1 9 8 6 (UK)
13 x 25 minute episodes
1 x Christmas Special 1 9 8 8 (UK)
13 x 25 minute episodes
Popular puppet character Roland Rat – created, operated and voiced by David Claridge – made his debut on the ailing TV-am in 1983.
After saving TV-am, Roland transferred to the BBC in Autumn 1986 for 27 episodes of his own Saturday afternoon chat and music show (including a Christmas Special).
He took with him his kid brother, Little Reggie, his girlfriend Glenis the Guinea Pig, and pals Kevin the Gerbil and Errol the Hamster.
The new series was broadcast from Roland’s sewer home beneath London’s Kings Cross Station, now converted into a high-tech media centre called Ratcave Studios.
His show aired (in the first series) on Roland’s own (fictional) personal channel, “BBC Three” (many years before such a channel actually existed).
Roland’s parents, Iris and Freddie, also appeared, as did his pet flea Colin, Fergie the Ferret, Eric the Eagle, his agent D’Arcy de Farcey (James Saxon) and the delectable Maureen McConkey (On The Buses star Anna Karen) – “och aye the noo”.
The series returned on Mondays in 1988 for another 13 shows, advertised as Roland Rat: The Series II. In the second series, Roxanne Rat – a trendy new rodent from Liverpool – joined the regular cast, and mini adventure serials – Rat Trap and The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb – were introduced.
He took with him his kid brother, Little Reggie, his girlfriend Glenis the Guinea Pig, and pals Kevin the Gerbil and Errol the Hamster.
