''The Treacle People'' is a

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

animated children's television programme shown on

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 ...

in the United Kingdom from 3 May 1996 to 25 July 1997 and was reran on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

in the 2000s. It had two series, each with 13 episodes. In a similar vein to other shows by the same writer, the humour worked on two levels for younger and older viewers. It was produced by The London Studios for

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

(

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

produced the second series) and Fire Mountain Productions in association with Link Entertainment. In 2023, the series was remastered, with full episodes uploaded on th
official Treacle People YouTube Channel

Plot

The show was written by Brian and Jonathan Trueman (the former of whom was the writer of ''Danger Mouse'') and was based in a fictionalized version of the Northern English village of

Sabden Sabden is a village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. Sabden is located south of Pendle Hill, in a valley about three miles north west of Padiham. The parish covers , of which is occupied by the village. It lies in the ...

, in Pendle, where

treacle Treacle () is any uncrystallised syrup made during the refining of sugar.Oxford Dictionary The most common forms of treacle are golden syrup, a pale variety, and a darker variety known as black treacle, similar to molasses. Black treacle has ...

is (allegedly) a natural resource extracted through mines. However, the mines have run dry from overextraction, and the village may face destruction from a lack of economy. The main characters Wizzle and Rosie use a Treacle finder, similar to a water dowser, to discover a vein of treacle in the abandoned mines, bringing hope to the village. The two series focus on reopening the mines, and problems faced (such as exportation). One of the recurring support characters was the Moobark, a cross between a Friesian cow and an

Airedale Terrier The Airedale Terrier (often shortened to "Airedale"), also called Bingley Terrier and Waterside Terrier, is a dog breed of the terrier type that originated in the valley (''dale'') of the River Aire, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. I ...

Episodes

Season 1

Season 2

Rights

The rights to ''The Treacle People'' is now owned by Shepperton Studios-based production company, Fire Mountain Productions Limited. Fire Mountain Productions was set up by the show's producer, Iain Russell.

Awards

''The Treacle People'', followed up by a Christmas special, was BAFTA nominated.

Credits

* Written by: Brian and Jonathan Trueman * Developed for television by: Mike Furness and Iain Russell * From an original idea by: The Dewhurst Family * Featuring the voices of: Caroline Bernstein,

Alec Bregonzi Alec Bregonzi (21 April 1930, London – 4 June 2006) was an England, English actor who appeared in a number of stage and television roles. Bregonzi began his career as a professional actor in 1955 in repertory theatre in Farnham, then in Yo ...

, Jim McManus, Glynn Mills, Jim Norton,

Willie Rushton William George Rushton (18 August 1937 – 11 December 1996) was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the satirical magazine ''Private Eye''. Early life Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in 3 Wilbraham Plac ...

and

Brian Trueman Brian Trueman (born 16 May 1932) is an English broadcaster, writer and voice actor. He is known mainly for his work with the animation studio Cosgrove Hall. He wrote and/or narrated children's cartoon series, mostly during the 1970s and 1980s. ...

* Title song: Sticky * Music by: Simon Webb * Casting director: Nikki Finch * Director of animation: Martin Pullen * Animators: Mike Cottee, Timon Dowdeswell, Andy Joule and Daryl Marsh * Production manager: Mike Fisher * Musical co-ordinator: Rachel Williams * Music recording: Gerry Kitchingham * Musicians: Simon Clark, Nick Hitchins, Ben Kennard, Roddy Lorimer, Bob Loveday, Glynn Matthews, Wes McGee, Tamsin Rowlinson and Simon Webb * Additional animation: Tobias Fouracre and Mark Waring * Lighting cameramen: Adrian Chadlecott, John Duffy, Peter Ellmore, Colin Innes-Hopkins and Tom Kinane * Puppets built and designed by: Richard Blakey and Maggie Haden * Original art director: Alan Murphy * Sets built and designed by: Jessica Ace, Colin Armitage, Toby Burrell, Barbara Cowdery and Keith Grant * Assisted by: James Heath and Melissa Johnson * Graphic designer: Bill Wilson * Editors: Martin Hay, Paul Hudson, Alex Maddison, Andy Marangone, Alan Ritchie and Jeremy Scott * Sound supervisors: Rob Ashard, Graham Hix, Jon Matthews and Russell Smithson * Production assistant: Jo Newey * Production associates: Kathy Schulz and Sue Bennett-Urwin * Executive producers: Penny Lent and Danielle Lux * Director: Mike Furness * Producer: Iain Russell

References

External links

*.
Official YouTube Channel

Fire Mountain Productions Limited

Fire Mountain Films

London's Hollywood
{{DEFAULTSORT:Treacle People, The 1990s British children's television series 1996 British television series debuts 1997 British television series endings 1990s British animated television series British children's animated television shows Fictional species and races ITV children's television shows London Weekend Television shows British stop-motion animated television series Television series by ITV Studios English-language television shows