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Roland Rat is a
British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...
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 ...
character. He was created, operated and voiced by David Claridge, who had previously designed and operated Mooncat, a puppet in the
Children's ITV CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...
television programme '' Get Up and Go!'' Claridge worked for
Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...
, then the second series of ''The Young Ones''. Claridge would later operate and voice Brian the Dinosaur for
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's ''
Parallel 9 ''Parallel 9'' is a British children's television series that aired on BBC1 from 25 April 1992 to 17 September 1994. Airing on Saturday mornings, ''Parallel 9'' was the first BBC Saturday morning children's series to be produced by an independ ...
''; create and direct ''Happy Monsters'', a preschool series for Channel 5; and shoot a CGI series, ''Mozart's Dog'', for Paramount Comedy.


Character summary

Roland lives beneath King's Cross railway station in The Ratcave and also in Ratcavetwo under the
Hollywood Sign The Hollywood Sign is an American landmark and cultural icon overlooking Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Originally the Hollywoodland Sign, it is situated on Mount Lee, in the Beachwood Canyon area of the Santa Monica Mountains. Spelling ...
in
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. He has an infant brother called Little Reggie and had a relationship with a guinea pig called Glenis. His colleagues include dour Welsh technical whizz Errol the Hamster and over-enthusiastic self-appointed "number one ratfan" Kevin the Gerbil, who is from
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
and loves pink buckets. Claridge actually provides voices for all the main characters: Roland Rat, Errol the Hamster, Kevin The Gerbil, Little Reggie, Fergie the Ferret and Roland's father Freddy, as they often appear on screen together. Roland's car 'the Ratmobile' is a bright pink 1953
Ford Anglia The Ford Anglia is a small family car that was designed and manufactured by Ford UK. It is related to the Ford Prefect and the later Ford Popular. The Anglia name was applied to various models between 1939 and 1967. In total, 1,594,486 Anglias ...
. Roland had a brash and confident personality, which writer
Colin Bostock-Smith Colin Bostock-Smith (born 1942)"I was born in 1942, so I was exactly the right age for rock and roll when it all happened./ref> is a British television and radio comedy writer. Early career Until the age of 30, he was a journalist, noting in a re ...
states was established by Claridge and writer
Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...
.


TV-am

Roland Rat first appeared on 1 April 1983 (Good Friday) on the ailing
breakfast television Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it is a ...
network
TV-am 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 franchise ...
, and is generally regarded as its saviour, being described as "the only rat to join a sinking ship". After a couple of months on TV-am, Roland took the audience from 100,000 to 1.8 million. Roland was launched at TV-am by Children's editor Anne Wood to give kids entertainment during the Easter holidays. Initially, Roland was featured as the host of ''The Shedvision Show'', ostensibly broadcast from a wooden shack on the roof of TV-am's studios. On the strength of this, Roland was soon given a regular slot every morning introducing cartoons for younger viewers. Arguably Roland Rat's golden age on TV-am was the period from summer 1983 until summer 1985. During this period, Roland and friends would feature in a half-hour episode transmitted on school holiday weekdays on TV-am from 9.00am. The school summer holidays of 1983 and 1984 saw ''Rat on the Road'' in which Roland and Kevin would spend each week in a different town of the United Kingdom. One notable highlight during this period was the visit of Austrian racing driver
Roland Ratzenberger Roland Ratzenberger (; 4 July 1960 – 30 April 1994) was an Austrian racing driver who raced in various categories of motorsport, including British Formula 3000, Japanese Formula 3000 and Formula One. Having had sporadic success throughout t ...
who appeared on the show in a motor race against the Ratmobile ending with Ratzenberger's car being sabotaged by his near-namesake. The character of Errol the Hamster was gradually drafted in during the first year as a VT technician responsible for running the cartoons inserted into the show. Errol eventually joined Roland and Kevin on location at Christmas in 1983 for ''Roland's Winter Wonderland'' which saw Roland, Kevin and Errol enjoying a
skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...
holiday together in Switzerland. The following year at Easter, Roland Rat hosted the show ''Roland Goes East'' set in Kowloon, Hong Kong, and covering the ill-fated film shoot of Roland's attempted movie debut, a martial arts film entitled ''Enter the Rodent''. The half-term week of October 1984 saw ''Operation FOGI'' (Free Our Glenis Immediately) which revolved around the gang's attempts – eventually successful – to liberate Glenis The Guinea Pig from her life in the pets department of
Harrods Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...
. Following enormous demand, the season was repeated across subsequent Sundays for the benefit of school pupils whose half term had not fallen the week of the series' transmission. Christmas 1984 saw ''Roland's Countdown to Christmas''. TV-am sold Roland Rat advent calendars, with Roland opening each door with the viewers at 7.20am every day, The final door had Roland and his friends in the snow. Roland last appeared on
TV-am 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 franchise ...
at the end of August 1985, when the last summer holiday slot was broadcast.Roland Rat joins Wogan at the BBC. By David Hewson, The Times Thursday, 3 Oct 1985; pg. 3


TV-am serials (selected)

* The Spectacular Shedvision Show (Easter 1983) Set in a shed on the roof of the TVAM studios. * Cartoon Time with Roland Rat (May half term 1983) * Rat on the Road (Summer 1983) introduced Errol the Hamster in the final episode although Roland had ordered him by walkie-talkie to "Run VT" whenever it was time for the cartoon to air previously. * Roland's Winter Wonderland (Christmas holidays 1983) – filmed in Switzerland * Roland Goes East (Easter 1984) – filmed in Hong Kong. Introduced Little Reggie * Rat on the Road II (Summer 1984) – featured Kevin's cover of Summer Holiday and Roland's cover of Love Me Tender. * Operation FOGI (October half term 1984) – introduced Glenis the Guinea Pig who was rescued from the pet department in Harrods as a result of Operation FOGI (Free Our Glenis Immediately). * Roland's Countdown to Christmas (December 1984) – featured Roland and friends singing a rewritten version of "
The Twelve Days of Christmas The Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as Twelvetide, is a festive Christian season celebrating the Nativity of Jesus. In some Western ecclesiastical traditions, "Christmas Day" is considered the "First Day of Christmas" and the Twelve Days a ...
" featuring such paraphernalia associated with the show as Kevin's pink bucket, Errol's favourite leek pie and a Roland Rat Superstar cap. * Roland's Rat Race (Easter 1985) – A quiz show, featuring James Saxon as Roland's incompetent friend and conman D'Arcy De Farcey. * The OWRRAS Summer Spectacular (Summer 1985) – This stood for Official Worldwide Roland Rat Appreciation Society. Broadcast in the summer of 1985, a studio based programme like The Spectacular Shedvision Show and the half-term series Roland Live. The last TV-am Roland Rat series.


BBC

On 3 October 1985, he transferred to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, for a three-year contract, which ended up being extended to six years. Roland said, "I saved
TV-am 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 franchise ...
and now I'm here to save the BBC." Roland made a number of series during his time at the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, most notably ''
Roland Rat the Series Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
'', a
chat show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sho ...
set in Roland's sewer home, now converted into a high-tech media centre called the Ratcave. The show would intersperse the chat show segments with a storyline involving some sort of situation "behind the scenes". These series also featured Roland's parents, Iris and Freddie, his pet flea Colin, Fergie the Ferret, Eric the Eagle and his agent D'Arcy De Farcy. His girlfriend Glenis was joined by another female character called Roxanne Rat. The series purported to be broadcast from Roland's personal channel BBC3, complete with "THREE" ident spoofing
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
's "
TWO 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...
" ident of the period. Roland also made two spoof drama series, ''Tales of the Rodent Sherlock Holmes'', in which he played
Holmes Holmes may refer to: Name * Holmes (surname) * Holmes (given name) * Baron Holmes, noble title created twice in the Peerage of Ireland * Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond (born 1971), British former swimmer and life peer Places In the Uni ...
with Kevin as
Dr. Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle f ...
, and ''Ratman'', a ''
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
'' spoof with Kevin as his sidekick, "Pink Bucket Man". During Christmas 1985,
British Telecom BT Group plc (trade name, trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is th ...
operated a free "ratphone" number on 0800 800 800 where fans could listen to Roland's prerecorded Christmas message. Roland would also host the children's
game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...
entitled '' Roland's Rat Race'', where child contestants answered general knowledge questions in a race car set.


Channel Five

In the late 1990s, he made a series for Channel 5, called ''L.A. RAT'', which featured Roland and friends living in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. In 2003 Roland was a guest presenter for ITV children's
CiTV CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...
.


Other appearances

Roland appeared on '' Big Brother'' several times, his first being 2004 in a task that involved the housemates playing a version of 20 Questions in order to guess the identity of various celebrities. In December 2007, Roland Rat appeared on a puppet special of ''
The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...
'' hosted by
Anne Robinson Anne Josephine Robinson (born 26 September 1944) is an English television presenter and journalist. She was the host of BBC game show '' The Weakest Link'' (2000–2017). She presented the Channel 4 game show ''Countdown'' from June 2021 to Jul ...
which was originally broadcast on Friday 28 December 2007 at 18:00GMT on
BBC One 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, p ...
. Roland reached the final round with Soo from ''
The Sooty Show ''The Sooty Show'' is a British children's television series, created by Harry Corbett, and produced for the BBC from 1955 to 1967, and then for ITV from 1968 until 1992. The show, part of the ''Sooty'' franchise, focuses on the mischievous a ...
'' which went to sudden death after initially drawing with four points each. Roland ultimately lost out to Soo's superior wisdom in the tense final standoff. Roland appeared in the fourth episode of the second series of '' Ashes to Ashes''. This appearance was anachronistic, as the show is set in 1982 whereas Roland did not debut until the following year. In 2008, Roland released a Christmas single, "Ding Dong Ding Dong (Christmas Down The Drain)" featuring Kevin, Errol and Reggie, available for download. On 11 February 2010, whilst making an appearance on BBC's ''
The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...
'' to answer a question about how children's programmes have changed over the years, Roland Rat spent so much time joking about the presenters (
Adrian Chiles Adrian Chiles (born 21 March 1967) is a British writer and television and radio presenter. He has co-presented both ''The One Show'' (2007–2010) and '' Daybreak'' (2010–2011) with Christine Lampard. He was also the chief presenter for foo ...
and
Christine Bleakley Christine Louise Lampard ('' née'' Bleakley, born 2 February 1979) is a Northern Irish broadcaster. She has presented various television programmes with Adrian Chiles, such as ''The One Show'' (2007–2010) and '' Daybreak'' (2010–11), while ...
) that Adrian ended the interview before he answered the question.


Music

Between 1983 and 1985, Roland had three UK chart singles, two reached the top 40: * Rat Rapping: 1983 Peak Position 14 * Love Me Tender: 1984 Peak Position 32 * No.1 Rat Fan: 1985 Peak Position 72 * Roland Rat* – Living Legend was also released as a single but never charted. Roland Rat also had two albums ''The Cassette of the Album''. A cassette version of the recording, entitled ''The Album'' was released concurrently. The cassette recording claimed to be the LP recording, and vice versa; spoken word sketches at the starts and ends of the sides on both releases revealed this to have been the result of a mix-up which could not be rectified for financial reasons. Each of the main characters contributed a song: Kevin the Gerbil's were "My Roland" and "Pink Bucket Reggae", Reggie's song was "It's Great Here, Innit", and Errol the Hamster contributed "Leeks Are Wonderful, Leeks Are Nice". Kevin the Gerbil also had a top 50 single with " Summer Holiday'. In 1986, Roland’s second album - Living Legend - was released by BBC / Rodent Records. The album incorporated the theme tune and songs used in Roland Rat: The Series. Tracks included a song from Colin, Roland’s pet flea; Kevin’s lost love, Linda; and a ditty from D'Arcey De Farcey about being bald! Roland also did a cover version of David Bowie’s “Fame”.


Video game

In 1985
Ocean Software Ocean Software Ltd was a British software development company that became one of the biggest European video game developers and video game publisher, publishers of the 1980s and 1990s. The company was founded by David Ward and Jon Woods and wa ...
produced a game called ''Roland's Ratrace'' for the
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...
and
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
. The player had to guide Roland through the sewers of London and collect nine pieces of a door which, when complete, would allow him to rescue his companions in time for an appearance on TV-am. Roland had to avoid enemies in the form of animated
wellington boot The Wellington boot was originally a type of leather boot adapted from Hessian boots, a style of military riding boot. They were worn and popularised by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. The "Wellington" boot became a staple of pr ...
s which could be temporarily incapacitated with a squirt of
glue Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation. The use of adhesives offers certain advant ...
, which could also be used to stop tube trains in order to ride on them.


Merchandise

Roland Rat merchandising was extensive and the Hasbro range of soft toys was hugely popular. Roland has appeared on hundreds of items ranging from toothbrushes to wallpaper, bedding, stationery, mugs, canned pasta and children's glasses by Dolland and Aitchison. Recent merchandise included a talking Roland Rat soft toy, fancy dress outfit, online game and
Asda Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...
's George Clothing "teamed-up" with Roland to launch a new range of rat-themed clothing, including socks, T-shirts, underwear and "superstar lounge pants".


UK releases

*
Thorn EMI Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Comic ...
(1984–1988) *
BBC Video 2 Entertain (stylized as 2 , entertain) is a British video and music publisher founded in September 2004 by the merger of BBC Video and Video Collection International in 2004. Under CEO Richard Green, the company operated as a joint venture b ...
(1988) * Contender Entertainment Group (2003) * Digital Classics DVD (2010)


References


External links

*
Fan website
{{Authority control Television characters introduced in 1983 Fictional mice and rats British comedy puppets