''The Ink Thief'' is a 1994 British children's TV show, shown on the ITV channel during their

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 ...

segment. It starred

Richard O'Brien Richard Timothy Smith. known professionally as Richard O'Brien, is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, composer, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has remained in conti ...

and

Toyah Willcox Toyah Ann Willcox (born 18 May 1958) is an English musician, actress, and TV presenter. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Willcox has had eight top 40 singles, released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in over 40 stage plays an ...

. The series was produced by Animus Entertainment for

Tyne Tees Television ITV Tyne Tees, previously known as Tyne Tees, Channel 3 North East and Tyne Tees Television, is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. Tyne Tees launched on 15 January 1959 from studios at a converte ...

Plot summary

The titular antagonist known only as the Ink Thief (O'Brien) steals the power of imagination by sucking the "ink" out of books and drawings. At the start of the show, brother and sister Jim and Sam stumble upon his gothic world filled with Oobs, Bumps, and other imaginary creatures. During the course of the show, the children's friendship is tested as Jim gets seduced by the Ink Thief, whereas Sam fights to stop him. Each episode is peppered with plot-specific songs, giving the show a musical feel.

Production

Illustrator Steve Hanson developed the first concept art for the show. Production Designer Murti Schofield says on his website: "It should be remembered that it was Steve’s brilliant concepts that got everybody fired up in the first place." The show was written by Paul Springer, who also authored a book based on the series. Director Tony White described it as "very much a low-budget, no-time effort but it was successful on British Television, making No. 5 in the ratings"http://blog.animaticus.com/2010/01/07/golden-oldies.aspx Some of the production crew, including White and Schofield, also acted in the show in small parts. The writer Paul Springer appeared in a larger role, as the character "Toddy", the Ink Thief's bumbling cat henchman. The series' various songs were composed by

Adrian Lee Adrian Lee (born 9 September 1957, London, England) is an English musician, known especially for his brass instrumentation work with several well-known acts of the 1980s. Career Lee was first signed to Phonogram Records in the late 1970s as g ...

. The show only lasted for one season, consisting of seven half-hour-long episodes.

Cast

Main cast: *Felicity Todd as Sam - An artistic girl who stumbles into the world of Bumps and fights to win back her brother from The Ink Thief's clutches. *Stefan Weclawek as Jim - A bright boy whose knowledge of science makes him vulnerable to being used by The Ink Thief. *

as The Ink Thief - A muse-like creature who's supposed to inspire writers and artists, but he's gone rogue and consumes imagination to boost his own power. *Joyce Springer as Miz Tiggle - A librarian who often speaks in confounding riddles, the good-natured Miz Tiggle is sister to the Ink Thief. * Gary Martin as Lorni Snoop - A floppy-eared bump who loves to Snoop but is frightened of his own shadow. *

as Dog - A loyal friend to Miz Tiggle who strives to protect the library. *

Richard Ridings Richard Ridings (born 19 September 1958) is an English actor. He portrayed Alan Ashburn in the ITV television drama ''Fat Friends'', Bernard Green in the BBC One comedy-drama '' Common as Muck'', and is the voice of Daddy Pig in ''Peppa Pig''. H ...

as Aloysius - The Ink Thief's righthand man, a muscular rat. *Paul Springer as Toddy - A dimwitted cat who works for the Ink Thief. *Owain Thomas - Creaker *Kristen Wilkin - Thumper *Tamir Randall - Roll *Mary-Louise Clark - Shake Rattle/Storm Appearing in five episodes or less: *Andy Andrews - Hot Air *James Barton - Sir Bumpalot/Mr Waverley *Tessa Crockett - Moonshooter 1/Messa Sloppit *Trevor Michael Georges - Rock *Catherine Jansen - Cheesey/Mrs. Waverley *Zoe Loyell Othen - Goosebump *Sally Owen - Loose Page/Big Balloonie *Dave Price - Previous Ink Thief *Talia Benni Randall - Moonshooter 2 *Julia Righton - The Bumpess *Murti Schofield - Air Academy Bump/Shark *Tony White -

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

Episodes

References

External links

*
BritboxInternet Archive - Novelization
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ink Thief, The 1994 British television series debuts 1994 British television series endings 1990s British children's television series ITV children's television shows Television shows shot at Elstree Film Studios 1990s British television miniseries Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Tyne Tees Television English-language television shows 1990s British music television series