treatment and scripts, and it was directed by animator Ivor Wood, who also worked on The Magic Roundabout, The Wombles, Paddington Bear, and The Herbs. Following the success of the first series, four TV specials and a second series of 13 episodes were produced during the 1990s. Here, Pat had a family for the first time. A new version of the series has been produced by Cosgrove Hall from 2004, which expanded on many aspects of the original series. In 2000, Royal Mail stopped using Postman Pat for their promotional and charity work. The television programme continued to use the Royal Mail logo on his postal van PAT 1 for several years after.
The original voice of Postman Pat, Ken Barrie, died on 29 July 2016.
Each episode follows the adventures of Pat Clifton, a friendly country postman, and his "black and white cat" Jess, as he delivers the post through the valley of Greendale. Although he initially concentrates on delivering his letters, he nearly always becomes distracted by a concern of one of the villagers and is usually relied upon to resolve their problems. Notable villagers include the postmistress, Mrs Goggins; Alf Thompson, the farmer; and the local handyman and inventor, Ted Glen.