Bitsa Railway Station

''Bitsa'' was a British

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

programme broadcast from 1991 to 1996 on the Children's BBC strand on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

. It involved creative arts and "makes" very much like later show '' SMart''. It was repeated for a time on the now defunct

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...

channel BBC Choice. The show featured two

presenter A presenter is a person or organization responsible for the running of a public event, or someone who conveys information on media via a broadcasting outlet. Presenter may refer to: People * News presenter, person who presents news during a new ...

s, artists Caitlin Easterby and Simon Pascoe, who would create

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale prod ...

projects from household junk and craft materials. Sometimes the items created were quite complex and advanced, but were always presented with instructions for viewers to follow. The show also featured a 'challenge' section, in which school children would shout three numbers corresponding to a selection of numbered boxes, each containing a different material, for example cardboard tubes, sticks or fabric. The presenters would then have three minutes to create something using only these materials. Much fervent use of a

glue gun Hot-melt adhesive (HMA), also known as hot glue, is a form of thermoplastic adhesive that is commonly sold as solid cylindrical sticks of various diameters designed to be applied using a hot glue gun. The gun uses a continuous-duty heating eleme ...

often ensued. The theme tune for Bitsa was written by Peter Charlton and the original musical arrangement was by Bill Le Sage, but after the first series the tune was reworked by Mark Reader from the rock band Strider. Reader also wrote the music for the 3-minute challenge and composed all the rest of the music for the show. Other items featured on the show included clips of children presenting craft projects they had made themselves, and footage of the presenters travelling around the country in their van visiting local schools. There was also a

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...

(made from glued together craft materials) named 'Hands' who would quickly make a small item, often

mechanical Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

in nature, from small items such as pieces of card, elastic bands or matchboxes, who would hum as he worked, then present the completed item with a flourish. As the series progressed Pascoe and Easterby became increasingly involved in devising and writing the programmes and developed, together with director Brian Jamieson, the more complex and surreal narratives of the later series. Half the programmes included an off-the-wall episode featuring guest artists, many of whom have become significant players in their fields. Bitsa was initially devised and written by Peter Charlton and Paul Goddard, who himself operated the character of Hands. He later went on to work on other BBC children's shows, including the '' Fimbles''. Easterby and Pascoe have continued to run their own left-field arts company. Two books have been produced to accompany the series. Brian Jamieson directed most of the programmes though the last series was directed by

Will Brenton Will Brenton is a writer/ producer-director who has worked in many areas of television and theatre, primarily through his companies Tell-Tale productions and Wish Films, both of which he founded with Iain Lauchlan. Together they gained six BAF ...

, better known as co-producer of '' Tweenies''. 1991 British television series debuts 1996 British television series endings 1990s British children's television series BBC children's television shows CBeebies British television shows featuring puppetry English-language television shows {{BBC-tv-prog-stub