UK’s favourite children’s characters

THE AUTHOR behind hit children’s TV show Charlie and Lola has revealed how her character caused anxiety at the BBC — with a forward roll.

Lauren Child has sold millions of copies of her books about Charlie and his younger sister Lola, and the stories have been adapted for the small screen.

But the illustrator and writer told the Radio Times that when it came to making the animated TV series, the BBC was concerned about the potential for injury when Lola did a forward roll.

“The BBC got terribly worried she could have a dreadful accident and break her neck,” Child said.

“It doesn’t matter that she and Charlie are fictional, and they’re made of paper. The designers had to draw a very squishy mattress for her to do her forward roll on.”

Her comments came as the magazine compiled a shortlist of the best BBC children’s characters through the decades, featuring the likes of Sooty and Sweep from the 1950s, and shows such as The Magic Roundabout from the 1960s, Paddington Bear in the 1970s, Willo the Wisp in the 1980s and more recently, Teletubbies and In the Night Garden.

Richard Starzak, who devised the muchloved Shaun the Sheep, a spin-off from Wallace and Gromit, told the magazine that children’s TV had become too safe.

“Slapstick is a universal language. There’s a lot of comedy in other people’s pain, of course, but there are things you can’t do on children’s shows.

“We can’t really have characters being hit on the head,” he said. “I understand why — we don’t want to be responsible for kids hitting each other with frying pans.

“But I sometimes think children’s TV can be overly safe. I don’t think cartoonstyle violence affects kids. I think it’s a bit of escapism.”

Starzak said of watching ITV’s Tiswas during his own childhood: “They used to lift children out of tea chests by their ears. Then one Saturday, one of the kids cut himself on the edge of the chest and was bleeding on live TV.

“Chris Tarrant lifted him out, put him to one side and said, ‘Could you pass me another one that’s not bleeding?’And they carried on with the show. Can you imagine the front pages of the newspapers if that happened today?”

Pictures: PA.

Among the contenders on the shortlist of the best BBC children’s characters through the decades are Bob the Builder, above, the Wombles, below, and Postman Pat, inset.