''Dappledown Farm'' was a British children's television programme, starring and presented by

Brian Cant Brian Cant (12 July 1933 – 19 June 2017) was an English actor of stage, television and film, television presenter, voice artist and writer. He was best known for his work in BBC television programmes for children from 1964 onward, most notably ...

and a series of

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 ...

s. It started airing in 1990 on

TVAM TV-am was a TV company that broadcast the ITV franchise for breakfast television in the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 until 31 December 1992. The station was the UK's first national operator of a commercial breakfast television franchis ...

before moving to Channel 5's

Milkshake! ''Milkshake!'' (stylised as milkshake!) is a British children's television programming block on Channel 5 and is currently aimed at children aged 3–7. History The block debuted on Channel 5's first full day on air, at 7.30am on 31 March 19 ...

when the series got rebooted in 1998. Despite production of the show stopped in 1999, it was still shown in repeats until 2005. In the show's narrative, Cant's character Brian was the owner of the Dappledown Farm. For each episode, he introduced feature cartoons from a studio farm set. For example, in the first episode, Brian told the story of animals on the farm that hatched from an egg such as birds, snakes, and tortoises. In addition to the puppets, the show also integrated stories that involve real-life animals.

Puppet characters

Puppet characters in the show included: Dapple the Horse; Mabel the Cow; Stubble and Straw, the two mice; Columbus the Cockerel; Lucky Ducky; Colin the Coot; Millie the Moorhen; Fiona the Frog; and Harry the Heron. These characters had different personalities that range from mischievous to bashful. For this reason, there are times when they quarrel with each other and Brian the farmer served as the mediator. The puppets were created by the ''Hands Up Puppets'' company.

VHS

• Dappledown Farm 1: Water ▪ Dappledown Farm 2: Forgetful Brian

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0421094 British television shows featuring puppetry Fictional farms 1990s British children's television series 1990 British television series debuts 1999 British television series endings ITV children's television shows Channel 5 (British TV channel) original programming English-language television shows