Rainbow (TV series)

Rainbow was a British children's television series, created by Pamela Lonsdale, which ran from 16 October 1972 until March 1992, only finishing when Thames Television lost its ITV franchise to Carlton Television. The series was revived by HTV in 1994 until 24 March 1997, in two different formats and voice actors compared to the original Thames series.

Rainbow
GenreEducational
Created byPamela Lonsdale
Presented byDavid Cook
Geoffrey Hayes
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of series24
No. of episodes1,002
Production
Production location(s)Thames Studios
Running timeTypically about 15 minutes
(though specials were 10 minutes longer)
Production company(s)
Distributor
Release
Original networkITV Network
CITV
Picture format4:3
Original release16 October 1972 (1972-10-16) –
6 March 1992 (1992-03-06)

The series was originally conceived as a British equivalent of long-running American educational puppet series Sesame Street.[1] The British series was developed in house by Thames Television, and had no input from the Children's Television Workshop.[2] It was intended to develop language and social skills for pre-school children, and went on to win the Society of Film and Television Arts Award for Best Children's Programme in 1975. It aired five times weekly, twice weekly on Mondays and Wednesdays then Tuesdays and Fridays, and finally once weekly at 12:10 on Fridays on the ITV network.

The show had three producers over its lifetime – Pamela Lonsdale, Charles Warren and Joe Boyer.

The original Thames series has gained cult status and continues to get frequent mentions on radio and television. A few DVDs have been produced, including one celebrating 30 Years of Rainbow.

History

Premise

Each episode of Rainbow revolved around a particular activity or situation that arose in the Rainbow House, where the main characters lived. Often, it involved some kind of squabble or dispute between the puppet characters of Zippy, George and Bungle, and David Cook/Geoffrey Hayes's attempts to calm them down and keep the peace.

The main story was interspersed with songs (often from Rod, Jane and Freddy, although guest singers occasionally took their place), animations, and stories read from the Rainbow storybook, usually by Geoffrey (Or David, Depending on the episode air date). Some episodes focused on a particular topic, such as sounds or opposites, and consisted mainly of short sketches or exchanges between the main characters, rather than a consistent storyline. Brief sequences of animated line drawings, made by Cosgrove Hall Productions, were included in many episodes.

The "adult" version

In 1979, the cast and crew of Rainbow made a special exclusive sketch for the Thames TV staff Christmas tape, sometimes referred to as the "Twangers" episode. This sketch featured plenty of deliberate sexual innuendo (beginning with Zippy peeling a banana, saying 'One skin, two skin, three skin...' before being interrupted by George), and was never shown at the time (as it was never intended to be screened to the general public.) The cast later sang "The Plucking Song".[3]

The clip became famous after being aired on Victor Lewis-Smith's Channel 4 programme TV Offal (1997) and was referred to as 'the pilot episode' in order to fit into the regular programme segment "The Pilots That Crashed"; however, the clip clearly was not a pilot, as Geoffrey Hayes was not a regular presenter until the series itself was a year old. The clip became widespread with the increasing popularity of the Internet, first as an e-mail attachment and later via online video websites such as YouTube. This has led to many erroneous claims that the episode was publicly broadcast as a regular episode.

TV Offal also broadcast some very risqué material featuring Hayes, Zippy and George as guests on a variety programme hosted by comedian Jim Davidson in the 1980s; the sketch in question featured former children's TV presenter Tommy Boyd asking a question about Adam and Eve. Boyd and Davidson used some profanities in the sketch, along with some innuendo from George (presumably again not intended for broadcast like the above), and Zippy exclaimed to Geoffrey an expletive phrase quite out of character from his children's television persona. (Incidentally, the said footage appeared uncut on Thames Television's 1984 Christmas tape.)

Theme song

The theme song for the show was actually a small part of the full version, also called "Rainbow" and written by Hugh Portnow, Hugh Fraser and Tim Thomas of the band Telltale, who regularly appeared in the first two series of the show. It was released by Music for Pleasure in 1973 with the B-side "Windy Day".

There have been several dance versions of the theme tune which have been released as singles. The dance act Solo had a minor hit in 1991 with a sample-free instrumental version of the Rainbow theme, while Eurobop released a dance version in 1993 featuring samples taken directly from the original theme as well as voice samples of the main characters, who appeared on several music TV shows to promote the single; a hardcore version entitled "Rainbow Vibes" by the Sonz of Bungle circulated on 12" vinyl in 1992 which sampled the theme tune over a chopped up breakbeat and featuring rave stabs. The most recent dance version, titled "It's a Rainbow!" and featuring the vocals of Zippy and George, reached the UK top 20 in 2002.

In 2019 Matt Berry produced a version of Rainbow included on an album recreating some 70s and 80s TV theme tunes, called Television Themes.

Episode list
Further information: List of Rainbow (TV series) episodes

Characters
Zippy and George at the National Media Museum

Rainbow featured the following characters, each with their own character style:

  • The presenter – at first David Cook, who was replaced in early 1973 by the best-known presenter Geoffrey Hayes. He brought the other members of the Rainbow household to order or give them something to do. He acted as the symbol of adult wisdom, and rarely demonstrated overt affection to any of the three puppet characters, acting more as a carer/teacher than a father. There were infrequent mentions to his life outside of the Rainbow household, such as ex-girlfriends.
  • Zippy – loud and domineering, but usually very funny (albeit not to the other characters in the show). The puppet was originally voiced by Peter Hawkins and operated by Violet Philpott and later voiced by Roy Skelton – both were also well known for voicing Daleks and Cybermen in Doctor Who – and operated by Ronnie Le Drew. Zippy's mouth is a zip, and when he became too bossy or irritating, this was zipped shut to prevent him from continuing: on at least one occasion he unzipped himself, though he appears unable to do so on other occasions. He broadly represented childhood self-centredness, "naughtiness" and extroversion.
  • George – a shy, pink and slightly camp hippo. He broadly represented sensitivity and introversion. (puppet; voiced by Roy Skelton and operated by Malcolm Lord, Tony Holtham and later Craig Crane). First appeared in 1973.
  • Bungle – (Also known as Bungle-Bonce, particularly by Zippy) a brown furry bear with a squashed face, who is inquisitive but also clumsy and usually complains a lot about the other characters, especially Zippy's antics. He broadly represented conformity. A Bear costume; played by John Leeson, Stanley Bates, Malcolm Lord, Anthony Pitt and Paul Cullinan.[4] Although unclothed most of the time, he wraps a towel around his waist after a shower and also wears pyjamas at bed time. The original 1972 costume resembled a wild brown bear, but in 1973 this was replaced with a new design resembling a teddy bear.
  • Rod, Jane and Freddy – a group of musicians who regularly featured on the show. When they debuted in 1974 they were 'Rod, Jane and Matt', Matt being Matthew Corbett (of The Sooty Show fame). Matt was replaced from 1977 by Roger Walker, before Freddy Marks in turn took over in 1983. When the series began in 1972, the regular singing trio were Telltale (see below) who were replaced in 1974 by Charlie Dore, Julian Littman and Karl Johnson.
  • Sunshine and Moony – optimistic sunshine (yellow with a red hat) and his more gloomy friend Moony (brown with a tuft of yellow hair) were the original 'stars' of the programme, but soon became little more than foils to the more popular Zippy; they were phased out by 1973, in favour of greater roles for Bungle and (especially) George. They were voiced by Violet Yeomans.
  • Telltale – a six-piece group who provided the music in the early days of the show being replaced by Charlie Dore and Julian Littman and then Rod, Matt and Jane.
  • Dusty - a sheepdog. Zippy's short-lived original sidekick for a handful of episodes circa Christmas 1972. Replaced by George for the 1973 series.
  • Zippo – Zippy's cousin, identical in appearance to Zippy but slightly brighter in colour, who appeared occasionally. Originally portrayed as an eloquent Frenchman, but a later episode depicted him as an American-accented rapper with loud, flashy clothing.
  • Georgette (a.k.a. Georgie), a cousin of George. Georgette is physically identical to George, except for her longer eyelashes and floppy hat.
  • Dawn – the next-door neighbour, played by Dawn Bowden, who was introduced in the show's later years, first appearing in 1990.
  • Aunty – played by numerous actresses, is the aunt of one of the characters, probably Geoffrey.

Generally speaking, George and Zippy represented two 'types' of child, George being the quiet and shy type, while Zippy represented the hyperactive and destructive type. Zippy often demonstrated a cynicism and wit that went beyond the "4th wall" and appealed to older viewers. George was usually vindicated, and Zippy got his comeuppance. While they were apparently young 'children' (aged around 6), Bungle was an older 'child' (aged around 8), and differed from them in being a costume rather than a hand puppet. Geoffrey's relationship to them was unclear, other than being a kind of mentor/teacher/carer (although he is referred to as 'Uncle' Geoffrey in at least one episode).

In 1989, Rod, Jane and Freddy left the show to concentrate on touring, pantomime appearances and their own separate TV show (which had run parallel with Rainbow since 1981). This meant that Dawn Bowden was introduced as a regular female character in place of Jane, while the songs were generally provided by guest singers, notably Christopher Lillicrap. The show also often included guest stars, to make a change from Geoffrey telling all the lessons – this way, the characters would be told stories and lessons by a fresh face. Even so, Geoffrey was never completely eliminated and continued to act as presenter and "member of the Rainbow House" until the end of the programme in 1992.

VHS releases
  • Video Collection International (1986–1996)
  • FremantleMedia (2002–2018)

Rainbow (1972–1992) VHS releases
VHS Title Release Date Episodes
Rainbow (VC1050) 28 April 1986 Mystery Bag, Pirates, What Happened to Tommy Tucker?, Music (1) - Voice and Hands, Going to the Funfair
Rainbow - Rainbow Goes Camping (TV9920) 3 November 1986 Camping, Dancing, What's Wrong with Bungle?, King for a Day
Rainbow: Small World + Goes Out (TV8002 & TV8003) 5 October 1987 Small World (1), Caterpillars and Butterflies, Looking After Baby, Small World (2), Going Out to the Circus, Going to a Toy Museum, Journey on a Narrow Boat, A Visit to a Safari Park
Rainbow - Down on the Farm (TV9957) 5 October 1987 Down on the Farm, Daydreaming, Going Swimming, A Day in the Country
Rainbow - Christmas Rainbow (TV9987) 5 October 1987 Wrapping/Unwrapping, The Christmas Story, Rainbow Christmas Show
Children's Favourites - Volume 2 (TV8011) 1 February 1988 The Ugly Duckling (Compilation VHS with 'Button Moon' and 'The Sooty Show')
Rainbow - Stories and Rhymes (TV8026) 4 April 1988 The Hare and the Tortoise, Nursery Rhymes (1), Rumpelstiltskin, Nursery Rhymes (2)
Rainbow - Rainbow Christmas Pantomime (TV8042) 7 November 1988 Rainbow Christmas Pantomime, Decorations, A Cold Day
Rainbow - Monster Makes/Guess Who I Am (WP0002) 7 November 1988 Monster Makes, Guess Who I Am
Rainbow - Music (TV8057) 6 February 1989 Music (1), Music (2)
Rainbow with Rod, Jane and Freddy - Stories and Rhymes Volume II (TV8046) 10 April 1989 The Highwayman, Noah's Ark (Compilation VHS with 'Rod, Jane and Freddy')
Children's Favourites Vol. 3 (LL0032) 1 May 1989 Floating and Sinking (Compilation VHS with 'Button Moon' and 'The Sooty Show')
Children's Favourites Vol. 4 (LL0033) 1 May 1989 George's Secret Place (Compilation VHS with 'Button Moon' and 'The Sooty Show')
Rainbow - Music (Lollipop Release) (LL0013) 1 May 1989 Music (1), Music (2), Music and Song
Children's Summer Stories (TV8060) 5 June 1989 Journey on a Narrow Boat (Compilation VHS with 'Button Moon' and 'The Sooty Show')
Rainbow - Rainbow Explores (TV8075) 2 October 1989 The Explorers, Ice and Snow, Mazes, Tracks and Trails, Outer Space
Children's Favourites: Bedtime Stories (TV8077) 6 November 1989 Whispers (Compilation VHS with 'Button Moon' and 'The Sooty Show')
Rainbow - Make and Do (TV8085) 5 February 1990 The Toymaker, Worried and Weary, Time and Space, Borrowing
Children's Holiday Favourites (TV8093) 4 June 1990 Family in the Garden (Compilation VHS with 'Rod, Jane and Freddy' and 'The Sooty Show')
Rainbow - Super Bungle and Other Stories (TV8100) 6 August 1990 Super Bungle, Geoffrey Babysits, No Accounting for George, Misbehaving
Rainbow and Rod, Jane and Freddy - Bumper Special (TV8114) 10 September 1990 Neighbours, Bungling Bungle, Practice Makes Perfect (Compilation VHS with 'Rod, Jane and Freddy')
Sooty and Rainbow (WP0025) 1 October 1990 Zipman and Bobbin (Compilation VHS with 'The Sooty Show')
Children's Club: Children's Favourites (KK0005) 4 February 1991 George's Secret Place (Compilation VHS with 'Button Moon' and 'The Sooty Show')
Rainbow - Big Time Video (TV8120) 4 February 1991 Keeping Tidy, Exercise is Fun, Planting Seeds, A Lazy Day, New for Old, Who Done It?
Rainbow with Rod, Jane and Freddy Video Fun Pack (TB0002) 5 August 1991 The Wall (Compilation VHS with 'Rod, Jane and Freddy')
Rainbow and Friends- Friends (WH1026) 7 October 1991 Friends, Why Did You Do That?, The Birthday Cake, Changes
Rainbow with Rod, Jane and Freddy Video Fun Pack Re Release (TB0002) 3 February 1992 The Wall (Compilation VHS with 'Rod, Jane and Freddy')
Rainbow - Zippy's Stories (TV8155) 3 February 1992 Naughty Zippy, Zippy Sets Them Up, Without a Voice, Something to Care For
Rainbow - Sing Song and Other Stories (TV8156) 3 February 1992 Sing Song, Taking Turns, I'm the King of the Castle, Surprise Surprise
Rainbow - Treasure Hunt and Other Stories (TV8163) 1 June 1992 Treasure Hunt, Safety First, Getting Organised, The Zippybread Man
Rainbow - The Seaside Show and Other Stories (TV8164) 1 June 1992 The Seaside Show, A Trip to Spain, Getting in a Muddle, Geoffrey's Big Occasion
The Christmas Collection (TV8165) 5 October 1992 Snow (Compilation VHS with 'The Sooty Show' and 'The Wind in the Willows')
Learn With Rainbow: The Invitation (WP0001) 5 October 1992 The Invitation, If Only We Hadn't
My Little Rainbow (ML0007) 1 April 1996 The Wall (Compilation VHS with 'Rod, Jane and Freddy')
My Little Rainbow: The Seaside Show (ML0016) 1 July 1996 The Seaside Show, A Trip to Spain
My Little Rainbow Christmas Special: Decorations (ML0029) 4 November 1996 Decorations, A Cold Day
Rainbow - Songs, Rhymes, Stories and Tales 2000 Rumpelstilskin, The Ugly Duckling, The Hare and the Tortoise, Sing A Long
Cult Kids Classics 2001 Naughty Zippy (Compilation VHS with 'Chorlton and the Wheelies', 'Danger Mouse', 'Count Duckula', 'Jamie and the Magic Torch' and 'Button Moon'
Cult Kids Classics 2 5 March 2001 Zippy is Tongue Tied (Compilation VHS with 'Jamie and the Magic Torch', 'Danger Mouse', Chorlton and the Wheelies', 'Count Duckula' and 'The Sooty Show')
Rainbow - Zippy Sets Them Up 2001 Zipman and Bobbin, Zippy's in Love, Hot Day, Zippy Sets Them Up, Bungle's High and Mighty Day, Zippy Wants To Be A Comedian, George's Secret Wish
Rainbow - Zip Up Zippy 2001 Lions and Tigers, Getting Organized, Same and Different, Who Done It, Rejected and Neglected, Social Behaviour (Self), Sympathy
"I Love Cult Kids" 2002 Detectives (Compilation VHS with "Danger Mouse", "Chorlton and the Wheelies", "Count Duckula", "Jamie and the Magic Torch", "Cockleshell Bay" and "Button Moon")
"Rainbow - My Mate Zippy" 2002 Zippy is Tongue Tied, Super Bungle, The Show Offs, Zippy's Cover Up Job, Night Out, The Singing Lesson
"Classic Kids Collection" 2002 The Zippybread Man (Compilation VHS with "Count Duckula", "Chorlton and the Wheelies", "Button Moon", "Jamie and the Magic Torch" and "Danger Mouse"
"Rainbow - 30th Anniversary Special 2002 The Birthday Cake, I Want to be a Popstar, George's Secret Place, The Explorers, Without a Voice, Outer Space

Revival

Rainbow 1994

Although the original Rainbow ended with the loss of Thames's broadcasting licence in 1992, Tetra Films (an independent production company created by Thames's children's department) revived it for ITV in January 1994 and 1995 (two series, 33 episodes in total). The new version of the show departed from the original format, centred on the slightly redesigned puppet characters – without a presenter – running a toy shop. A new character was introduced, a Scouse-sounding blue rabbit named Cleo (voiced by Gillian Robic). Geoffrey Hayes said that he heard the news of his 'sacking' from the tabloids, rather than from Tetra: "I was shocked really, and for a couple of days I thought it was just me who had been dropped. But then Rod, Jane and Freddy had already left and of course Roy had now been dropped too. The guy playing Bungle – he was history, as was the puppeteer doing George; only Zippy's puppeteer was left. Ronnie Le Drew who also voiced Zippy for the new Tetra series; I discovered later, had auditioned for it. Bungle looked different too, though Zippy and George looked much the same".[5]

Rainbow (1994-1995) VHS releases
VHS Title Release Date Episodes
Rainbow - New Friends and Other Stories (TV8185) 11 April 1994 New Friends, The Customer Is Always Right, Bungle's Blues, All Together Now, Zippy Learns His Lesson
Rainbow - Abracadabra and Other Stories (TV8186) 6 June 1994 What Goes Up Must Come Down, Abracadabra, Breakfast at Rainbow's, Where Did You Get That Hat?, Big, Bigger, Biggest
Rainbow - Bungle's Birthday and Other Stories (TV8187) 8 August 1994 Sugar and Spice, Sneezes and Wheezes, Ping-Pong Perils, Bungle's Birthday, A Small Cat... Astrophe
Rainbow - Three Green Bottles and Other Stories (WP0034) 3 October 1994 The Clock Struck One, The Animals Went in Two by Two, Three Green Bottles, The Wheels on the Bus

Rainbow Days

A second revival, in 1996, saw a return to something like the original format in a series of short 10-minute shows entitled Rainbow Days, presented by Dale Superville, which ran to only one series of 12 episodes. Both were produced in association with HTV. A comic based on the latter series, also titled Rainbow Days, ran for a handful of issues in 1997.

Mole in the Hole

In 1996, GMTV ordered a 26-part series, Mole in the Hole, for its weekend morning children's strand. Produced by AMG Productions, a division of the Artist Management Group,[6] the GMTV series, set in the fictional village of Codswallop, featured Geoffrey Hayes as lead presenter, and puppet characters (a large mole, a bodysuit character similar to Bungle, and a cat and dog operated similarly to Zippy and George respectively), voiced by Rainbow performers including Roy Skelton.[7] Following its GMTV transmission, the series was repeated as part of the Tiny Living block on LivingTV.

Reruns

Episodes of the original Rainbow, dating from the early 1980s, were shown sporadically on the UK satellite TV channel Nick Jr. (and/or its sister channel, Nick Jr. 2) in the late 2000s as part of its Nick Jr. Classics reruns. A previous repeat run took place on UK Gold (now Gold) from its launch in November 1992 to 1994; these were mostly from the last three years of the programme (without Rod, Jane and Freddy).

Further reading
  • Mike Anderiesz, Climbing High: Life Under the Rainbow Exposed (Boxtree, 2002).
  • Tim Randall, Rainbow Unzipped – The Autobiography Published on 1 October 2009 by Headline Publishing Group (ISBN 9780755319763).
  • The A to Z of Classic Children's Television by Simon Sheridan. (Reynolds & Hearn books, 2004, reprinted 2007). This book features a chapter on the series and interviews with Jane Tucker and Pamela Lonsdale. (ISBN 1-903111-27-7)
  • Zippy and Me: My Life Inside Britain’s Most Infamous Puppet by Ronnie LeDrew, Unbound (2019)

Sweet Cherry Publishing

An initial range of three hand puppet books featuring Bungle, Zippy and George was launched at the London Book Fair on March 12 on Sweet Cherry's stand, and then at the Bologna Book Fair on April 1. These books were going to be available at retail from July–October 2019, but it was delayed further until May 2020.

  • I Love You, Bungle! (Sweet Cherry Publishing, May 28, 2020) (ISBN 1782266062)
  • Time For Bed, Zippy! (Sweet Cherry Publishing, May 28, 2020) (ISBN 1782266070)
  • Let's Play, George! (Sweet Cherry Publishing, May 28, 2020) (ISBN 1782266089)

References
  1. Sheridan, Simon (2004). The A-Z of Classic Children's Television: From Alberto Frog to Zebedee. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. pp. 211–217. ISBN 1903111277.
  2. "History". archive.is. 19 March 2002. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  3. https://www.radiox.co.uk/features/was-there-a-banned-rude-episode-of-rainbow/
  4. Moses-Lloyd, Rachel (10 January 2015). "The Voice returns for 2015 – with a new judge, and Bungle from Rainbow". South Wales Evening Post. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  5. Anderiesz, Mike (2002). Climbing High: Life Under the Rainbow Exposed. Boxtree. pp. 122–123.
  6. ComedyKings.co.uk, summer 1996
  7. "Mole in the Hole" on YouTube
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