Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»Kids TV
    Kids TV TV Shows - 1970s TV Shows - 1980s TV Shows - 1990s 3 Mins Read

    Rainbow

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    1 9 7 2 – 1 9 9 2 (UK)
    Approx 1000 x 20 minute episodes

    Up above the streets and houses,
    Rainbow climbing high
    Everyone can see it smiling,
    Over the sky . . .
    Paint the whole world with a Rainbow. 

    Ostensibly ITV’s answer to Play School, Rainbow originally featured David Cook and then – from 1973 – Geoffrey Hayes (ex Z-Cars) hosting a group of strange puppets designed to develop language and number concepts at a level to help children prepare for school.

    Bungle was a huge bear with John Leeson inside (who also provided the voice for K-9 in Doctor Who ), George was a pink hippopotamus and Zippy was a wide-eyed, oval headed puppet with a zip for a mouth.

    They were accompanied by a bunch of hippies singing the theme song – originally singing trio Charmian, Karl and Julian, but more famously Rod (Burton), his wife Jane (Tucker) – a blonde-haired psychopath –  and Matthew (Corbett), of Sooty fame. Matthew was eventually replaced by Freddy (Marks), he of the amazing “living eyebrows”.

    Judi Dench was an occasional storyteller in the first year, and later Stephanie Beacham joined the show in the same role.

    Themed programmes featured animations, tales from the Rainbow storybook, songs or documentary films on children’s lives. Special programmes showcased extended documentaries on topics like going to hospital or starting school.

    Original regulars before Zippy and George were Moony (a sad looking mauve puppet) and Sunshine (a lively and more aggressive yellow one).

    Notable animated series’ appearing on Rainbow included; Sally and Jake, Grandma Bricks of Swallow Street and Cockleshell Bay.

    rainbow

    The original Rainbow died with the non-renewal of Thames’ franchise in 1992 but the show later returned minus Geoffrey and with a new female puppet called Cleo (a blue dog). The story now centred on Zippy, George and Bungle’s attempts to run a toy store for Mr Top (who owned the shop).

    A subsequent revival in 1996 – 1997 saw the programme retitled Rainbow Days and a new presenter, Dale Superville. A comic published every four weeks by Marvel Comics, also entitled Rainbow Days, ran for a handful of issues in early 1997.

    Geoffrey Hayes died of pneumonia in hospital on 30 September 2018. He was 76.

    rainbow7

    Presenter 
    David Cook (1)
    Geoffrey Hayes (2)
    Bungle

    John Leeson (1)
    Stanley Bates (2)
    Malcolm Lord (3)
    Richard Robinson (4)
    Paul Cullinan (5)
    Zippy

    Peter Hawkins (1)
    Roy Skelton (2)
    Ronnie Le Drew (3)
    George

    Craig Crane
    Cleo

    Gillian Robic
    Singers

    Charmian Dore
    Karl Johnson
    Julian Littman
    Rod Burton
    Jane Tucker
    Matthew Corbett
    Freddy Marks
    Storytellers

    Judi Dench
    Stephanie Beacham
    Puppeteers

    John Thirtle
    Ian Allen

    Video


    Related Posts

    • Grandma Bricks Of Swallow Street
      Grandma Bricks Of Swallow Street
      These brief stop-motion films were used to illustrate the short…
    • Rock Rainbow, The
      Rock Rainbow, The
      1 9 7 8 (USA) 1 x 60 minute episode Aired…
    • Bod
      Bod
      1 9 7 5 (UK) 13 x episodes The main character…
    • Forest Rangers, The
      Forest Rangers, The
      1 9 6 3 - 1 9 6 6 (Canada) 104…
    • Kid Power
      Kid Power
      1 9 7 2 - 1 9 7 4 (USA) Based…
    • Play Away
      Play Away
      1 9 7 1 - 1 9 8 4 (UK) Approx…
    • Serpent in the Rainbow
      Serpent in the Rainbow
      1 9 7 3 (Australia) 4 x 30 minute episodes Set…
    • Rupert
      Rupert
      1 9 9 1 - 1 9 9 2 (UK/Canada/France/USA)…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleStingray
    Next Article Hergé’s Adventures Of Tintin

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Invasion: Earth
      1 9 9 8 (UK) 6 x 50 minute episodes Flight Lieutenant Chris […]
    • Nero And The Gladiators
      Nero (Mike O’Neill) had previously played keyboards as a […]
    • Remains, The (Barry & The Remains)
      The Remains formed in November 1964 at Boston University, where […]
    • Lemonheads, The
      The Lemonheads originally formed as a hardcore punk band with […]
    • ABC Rocks
      1 9 8 4 – 1 9 8 5 (USA) One year after the debut of […]
    • Flipside of Dominick Hide, The/Another Flip for Dominick
      1 9 8 0 (UK) 1 x 90 minute episode 1 9 8 2 (UK) 1 x 90 minute […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.