Cockleshell Bay

Cockleshell Bay is a stop-motion children's television series which was shown at lunchtime on ITV during the early 1980s. It was made by Cosgrove Hall for their parent company, the ITV broadcaster Thames Television. Other children's programmes in the same ITV time slot on the remaining four weekdays included Let's Pretend, Jamie and the Magic Torch, and Rainbow – the latter in which Cockleshell Bay began as a regular story feature (reflected in the rainbow design of Cockleshell Bay's logo).

Cockleshell Bay
Genre	Stop motion, Animation
Created by	Cosgrove Hall
Starring	Brian Trueman
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English, Finnish, Swedish, Hebrew, Hungarian, French, and Spanish
No. of episodes	104
Production
Executive producer(s)	John Hambley
Producer(s)	Brian Cosgrove, Mark Hall
Running time	10 mins
Release
Original network	ITV
Original release	6 May 1980 – 1 July 1986

Twins Robin and Rosie Cockle were the main characters. They lived at the Bucket and Spade guest house run by their parents Helen and Christopher. The family had moved to the Bay from a city because their parents had wanted to leave city life behind, and their father no longer wanted to work in a factory. Although Robin and Rosie frequently argued with each other, it was clear that they much enjoyed each other's company. Gran Routy (who was no relation to the family, but was known as "Gran" due to her large number of grandchildren) helped out at the house. Robin and Rosie's friends included Mr. Ezikiel Shipham (known locally as Mr Ship), Mr. McGinty and his donkey Fury (whom Mr. Ship looked after), as well as Ben Gunn the "pirate seagull". In the later series Robin and Rosie had a baby sister called Holly.

Transmission guide

• Series 1: 13 editions from 6 May 1980 – 29 July 1980
• Series 2: 13 editions from 24 March 1981 – 16 June 1981
• Series 3: 13 editions from 28 September 1981 – 21 December 1981
• Series 4: 13 editions from 29 March 1982 – 21 June 1982
• Series 5: 13 editions from 4 January 1983 – 5 April 1983
• Series 6: 13 editions from 10 January 1984 – 3 April 1984
• Series 7: 13 editions from 16 April 1985 – 9 July 1985
• Series 8: 13 editions from 8 April 1986 – 1 July 1986

Episode Guide

Series 1 (1980)

1. 6 May 1980: A Fresh Start
2. 13 May 1980: Names
3. 20 May 1980: The Pirate Seagull
4. 27 May 1980: Buried Treasure
5. 3 June 1980: Arrow is Arrows is Arrows
6. 10 June 1980: Mortar This than Meets the Eye
7. 17 June 1980: Ben Gunn Strikes Again
8. 24 June 1980: Round and Round and Up and Down
9. 1 July 1980: The Grand Old Duke of York
10. 8 July 1980: Spring Cleaning
11. 15 July 1980: Land Ho
12. 22 July 1980: The House That Robin and Rosie Built
13. 29 July 1980: Happy Birthday Gran Routy

Series 2 (1981)

1. 24 March 1981: Fishy Things
2. 31 March 1981: The Disappearing Peas
3. 7 April 1981: Something Beginning with P
4. 14 April 1981: The Pirate King
5. 21 April 1981: Footprints in the Sand
6. 28 April 1981: Bumps and Twangles
7. 5 May 1981: Beachcombing
8. 12 May 1981: Rosie the Ballerina
9. 19 May 1981: A Day in the Sand Dunes
10. 26 May 1981: A Couple of Carpenters
11. 2 June 1981: A Cart Made for Two
12. 9 June 1981: The Grown Ups' Secret
13. 16 June 1981: Cockleshell Bay Concert

Series 3 (1981)

1. 28 September 1981: The Mystery of the Talking Donkey
2. 5 October 1981: Mr Ship's New Crew
3. 12 October 1981: Ben Gunn Goes Missing
4. 19 October 1981: Shirts, Socks and Sunshine
5. 26 October 1981: Mr Ship's African Adventure
6. 2 November 1981: Robin and Rosie at the Gallop
7. 9 November 1981: Gran Routy Bowls Them Over
8. 16 November 1981: Rock and Roll Robin
9. 23 November 1981: Robin and Rosie Hit the Trail
10. 30 November 1981: Tea Time Troubles
11. 7 December 1981: In the Cart
12. 14 December 1981: The Boatyard Sailors
13. 21 December 1981: A Cockleshell Christmas

Series 4 (1982)

1. 29 March 1982: The Cockleshell Cooks
2. 5 April 1982: Deep Sea Divers
3. 12 April 1982: Football Crazy
4. 19 April 1982: The Birthday Secret
5. 26 April 1982: Fury Comes to Tea!
6. 3 May 1982: Robin the Vet
7. 10 May 1982: A Dressing-Up Day
8. 17 May 1982: The Eight-Wheeled Cockles
9. 24 May 1982: Nurse Rosie
10. 31 May 1982: Stage Struck
11. 7 June 1982: Cockleshell Keep-Fit
12. 14 June 1982: The Well-Groomed Donkey
13. 21 June 1982: Carnival!

Series 5 (1983)

1. 4 January 1983: Dust Sheet Dramas
2. 11 January 1983: Dad's Marathon
3. 18 January 1983: Gypsy Rose Routy
4. 25 January 1983: Flying High
5. 1 February 1983: The Treasure Hunt
6. 8 February 1983: Alleys and Dobbers
7. 15 February 1983: Ben Gunn Gets Busy
8. 22 February 1983: Another Boxing Day
9. 1 March 1983: Mr Cockle's Common Cold
10. 8 March 1983: It's in the Air
11. 15 March 1983: Words, Words, Words
12. 22 March 1983: Long Ears and Tall Stories
13. 29 March 1983: The Cockleshell Easter Fayre

Series 6 (1984)

1. 10 January 1984: Tyred Out
2. 17 January 1984: Ostriches and Obstacles
3. 24 January 1984: Squeak, Squeak!
4. 31 January 1984: Holed in One
5. 7 February 1984: Robin and Rosie Clean Up
6. 14 February 1984: Tea Trays and Tumbles
7. 21 February 1984: The Vikings are Coming!
8. 28 February 1984: Skates Alive!
9. 6 March 1984:
10. 13 March 1984: Easy as Toffee Apples!
11. 20 March 1984: Iceberg on the Port Bow
12. 27 March 1984: A Frosty Day
13. 3 April 1984: Under Canvas

Series 7 (1985)

1. 16 April 1985: Footprints and Floorcloths
2. 23 April 1985: The Attic
3. 30 April 1985: Paste and Paper Everywhere
4. 7 May 1985: Moving In
5. 14 May 1985: A New Friend
6. 21 May 1985: Donkey is on the Loose
7. 28 May 1985:
8. 4 June 1985:
9. 11 June 1985: The Baby
10. 18 June 1985: The Magpie Braves
11. 25 June 1985: Lost and Found
12. 2 July 1985: Drawing and Winning
13. 9 July 1985: A Puzzle... and a Party

Series 8 (1986)

1. 8 April 1986: Holly on the Loose
2. 15 April 1986: Taming of the Lion
3. 22 April 1986:
4. 29 April 1986: The Puppet Show
5. 6 May 1986: Mr Cockle Cooks
6. 13 May 1986:
7. 20 May 1986: A Day at the Chariot Races
8. 27 May 1986: Storms at Sea
9. 3 June 1986: Ben Gunn's New Feathers
10. 10 June 1986: Dr. Mario
11. 17 June 1986: Blow Me Down
12. 24 June 1986:
13. 1 July 1986:

VHS releases

VHS Title	Release Date	Episodes
Cockleshell Bay (TV9901)	3 November 1986	A Fresh Start, Names, The Pirate Seagull, The Grand Old Duke of York, Happy Birthday Gran Routy
Seaside Tales from Cockleshell Bay (TV9951)	17 August 1987	Mr. Ship's African Adventure, Nurse Rosie, Mr. Fingal's Skating Lesson, Ostriches and Obstacles, Cockleshell Christmas
Robin and Rosie's Adventures in Cockleshell Bay (TV9952)	5 October 1987	Fishy Things, The Pirate King, A Day in the Sand Dunes, A Cart Made for Two, Cockleshell Bay Concert
Bedtime Stories: Toad and Friends (TV8078)	6 November 1989	Flying High (Compilation VHS with 'The Wind in the Willows' and 'Jamie and the Magic Torch')

Credits

Writer and Narrator

Brian Trueman

Music

David Rohl, Stuart J. Wolstenholme

Animation

Andrea Lord, Steve Moss

Puppet Design

Bridget Appleby

Illustrations

Josie Yee & Ivor Wood

Sets & Props

Chris Walker

Puppet Construction

Peter Saunders

Camera

Jim Noble, Jane Hilcks

Film Editor

John McManus

Executive Producer

John Hambley

Director

Jackie Cockle

Producers

Mark Hall, Brian Cosgrove

Copyright 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, & 1986 Cosgrove/Hall Productions Ltd

Thames Colour Production

External links

• Cockleshell Bay on IMDb
• Cockleshell Bay at ClassicKidsTV.co.uk