Fireman Sam

1 9 8 7 – 1 9 9 4 (UK)
32 x 10 minute episodes
2 0 0 3 (UK)
26 x 10 minute episodes
2 0 0 8 – Current (UK)
250+ x 10 minute episodes

Originally airing on and off from 1987 to 1994, the animated stop-motion series Fireman Sam (known in Welsh as Sam Tân) premiered on the Welsh channel S4C on 1 November 1987, and was debuted in English on BBC1 two weeks later.

Resourceful firefighter Sam Jones and his colleagues worked in the close-knit village of Pontypandy in the Welsh valleys.

His strict but well-meaning boss at the fire station was Station Officer Steele, and his primary colleague was Elvis Criddlington, who (as his name suggests) loved rock ‘n’ roll. Sam’s fire engine was named ‘Jupiter’.

Other regular characters included Trevor Evans, the local auxiliary firefighter and bus driver; Norman Price, a mischievous young boy whose antics and lack of self-control sparked the majority of the village’s emergencies; his doting mother, Dilys Price, who ran the local general store; and Bella Lasagne, the Italian owner of the village café.

The stories were narrated by John Alderton (Gareth Lewis in the Welsh language version), who also performed all character voices for the original run. Episodes balanced lighthearted comedy with subtle fire safety education for young viewers.

Fireman Sam bounced back for a one-off series in 2003, voiced by a new cast, including John Sparkes (the narrator of Peppa Pig), Joanna Ruiz, and Sarah Hadland, before returning to Channel 5 in 2008 with an upgraded CGI fire engine rather than his classic stop-motion one.

Narrator
John Alderton (English)
Gareth Lewis (Welsh)

Video