Bananas in Pyjamas

The characters were inspired by a 1969 song written for children by British composer Carey Blyton (nephew of renowned children's author Enid Blyton). The jaunty song describes (an unspecified number of) bananas in pyjamas chasing teddy bears, with a slight twist at the end where a musical sting emphasises that the bananas like to "catch them unawares". The song was shown on the Australian version of Play School for many years accompanied by an animation depicting pairs of bananas in blue-and-white striped pyjamas. This led to a "banana" plush toy being created as part of the "toy cast", which formed the basis of the physical appearance of B1 and B2.

Creator, producer and showrunner Helena Harris devised the content of the ABC program at ABC Studios. Two of the bear characters, Amy and Morgan, are named after Helena Harris' children.[3] The show was performed using human actors in elaborate costumes, in the style of the British Tweenies and Teletubbies. In the show's early days, the voices of the bananas were provided by the same actors as were inside the costume, but the original actors eventually gave up that aspect of the show and substitutes manned the hot, stuffy costumes. The show aired new episodes from its 1992 debut to its eventual run in syndication in 2002. The show aired approximately three hundred episodes as well as four specials. Its debut in the United States was in 1995. It made videos and other media from 1995 to 1999. A toy line, developed by TOMY, debuted in 1996.

• B1 the Banana: Duncan Wass (1992), Ken Radley (1992–2001), Michael James (2001), and then Stephen Shanahan (2011–13),[6] Richard McCourt (2011–13)
• B2 the Banana: Nicholas Opolski (1992–2001), Benjamin Blaylock (2001), and then Daniel Wyllie, Dominic Wood (2011–13)
• Amy the Teddy Bear: Sandie Lillingston (1992), Mary-Ann Henshaw (1992–2001), and then Isabella Dunwill (2011–13)
• Lulu the Teddy Bear: Taylor Owynns (1992–2001), Monica Trapaga (Bananas in Pyjamas (album release)),[7] Sandie Lillingston (Bumping and a-Jumping) and then Ines Vaz de Sousa (2011–13)
• Morgan the Teddy Bear: Jeremy Scrivener (1992–2001), and then Troy Planet (AU Version),[8][9] Sophie Aldred (UK Version) (2011–13)
• Rat in a Hat the Rat: Shane McNamara (1992–2013)[10]

• Bernard the Dog: Keith Buckley (2011–13)
• Charlie the Monkey: Matthew Whittet (2011–13)
• Kevin the Butterfly: Mal Heap (1992–2001)
• Maggie the Magpie: Emma De Vries (1994–2001)
• Mrs Rat the Rat: Georgina Symes (2011–13)[11]
• Tolstoy the Tortoise: Emma De Vries (1996–2001) and then John Leary (2011–13)[12]
• Tomasina the Turtle: David Collins (1999–2001) and then Meaghan Davies (2011–13)
• Topsy the Kangaroo: Roslyn Oades (2011–13)

• Farm Animals puppeteers: Mal Heap, Terry Ryan & Emma De Vries (2001)
• Camembert the Cow: Taylor Sweeney and then Eliza Logan (2011–2013)[13]
• Pedro the Pig: Michael Phillips and then Anthony O'Donohue (2011–2013)[14]
• Gregory the Chicken: Matthew Hudak
• Peck the Duck: Aaron Oberst-Horner
• Dolly the Sheep: Maura McGinley and then Olivia Pigeot (2011–2013)
• Flash the Fish: Jacob Matta