25 years of cool banana

Bob La Castra reveals role in creating TV characters B1 and B2

THEY started life as a song but today the favourite fruits of a generation of Australian children reach a ripe age.

After debuting in 1992, kids hit Bananas and Pyjamas is celebrating its 25th birthday.

Now, the man who helped create the B1 and B2 characters reveals how they came to life.

No, Gold Coast councillor Bob La Castra did not do it by climbing into the banana suits. He never even saw the brightly covered filming set.

“There is a myth about the show that I was one of the people in the suits but I can tell you I was never there and never worked in the costumes,” he said.

“In fact, I didn’t even meet the bananas in real life until years later and I never actually went to the set while it was being made, which is kind of crazy.

“Despite what people have heard over the years, I was actually the first writer.” BOB LA CASTRA

Cr La Castra helped pen the iconic series in its first year, including a pilot episode which developed the characters.

While the series hit screens in mid-1992, its journey began much earlier, starting with a 1967 song by Carey Blyton which became a mainstay on the ABC’s Playschool.

In the early 1990s, television producer Helena Harris saw the potential for a new series based on the song.

Ms Harris turned to Cr La Castra for inspiration because he was the author of her children’s favourite book,

Inside Outback Down Under.

The England-born actorauthor was well known as the host of television series

Wombat and was starring as Eddie Buckinham on soap

Neighbours.

Cr La Castra was approached by Ms Harris in late 1990 shortly after he finished his Ramsay St stint.

“She knew I could write for children and I was brought in to develop it so I wrote a pilot episode, while another writer, Simon Hopkinson, did another,” he said.

“We both wrote a pilot independently of each other, created the characters and then the pilots were worked together into the series people saw.

“My son was born that year so that was on my mind a lot

I DIDN’T EVEN MEET THE BANANAS IN REAL LIFE UNTIL YEARS LATER AND I NEVER ACTUALLY WENT TO THE SET WHILE IT WAS BEING MADE, WHICH IS KIND OF CRAZY