Shoe People, The

1 9 8 7 (UK)
26 x 5 minute episodes
1 9 9 2 (UK)
26 x 5 minute episodes

Created by James Driscoll and produced by Fairwater Films, The Shoe People initially aired as a segment on TV-am’s Wide Awake Club, debuting on Saturday 18 April 1987.

As the title suggested, the stars of these 5-minute cartoons were a bunch of discarded boots and shoes which had been left abandoned in the back room of an old shoe repair shop, which leads magically to Shoe Town.

The characters included PC Boot, Wellington (who lined in Puddle Villa), Sneaker (a burglar), Charlie (a clown), Margot (a ballerina who lived at Swan Lake Cottage), Sergeant Major and Trampy ( a worn-out Irish boot).

The characters were voiced by Philip Whitchurch and Jo Wyatt.

The theme song was written and sung by Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues.

At the height of its popularity, The Shoe People was broadcast in 62 countries around the world (including Russia) and won a BAFTA nomination.

Eternally optimistic Stourbridge-based businessman Jim Driscoll was full of grand ideas and even had ambitions to develop a Shoe People-based theme park in the Midlands to be called Shoe Town – which he described as “Dudley’s answer to Disneyland”.

Despite backing from Dudley Council, Driscoll’s ill-fated company (the Storm Group) hit financial hard times and was bought out.

Episodes

Can You Keep a Secret? | Sergeant Major | A Day at the Seaside | Trampy | Trampy’s Birthday Surprise | Margot | Charlie | A Rainy Day Problem | Tea at the Little Big Top | Fun and Games in the Park | Charlie’s Car | PC Boot | Trampy’s Dream | The Fair Comes to Shoetown | Delay at Shoetown Railway Station | Sneaker | The Windmill Has Stopped | A Job for Wellington | Margot’s Mirror | The Missing Jumble | The Paper Chase | Where’s Baby Bootee? | Trampy Mows the Lawn | The Great Sledge Race | The Mystery Tour | Our Very Own Circus || Charlie the Pilot | A Quiet Day in Shoetown | Injun Trouble | You’re in the Army Now! | Ghosts in the Windmill | Racing Uncertainties | From Russia With Snow | Sid’s Marrow | Sergeant Major Loses His Voice | All At Sea | Coconut Crazy | Wellington On Ice | Marshall’s Round Up | The Show Must Go On | Beehive Yourself | Back in the Old Ball Game | Wellington the Babysitter | Sergeant Major’s Spot of Bother | The Purple Ploople | Ice Cream Sundae | Marshall’s Bar-B-Q | Dr Merryweather’s Day Off | Rock and Rolled | Fools for Fitness | Shoes in Space | Anchors Aweigh

Video