Hotch Potch House

Hotch Potch House is a 1996 BBC television series aimed at preschool children. It stars Richard Coombs as Raggs, Francis Wright (Art Attack) as Shelley and Rebecca Nagan (Rosie and Jim) as Woolie. It was directed by Vivienne Cozens and shot at Grip House Studios. The stated aim is to "have the puppets teach children about their emotions and feelings in a way that relates to them." The show features puppetry, animation and live-action scenes.

Hotch Potch House
GenrePreschool animation
Created byMichelle Jones
Developed byBBC Worldwide
Directed byVivienne Cozens
Neil Ben
Nigel P Harris
StarringRebecca Nagan
Richard Coombs
Francis Wright
Tina Gray
Theme music composerPaddy Kingsland
Stephen McNeff
Sandy Nuttgens
Steve Brown
Opening theme"Hotch Potch House"
Ending theme"Hotch Potch House" (instrumental)
Country of originUnited Kingdom"
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes11
Production
Producer(s)Julie Callanan
Running time19 minutes
Production company(s)
  • BBC
  • Grip House Studios
Release
Original networkBBC Two
Original releaseJanuary 15 (1996-01-15) –
March 25, 1996 (1996-03-25)

Format

A recycled homemade model house, known as "Hotch Potch House", hence the name, spins round once and the camera focuses on a different bit of it which indicates something.

  • Eye – Eyewitness

A bit on the model Hotch Potch House that looks like an eye gives a wink.

  • Front Door – Letter of the Week (a b c d e f)

The first six letters of the alphabet pop out through the letter box of the front door. The chosen letter turns white, flies off and lands somewhere else in a cutout animation becoming enormous at the same time.

  • Chimney – Number of the Week (1 2 3 4 5)

The numbers 1 to 5 pop out of the chimney and fly up into the sky, lining themselves up. The chosen number turns white and lands somewhere else in a cutout animation becoming enormous at the same time. Then a group of living fruit and vegetables from a basket in the kitchen goes into the cupboard to perform a number song inside it.

  • Tree – Activities

The tree magically grows.

  • Window – Songs and Rhymes

The window opens and musical notes pop out through it.

  • Garden Door – Out and About

The garden door opens.

The Mouse House

There is also a special storytime called The Mouse House about five mice whose names are Kevin, Max, Betsey, Lester and Primrose who all live together in a little house behind a tiny brown door next to Nana who tells the stories. Each story starts with Nana's special introduction.

"Find a comfy place to sit, as quiet as a mouse, and listen to a story about a little house. Just in the corner, down by the floor, in Hotch Potch House there's a tiny brown door. Push the door open and step right through - inside the Mouse House there's a story for you!"

Episodes
Name Segments Summary Original air date
Hide and Seek
  • Eye – Camouflaged Animals
  • Front Door – The Letter A (apple, ant, alligator, acrobatic alligator, ambulance)
  • The Mouse House – Spring Cleaning
  • Tree – Face Painting
  • Garden Door – Vet
 Raggs always hides behind the door and wants to find a new place to hide. 15 January 1996
Just the Same
  • Tree – Decorating Biscuits
  • Chimney – The Number 1 (1 sun, 1 girl, 1 cloud, 1 umbrella, 1 drop of rain, 1 beautiful day / 1 singing spring onion)
  • The Mouse House – Saying Sorry
  • Eye – Teddy Bear Factory
  • Garden Door – Twins
 The trio have been invited to a fancy dress party but they keep ending up wearing the same costume. 22 January 1996
Babies
  • Eye – Baby Monkeys
  • Front Door – The Letter B (balloon, boy, bear, badger, bird)
  • The Mouse House – The Party
  • Window – Five Little Ducks
  • Garden Door – Baby Sister
 Little Mop comes for a visit at Hotch Potch House today. 29 January 1996
Underwater
  • Eye – Undersea Creatures
  • Chimney – The Number 2 (2 ears, 2 eyes, 2 teeth, 2 feet, 2 hands, 2 rabbits / 2 singing potatoes)
  • The Mouse House – Max's Music
  • Tree – Fish Tank
  • Garden Door – Aquarium
 Raggs' friend Bubbles is coming to stay but Woolie doesn't know that he's a goldfish. 5 February 1996
Round and Round
  • Eye – Potter's Wheel
  • Front Door – The Letter C (cat, cooking cat, carrots, currants, cow, cake, candles)
  • The Mouse House – The Sun Bug
  • Window – The Wheels on the Bus
  • Garden Door – Bike (with The Pushbike Song playing in the background)
 Everybody keeps borrowing Shelley's wheelbarrow without asking first. 12 February 1996
Houses
  • Eye – Bird Box
  • Chimney – The Number 3 (3 fish, 3 fishermen / 3 singing carrots)
  • The Mouse House – The Picnic
  • Window – "We Will Build a Little House" (with some deaf children)
  • Garden Door – Redecorating a Bedroom
 Shelley gets bored with his old shell so Woolie and Raggs help him find a brand new house. 19 February 1996
Up In The Air
  • Eye – Dove
  • Front Door – The Letter D (dog, door, duck, dinosaur, dancing)
  • The Mouse House – Max's Boat
  • Tree – Kite
  • Garden Door – Aeroplane (Air Mail)
 A balloon floats into the garden and Raggs wants to catch it. 26 February 1996
Melting and Freezing
  • Eye – Polar Bears
  • Chimney – The Number 4 (4 birds, 4 nests, 4 eggs, 4 chicks / 4 singing oranges)
  • The Mouse House – The Bugglefluff
  • Tree – Fruit Juice Ice Lollies
  • Garden Door – Ice Cream Farm
 The first snowfall covers Hotch Potch House. 4 March 1996
Running Water
  • Front Door – The Letter E
  • The Mouse House – Mice, Trains & Dinosaurs
 Shelley asks Raggs to water his flowers, but neither he or Woolie know what to do so with. 11 March 1996
Up and Down
  • Eye – Hot Air Balloons
  • Chimney – The Number 5 (5 fingers, 5 saucers, 5 spoons, 5 cups, 5 o'clock / 5 singing bananas)
  • The Mouse House – The Big Cheese
  • Window – The Grand Old Duke of York
  • Garden Door – Skiing
 Woolie, Raggs and Shelley don't know whether to put their new picture of themselves upstairs or downstairs. 18 March 1996
Bend And Stretch
  • Eye – Balloon Animals
  • Front Door – The Letter F (farm, fence, fox, farmer, feather)
  • The Mouse House – The Show
  • Tree – Bodies (with Tumble Tots)
  • Garden Door – Pastries (Apple Turnovers and Croissants)
 Raggs and Shelley try to get everything ready for Woolie's birthday before she wakes up. 25 March 1996

[1]

Credits

In the Mouse House
  • Nana's Voice – Tina Gray
  • Animation – Ealing Animation (El Nombre)
  • Kevin – James Danaher
  • Max – Dexter Koh
  • Betsey – Ashlie Walker
  • Lester – Tom Fletcher
  • Primrose – Lily Cole

Letter / Number of the Week

Music
gollark: Not really. As I said, there are 12 months and unfathomably vast amounts of causes.
gollark: It also doesn't, in my opinion, encourage good problem solving methodology, due to verbosity and a poor type system.
gollark: Java is not a low-level language and does not reflect computer innards.
gollark: It just means polynomials, but stupider.
gollark: No, it is merely apioformic.

References
  1. Richard Coomb's Homepage http://www.richardcoombs.co.uk/youandme.htm
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