Tingha and Tucker were children's television characters on Britain's ITV network from 1962 until 1970. The series was made by Associated Television (ATV), the independent ITV station which made programmes in the Midlands. Generally, the show followed a format of short weekday shows, with a Sunday special each week called ''The Tree House Family''.

History

Originally, Tingha and Tucker were simply stuffed toy koalas belonging to host

Jean Morton Jean Morton (17 February 1921 - 26 May 2012) was a British television announcer. She served as continuity announcer from the launch of the original Midlands ITV franchise holder, ATV. She was one of the four original announcers, the others being ...

, who would speak to them on air. Soon, puppets were made of the characters so that they could be more lifelike. The show was a great success and like many shows of its era had a "club", the Tingha and Tucker Club, which at its height had 750,000 members. The club eventually had to close when it became unable to handle the volume of mail it generated. One of the favourite show songs was "The Wibbly Wobbly Way". The show was eventually cancelled in 1970 after eight years. The Tingha and Tucker puppets used on air were reportedly stolen from storage shortly after and have never been recovered.

Characters

*"Auntie Jean" -

, the show's

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

*Tingha and Tucker - koalas *Willie Wombat *Grandpa Wombat *Kiki Kangaroo *Katie Kookaburra *Ermintrude Emu *Postman Pete Murray (disc jockey) *"Uncle Pat" - Pat Astley, the ATV

continuity announcer In broadcasting, continuity or presentation (or station break in the U.S. and Canada) is announcements, messages and graphics played by the broadcaster between specific programmes. It typically includes programme schedules, announcement of t ...

*"Uncle Cliff Richard" - Cliff Richard.

Merchandise

Like many British television shows, Tingha and Tucker had an annual children's book release, with a volumes issued each year between 1967 and 1971. Other book releases included a "Bedtime Book" in 1967 and several records were released as well, such as the 1964 Pye Records 7" single "Woomerang Boomerang" b/w "Over the Rickety Bridge". Century 21 Records released an LP (Catalogue A5) called the ''Tingha and Tucker Club Song Book''. A somewhat stranger record release from Century 21, a "mini album" called ''Tingha and Tucker present the New Wombaville Band'', included the puppet characters covering several

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

songs.

Theme tune and background information

*The theme song was written by Tony Hatch, known as the composer of television theme tunes such as ''

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

'' and ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

'' and '' Emmerdale''. *Tingha's name is a reference to the town of

Tingha, New South Wales Tingha is a small town on the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia in Inverell Shire. Formerly part of Armidale Region, on 1 July 2019, responsibility for Tingha was transferred from Armidale Regional Council to Inverell Shire Coun ...

. The town in turn gets its name from an

aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

word meaning "a flat, open land." *Despite many references to bears, including the motto and songs, koalas are not related to bears at all but are, in fact,

marsupials Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tingha And Tucker Fictional koalas