Star Cutouts Ltd SC1030 Rainbow Cardboard Cut Out Party Scene Decoration, Multi-Colour, 93 x 5 x 93 cm

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History". archive.is. 19 March 2002. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012 . Retrieved 17 February 2015. Valerie Herberden was replaced by Malcolm Lord as George’s puppeteer, who Ronnie Le Drew recommended. [7] The format of the show was significantly built upon during this era, with the scripts began to move beyond the educational format of the show and focus more on actual storylines, driven by character comedy rather than educational themes. More of the episodes were written by the cast members themselves, with Roy Skelton, Stanley Bates, Geoffrey Hayes and Freddy Marks all contributing a significant number of episodes to the show. Although Roy Skelton and Geoffrey Hayes died in 2011 and 2018 respectively, the characters of Zippy, George and Bungle still make the occasional TV appearances to the present day. a b Hawkins, Silas (October 2014). "Voices-Voices-Voices!". Doctor Who Magazine. Panini Comics (477): 66. March, Cath; Francis, Penny (6 January 2013). "Violet Philpott obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017 . Retrieved 17 April 2017.

For the first two filmed series, the show was presented by David Cook, who lived in the Rainbow House with Rainbow, renamed Bungle, played by John Leeson. Each episode would focus on a particular educational subject, for instance, shapes, houses, or animals of some kind, and would involve Bungle inquisitively asking David about that subject, and David educating him about it. Real-world footage of the episode's subject would usually be shown, over which David and Bungle would comment. Zippy, operated by Violet Philpott, would occasionally appear outside the window and provide most of the comedy, by adding his own input. Zipman and Bobbin, Zippy's in Love, Hot Day, Zippy Sets Them Up, Bungle's High and Mighty Day, Zippy Wants To Be A Comedian, George's Secret WishSheridan, Simon (2004). The A-Z of Classic Children's Television: From Alberto Frog to Zebedee. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. pp.211–217. ISBN 1903111277. Zippy – loud and domineering, but usually very funny (albeit not to the other characters in the show). The puppet was originally voiced by Peter Hawkins and operated by Violet Philpott and later voiced by Roy Skelton and Ronnie Le Drew – Hawkins and Skelton were voice artists also well known for voicing Daleks and Cybermen in Doctor Who. Ronnie has also operated Zippy and has done since 1972. Zippy's mouth is a zip, and when he became too bossy or irritating, this was zipped shut to prevent him from continuing: on at least one occasion he unzipped himself, though he appears unable to do so on other occasions or simply submits to this punishment. He broadly represented childhood self-centeredness, "naughtiness" and extroversion. Zippy was extremely boastful and would frequently brag about his superior intelligence and singing skill (both of which proved to be completely unfounded when put to the test) and was also greedy, often overeating and displaying a particular love for chocolate and sweets.

Charlie Dore, Julian Littman and Karl Johnson – the singing trio who replaced Telltale in 1974. They stayed with the show before being replaced by Rod, Matt & Jane in 1975. Charlie Dore and Julian Littman went on to have hugely successful music careers, while Karl Johnson became a well-known actor. What Goes Up Must Come Down, Abracadabra, Breakfast at Rainbow's, Where Did You Get That Hat?, Big, Bigger, Biggest

The Birthday Cake, I Want to be a Popstar, George's Secret Place, The Explorers, Without a Voice, Outer Space Each episode of Rainbow revolved around a particular activity or situation that arose in the Rainbow House, where the main characters lived. Some episodes, particularly in the early years, were purely educational in format and consisted of a series of scenes involving the characters learning about that particular episode's subject, interspersed with real-world footage, songs, stories and animations related to that same subject. The puppet characters of Zippy, George and Bungle would take the role of inquisitive children asking about the episode's subject, with the presenter (initially David Cook, and from 1974 onwards Geoffrey Hayes) serving the role of teacher figure, educating them about the subject. From the 1980s onwards, most episodes were more story-driven and frequently involved some kind of squabble or dispute between the puppet characters of Zippy, George and Bungle, and Geoffrey's attempts to calm them down and keep the peace.

In 1972, Pamela Lonsdale was asked to create a preschool series for Thames Television. She cast John Kane as presenter and Tim Wylton as a bear named Rainbow. [3] Peter Hawkins was cast as the voice of Zippy, as well as Sunshine, Bramble and Pillar, however policy changes after the pilot meant those latter characters were recast. [4] No script was made for the pilot, [3] which led to Peter attempting to rewrite gags, difficult for the preschool audience, and would lead to him departing the show after its first year, [4] recommending Roy Skelton to take over. [5] Rainbow is a British children's television series, created by Pamela Lonsdale, which ran from 16 October 1972 until 6 March 1992, made by Thames Television. The series was revived by Tetra Films from 10 January 1994 until 24 March 1997, in two different formats from the original Thames series, with differing cast members. Vince – played by Vince Hill, a singer who would occasionally visit the Rainbow House and join in a song with Rod, Jane & Freddy. One episode portrayed him as a kind of 'Geoffrey' figure for Zippo when he showed up with Zippo to a garden party.TV Offal also broadcast some very risqué material featuring Hayes, Zippy and George as guests on a variety programme hosted by comedian Jim Davidson in the 1980s; the sketch in question featured former children's TV presenter Tommy Boyd asking a question about Adam and Eve. Boyd and Davidson used some profanities in the sketch, along with some innuendo from George (presumably again not intended for broadcast like the above), and Zippy exclaimed to Geoffrey an expletive phrase quite out of character from his children's television persona. (Incidentally, the said footage appeared uncut on Thames Television's 1984 Christmas tape.) Christopher – played by Christopher Lillicrap, a semi-regular guest star who would guest on the show from time to time since the 70s, at first to read stories and later to perform songs, which the main cast would join in with.