''Tickle, Patch and Friends'' is a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

award-winning television series for children. The series was produced in-house by Ed Matthews for the British television network Channel 5, and was originally broadcast on the channel's children's programming block

Milkshake! ''Milkshake!'' (stylised as milkshake!) is a British Children's television series, children's television programming block on 5 (British TV channel), 5. Originally launched in 1997, it is currently aimed at children aged 2 to 7. History Th ...

, running from 28 August 1999 to 26 June 2005.

Plot

''Tickle, Patch and Friends'' features the misadventures of two puppet

guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy ( ), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'', family Caviidae. Animal fancy, Breeders tend to use the name "cavy" for the ani ...

s named Tickle and Patch, voiced and puppeteered by Marcus Clarke and Helena Smee. Each episode would see the pair taking on a job to make money. The show featured

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...

appearances from Channel 5's other children's programming. The show was filmed at a variety of locations, such as zoos, beaches, churches, schools and farms, and around the

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

area. Some of the shows and cartoons shown on ''Tickle, Patch and Friends'' included ''

PB Bear and Friends ''PB Bear and Friends'' is a series of children's books by Lee Davis that has also been made into a British children's television series. Much like the ''Paddington'' series, the characters are stuffed puppets that are animated with the stop-mot ...

'', '' Plonsters'', ''

Animal Antics Animal Antics is a twice BAFTA-nominated, live-action British pre-school A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an educational establishment or l ...

'', and ''

Mr. Men and Little Miss ''Mr. Men and Little Miss'' (known in the United States as '' The Mr. Men Show'' and in France as ''Monsieur Bonhomme'') is a 1995 animated children's television series based on the original '' Mr. Men and Little Miss'' books created in the 19 ...

''. These other shows also aired on Milkshake!.

Other characters

* Pipsqueak – A baby guinea pig who was introduced to the show in late 2002. * 37 Bear – A taxi-driving bear. * Thing – A large insect of unknown origin. * Alien – A fleece alien puppet.

Features

* The Picture Gallery (later changed to The Farmyard Gallery in the later series) – Tickle and Patch look at viewers' drawings. * Patch FM – Tickle and Patch play at being disc jockeys and talk to viewers on their video phone and answer frequently asked questions from them. * Joke Time – Tickle and Patch read out viewers' jokes on location (e.g. outside a theme park) and they usually laugh at them so much, their socks or pants blow off for extra laughs. * Tickle's Quiz – Featured in the later series where Tickle stays in the barn while taking shelter from the rain, and asks the audience a simple question involving what sound does a farm animal or vehicle make.

Programmes featured as part of Tickle, Patch and Friends

*'' Mr Men and Little Miss'' *'' Plonsters'' *''

'' *''

'' *''When I Grow Up'' *'' Little Antics'' *''Nosey'' *''

James the Cat ''James the Cat'' is a 1984 British animated children's series created by Kate Canning and produced by Jan Clayton with Grampian Television. It chronicles the many events which take place at the Cornerhouse (number 104) between James and his new ...

'' *''Animal Express'' *''Monkey Makes'' *''Why'' *'' Insect Antics'' *''Klootz'' *'' Mio Mao'' *''Sailor Sid'' *''Softies'' *'' Aussie Antics'' *''Bird Bath'' *'' Funky Valley'' *''Funky Town''

In other media

* During the early 2000s, Tickle and Patch were sometimes accompanied by the

presenters in additional spin-off programmes and features in continuity links. * Outtakes from the show were featured on various episodes of It'll Be Alright on the Night. * In 2020, Patch auditioned for

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...

as a comedian, but got buzzed off after one joke and received four no's.

External links

* *

References

1999 British television series debuts 2005 British television series endings 1990s British children's television series 2000s British children's television series 1990s British animated television series 2000s British animated television series British children's animated adventure television series British television shows based on children's books Channel 5 (British TV channel) original programming British English-language television shows {{UK-kids-tv-prog-stub pl:Wieczór ze starym misiem sv:Gammelbjörns sagor