Andy Pandy

Andy Pandy and Teddy. Image from the BBC

One of the most memorable children's televison shows of the early 1950s was the UK puppet based creation, Andy Pandy. The original series was typically '50s stylistically (note Andy's pointed pixie hat), yet so loved that the original series of programs ran right up until 1970- two decades after it's debut.

Andy- the boy in the blue striped pyjamas, was conceived by Freda Lingstrom and Maria Bird and his strings were operated by Audrey Atterbury. Bird narrated the show, as Andy himself didn't speak and nor did his two best friends, Teddy and the rag doll, Looby Loo, though the latter had her own song, "Here we go Looby Loo". The silence of the characters gave the show a come-to-life, storybook feel - all three lived cosily together in a wicker picnic basket and were ften found in the garden, though looby Loo tended to appear only when Andy and Teddy were off screen.

Andy Pandy was a very gentle show, designed for a pre-school audience. It was made before the short-attention span era and was thus bereft of the sensory overload common to many noisy kids shows today. Young audiences could identify with Andy's 'little boy' demeanour and Teddy was an adorable adjunct.Scheduled  on the BBC and the ABC in Australia, it was also unfettered by a barrage of advertisements.

The show was part of a BBC children's television concept called For the Children and later Watch with Mother, which also included such gems as  Bill and Ben, the cheerfully babbling flowerpot men.

The whole gang;Andy, Teddy, Looby-Loo and Bill and Ben