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The character of Bizzy Lizzy first appeared in 1955 as the star of a flimsily animated insert in Picture Book, the Monday instalment of the original Watch With Mother lineup.
Lizzy had come into possession of a Magic Wishing Flower, which she wore on her dress, and which made her outlandish dreams come true – but with a catch. She could only make four wishes each day, and if she exceeded that number, all of her previous wishes would automatically come undone.
By 1967, with colour broadcasting on the horizon and a number of new and colourful shows lined up to replace it, Picture Book had been phased out of the schedules.
Production company Westerham Arts then persuaded the BBC to replace it with an updated series expanding Bizzy Lizzy’s escapades into a full fifteen-minute programme.
Lizzy became a three-dimensional string puppet accompanied on her travels by talking doll Little Mo. The series followed much the same pattern as her earlier adventures, though the longer running time and larger sets allowed for more imaginative storylines, including jaunts to icy tundras and butterfly-festooned quasi-psychedelic vistas.
Bizzy Lizzy would continue to be shown in constant rotation well into the seventies, inspiring countless annuals and storybooks and a long-running strip in Pippin comic.
