''Percy the Park Keeper'' is a British animated 1996-1999 children's television series based on the popular books by British author

Nick Butterworth Nick Butterworth (born 24 May 1946) is a British author and illustrator of children's books. His picture book ''The Whisperer'' won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize in 2005. His Percy the Park Keeper books became an animated television series o ...

. It features Percy, and many wild animals, including the Badger, the Fox, the Owl, the Mice, the Mole, the Robin, and so on. The series started out as four seasonal specials airing in the UK between December 1996 and December 1997. This was followed by thirteen ten-minute episodes between September and December 1999. "After the Storm" got a theatre adaptation in London on Christmas 2015. The franchise eventually got a commemorate in the form of a statue of Percy in

Raphael Park Raphael Park (pronounced "Ray-fell”) is a public park in Gidea Park, Romford, in the London Borough of Havering, United Kingdom. It is one of a series of parks stretching northwards from the railway line between Romford and Gidea Park. The park ...

Characters and voice cast

*Percy the Park Keeper – (voiced by Jim Broadbent in the United Kingdom) – The show's title character who regularly maintains the park, and is still always able to find the time to have fun with the animals. *

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

– (voiced by David Holt) – A male fun-loving sort who tends to make others laugh and can still be quite sensitive. *

Badger Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by ...

– (voiced by

Enn Reitel Enn Reitel (born 21 June 1950) is a Scottish actor who specialises in voice actor, voice work in video games, movies and TV shows. Early life Reitel's family arrived in Scotland as refugees from Estonia and Germany. He trained as an actor at t ...

and later by

Chris Lang Chris Lang (born 1961) is a British screenwriter, producer and actor. Lang has written for many British television series but is best known as the writer, creator and executive producer of '' Unforgotten''. Career Actor He trained at RADA, ...

) – A male wise and sensible sort who often tries to organize games in the park to keep the other animals happy. * Rabbits – (male rabbits voiced by David Holt and the female rabbits voiced by

Kate Harbour Kate Harbour is an English voice actress who provides many voices for the television series ''Bob the Builder'', including Wendy, Dizzy, Mrs. Potts, Mrs. Broadbent, Mrs. Percival, and Pilchard. Biography She is the daughter of actor Michae ...

) – An excitable sort who easily gets timid at anything remotely scary. *Squirrels – (Mr Squirrel is voiced by Enn Reitel and later by David Holt and Mrs Squirrel is voiced by Kate Harbour) – An irritable sort who often buries

nut Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Co ...

s and acorns and cannot always remember where they put them in the first place. *

Hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introductio ...

– (voiced by David Holt) – A male quiet sort who finds his sharp spines problematic. *The Mice – (the male mice are voiced by David Holt and the female mice are voiced by Kate Harbour) – Playful sorts who are always happy to join in various challenges in the park. *The

Duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

s – (Mr Duck voiced by David Holt and Mrs Duck voiced by Kate Harbour) – Quarrelsome sorts who normally play at the duck

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...

and migrate when

Winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

comes to the park. *

Owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

– (voiced by Kate Harbour) – A female wise sort who never hunts at night time, like an ordinary owl. She is always active during the daytime, but she forgets things very easily. * Robin Redbreast – (voiced by David Holt) – Spends most of his time flying around the park and perching on trees. *

Mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...

– (voiced by Enn Reitel and later by David Holt) – He is always in a rush and has trouble finding his way under the ground of the park. *

Narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

- (voiced in the

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

s alternately by

Richard Briers Richard David Briers (14 January 1934 – 17 February 2013) was an English actor whose five-decade career encompassed film, radio, stage and television. Briers first came to prominence as George Starling in ''Marriage Lines'' (1961–66), but ...

and Jim Broadbent) - Tells each of the stories.

Episodes

Specials (1996–1997)

Full episodes (1999)

Release

HIT Entertainment released "After the Storm" on VHS in September 1998.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 1309543 1996 British television series debuts 1999 British television series endings 1990s British animated television series 1990s British children's television series British children's animated adventure television series British children's animated comedy television series British children's animated fantasy television series British television shows based on children's books English-language television shows HIT Entertainment Television series by Mattel Creations ITV children's television shows Literary characters introduced in 1989 Treehouse TV original programming