Stop-motion hero Bob (voiced by Neil Morrissey of Men Behaving Badly fame) energised the sales of toy tool kits and shaped the ambitions of many a young boy and girl to work in the construction industry.
Bob and his friend Wendy (voiced by Kate Harbour) went to work every day in Bobsville alongside sentient, anthropomorphic construction vehicles like Scoop, the bright yellow digger, and Dizzy, the cement mixer.
Bob wasn’t the only one with clever vehicles – Farmer Pickles (also Neil Morrissey) had a tractor called Travis (voiced by Rob Rackstraw), though he also had a mischievous scarecrow called Spud (also Rackstraw) – the less said about him, the better.
None of the other townsfolk ever seemed fazed by the sight of humans communicating with their cars and trucks.
Guest voices throughout the 250 ten-minute episodes included Richard Briers, June Whitfield, Alison Steadman, Chris Evans, and Maggie Fox.
Created by Keith Chapman, the series was designed to teach kids the value of cooperation and compromise – and how to build a house!
The show used stop-motion animation for most of the series, provided by Hot Animation in Manchester. The series changed to CGI animation in 2010 for its final two seasons.
A Bob the Builder revival aired on Channel 5 for three series from 2015 to 2018.
The theme song (Can We Fix It? sung by Neil Morrissey) became the Christmas #1 in Britain in 2000.
Bob/Lofty/Farmer Pickles
Neil Morrissey Wendy/Dizzy/Mrs Potts
Kate Harbour Scoop/Muck/Roley/Travis/Spud
Rob Rackstraw
You May Also Like
Artful Dodger, The 1 9 5 9 (UK) 6 x 25 minute episodes This short-lived BBC comedy series presented work-shy…
Merlin 1 9 9 8 (UK/USA) 2 x 60 minute episodes Filmed in Wales and at Pinewood Studios,…
Round The Bend 1 9 8 8 (UK) 18 x 30 minute episodes Billed as "the world's first electronic video…
Bob wasn’t the only one with clever vehicles – Farmer Pickles (also Neil Morrissey) had a tractor called Travis (voiced by Rob Rackstraw), though he also had a mischievous scarecrow called Spud (also Rackstraw) – the less said about him, the better.
