Based around classic nursery rhymes, Rub-a-Dub-Dub featured animated anthropomorphic animals, chief amongst them Mother Goose herself, who found an object or character in her bathtub at the start of each episode which then formed the basis of the five-minute musical story that followed.
“Rub-a-dub-dub, there’s a ***** in the tub” . . .
Other characters that appeared during the 25 episodes included King Crow; Al E. Gator; Queen Duck; Baa Sheep; an irritable Northern parrot named Polly; Barney Owl; Buzz Tiger (who was afraid of bees); Mary Giraffe (Buzz Tiger’s romantic interest); Brian Lion; Olga Ostrich; The Penguin Trio; Elsie Pig and her twin children, Jack and Jill; Blue the hippopotamus; Yankee Doodle (a rooster) and his wife Mrs Doodle; Tom Cat; Pat Cat; Yellow Dog; Roland Turtle; Quincy the rollerskating spider; Melody Moo (a singing cow) and Ned the Horse.
Rub-a-dub-dub ran on ITV in 1984 between 17 October and 20 November. The series also aired in the USA (on The Disney Channel), Canada and Saudi Arabia. The animation was by Peter Lang and Alan Rogers who had previously delivered Pigeon Street.
Not to be confused with Rub a Dub Tub – an hour-long Sunday morning children’s show on TV-am starring Paul Springer doing exercises with a gaggle of kids in pyjamas – which (confusingly) aired the same year.
