Pigeon Street

Pigeon Street is a cutout animated children's television series, written by Michael Cole, originally shown on the BBC in 1981 as part of its 'See-Saw' strand for preschoolers.[1] There were two series with eight and five episodes respectively, each programme lasting 15 minutes. The series has been repeated a number of times.

Pigeon Street
GenreChildren
Written byMichael Cole
Voices ofGeorge Layton
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes13
Production
Production locationUK
Running time15 minutes
Release
Original networkBBC
Picture formatColour
Original release10 February (1981-02-10) –
17 December 1981 (1981-12-17)

The animation was created by Alan Rogers and Peter Lang of the Cut-Out Animation Co., who later went on to do a nursery rhyme series with similar animation called Rub-A-Dub-Dub.[2] Voices were performed by George Layton, with additional voices by John Telfer. Music was by Benni Lees, and played by Soulyard.

The shows featured the everyday adventures of a group of characters living on Pigeon Street, an area of flats and terraced housing in a British city, also home to several pigeons which appeared in each show but only occasionally featured in the plot. Characters included Clara the long distance lorry driver, her husband Hugo the chef, Mr Baskerville the detective, Mr Jupiter the astronomer, Mr Macadoo the petshop owner, and twins Molly and Polly, who were only distinguishable by the letter M and P on their jumpers.

Episode listing
Episode title Broadcast date Synopsis
All in a Day's Work 10 February 1981 William the Window Cleaner has a busy day when the lift of Skyrise Court breaks down, but Reg, Clara, Hugo, Mr. Jupiter and everybody else in Pigeon Street lend a helping hand.
A light in the sky 17 February 1981 What is the light in the sky that Mr Jupiter has spotted? Is it an aeroplane, a shooting star or a spark from Reg's bonfire?
Pigeon at sea 24 February 1981 Mr Macadoo, Mr Baskerville and 'Long Distance' Clara help a pigeon understand that it can't take to water like a duck or a gull.
Can I have my ball back? 3 March 1981 Gerald gets a football for his birthday. Reg, Mr Jupiter, Mr Baskerville and Watson join him for a game on the green, but a long kick by Gerald leads to trouble.
Noisy neighbours 10 March 1981 The noise Daisy makes gets on the nerves of her neighbour Rose. Rose's noise annoys Daisy too, but then they find out how to use the thin wall between them.
Pigeon Post 17 March 1981 Bob has trained his pigeons to fly back to him no matter how far they go. Clara, the lorry driver, finds that they are the only way of sending a very important message.
A cold day 24 March 1981 Everybody in Pigeon Street has a cold, until Hugo the cook stumbles upon a cure.
Somewhere to Eat 31 March 1981 When it's lunchtime in Pigeon Street most people make do with sandwiches. Hugo and Betty plan how everybody could meet up and eat lunch together, but it's not as easy as looks.
Down with the car park 19 November 1981 Jim, Gerald and the twins discover that Mr Clark of the council has plans to build a garage on their playground. The only answer is to protest, but it proves very expensive.
The Flood 26 November 1981 Days of rain bring a flood to Pigeon Street. Reg uses a boat from Swanlake Park to rescue the pets, and when they are aboard, Daisy thinks his boat looks like Noah's Ark.
Hobbies 3 December 1981 Everybody in Pigeon Street seems to be taking up a hobby, but when Gerald decides to play the saxophone, he has to find somewhere to practice where there's nobody to disturb.
Springtime for Hugo 10 December 1981 Hugo has to lose weight and Dr Glossop advises him to go jogging with him. But jogging is not the right sort of exercise for Hugo. What is? Clara comes up with the answer.
Getting away 17 December 1981 Everybody in Pigeon Street is going on holiday. Mr Macadoo wants to go too, and Gerald and Mr Baskerville look after his pet shop while he's away.

Characters
  • Betty Cox: The school dinner lady and is William's wife and Jim's mother.
  • Bob Breadsnapper: The owner of the cycle shop called "Bob's Bikes" and is Reg's brother and Doreen's brother-in-law.
  • Clara Naughton: The lorry driver and is Hugo's wife.
  • Daisy Waldron: The old lady who is a next-door neighbor to Rose and feeds the pigeons on her window sill.
  • Doreen Breadsnapper: The owner of the launderette and is Reg's wife and Bob's sister-in-law.
  • Dr John Glossop: The doctor and is Fiona's husband and Gerald, Molly and Polly's father.
  • Fiona Glossop: The owner who made strawberry jam and is Gerald, Molly and Polly's mother and the wife of John.
  • Flash: Mr Jupiter's dog.
  • Gerald Glossop: Molly and Polly's older brother and son of John and Fiona.
  • Hugo Naughton: The local chef and is Clara's husband.
  • Jim Cox: William and Betty's son.
  • Molly Glossop: Gerald's sister, Polly's twin sister and twin daughter of John and Fiona.
  • Mr Baskerville: The detective is always carrying his magnifying glass and has a dog called Watson.
  • Mr Jupiter: The astronomer is always carrying his telescope and has a dog called Flash.
  • Mr Macadoo: The pet shop owner.
  • Polly Glossop: Gerald's other sister, Molly's twin sister and other twin daughter of John and Fiona.
  • Reg Breadsnapper: The park sweeper and is Doreen's husband and Bob's brother.
  • Rose Fogg: The other old lady who is another next door neighbour to Daisy and scares the pigeons away.
  • Tom: Mr Macadoo's cat.
  • Watson: Mr Baskerville's dog.
  • William Cox: The window cleaner and is Betty's husband and Jim's father.

Rogers and Lang went on to create many animations for programmes like Words and Pictures, Numbertime, Rosie and Jim, Hotch Potch House, Rat-A-Tat-Tat and The Number Crew.

Credits
  • Written by: Michael Cole
  • With the Voices of: George Layton, John Telfer
  • Music Composed by: Benni Lees
  • And Played by: Soulyard
  • Sound by: André Jaquemin, Peter Hodges, Rod Guest
  • Edited by: Grahame Scoular, John McNelly, Alec Jeakins
  • Animation by: Peter Lang
  • Design by: Alan Rogers
  • Production by: David Yates, Alan Rogers
  • A David Yates Production
  • © BBC MCMLXXXI

Potential reboot

In 2017, plans were announced for a potential reboot of the show.[3]

References
  1. Perryman, Francesca (12 March 2017). "Remember Pigeon Street? A Reading animator wants to bring it back". Reading Post. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  2. Draper, James (12 March 2017). "Creator of kids' show Pigeon Street launches fundraising campaign to revive it". Mirror. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  3. "Pigeon Street comeback campaign launched". BBC News. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
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