1 9 8 6 (UK)
14 x 60 minute episodes 1 9 8 8 (UK)
13 x 60 minute episodes
Written by Willis Hall and based on characters created in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, this Granada TV series introduced Brelca, Spelbush and Fistram – the three Lilliputian survivors from the wreck of the miniature vessel Antelope, named after Gulliver’s original boat – and their adventures in the giant world of 19th-century England.
The timid and down-to-earth Fistram (John Quentin) and his shipmates Brelca (Gail Harrison initially, and then Annie Hulley) and the pompous Spelbush (John Branwell) are discovered and befriended by two children on holiday – Philippa (Claudia Gambold) and Gerald (Alan Bowyer).
When the series returned later in 1986, Philippa and Gerald had been reunited with their parents back from India, leaving their grandfather, Mr Ralph Garstanton (played by Derek Farr until his untimely death and then by Richard Vernon).
The new children who encounter the Lilliputians are Ernest (Gary Halliday), a young boot-black running away from home, and Emily (Erica Sail) from Exeter.
Other regular characters included Stephanie Cole and Paul Chapman as Sarah Mincing and her evil brother Harwell who was determined to capture the Lilliputians.
The special effects were filmed at Granada’s Manchester studios using a chromakey process.
Fistram
John Quentin Spelbush
John Branwell Brelca
Gail Harrison (1)
Annie Hulley (2) Gerald
Alan Bowyer Philippa
Claudia Gambold Mr Ralph Garstanton
Derek Farr (1)
Richard Vernon (2) Millie
Fiona McArthur Ernest
Gary Halliday Emily
Erica Sail Sarah Mincing
Stephanie Cole Harwell Mincing
Paul Chapman
Episodes
Castaways | Lost and Found | Studio Portraits | Piano Lessons | Everything in the Garden | Where the Heart Is || Brelca Goes Ballooning | Philippa’s Brave Deed | Pagoda of Doom | The Lost Park | The Bottle of Amontillado | Mrs Mallarby’s Day | Moving On | The Antelope Christmas || Travelling Companions | Home Again | Emily | Back to the Sea | Footprints in the Sand | Sea Fever | That’s the Way to Do It! || Military Manoeuvres | The Secret of the Municipal Museum | Municipal Museum Hide and Seek | Brave Deeds and Gallant Actions | The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of | Bonfire Celebrations
Video
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The timid and down-to-earth Fistram (John Quentin) and his shipmates Brelca (Gail Harrison initially, and then Annie Hulley) and the pompous Spelbush (John Branwell) are discovered and befriended by two children on holiday – Philippa (Claudia Gambold) and Gerald (Alan Bowyer).
Fistram
Mr Ralph Garstanton
