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The Woodentops is a children’s television series first broadcast on BBC Television in 1955. Created by Freda Lingstrom and Maria Bird, it featured on the Friday edition of Watch with Mother.[1] The main characters are the members of a family living on a farm.[2]
Every episode began by introducing the wooden string-puppets sitting in front of a curtain: Mummy and Daddy Woodentop, Baby Woodentop, the twins Jenny and Willy, and Spotty Dog, joined by the domestic servant Mrs Scrubbitt and Sam, who works on the farm.[2]
Episodes were made in a “tin shed” at the BBC’s Lime Grove studios. Unlike other puppet shows in the Watch with Mother series, such as the mute Andy Pandy, the narration was minimal, with the puppets largely appearing to speak for themselves.[1] The last of the 26 episodes was recorded in 1958, but the series was repeated until 1973.[1][3]
The introductory music is an excerpt from the 22nd of the set of 25 Norwegian folk songs and dances for piano, Opus 17 by Edvard Grieg, So lokka me over den myra (Calling the Cows Home).[3]
The puppets, preserved by the BBC, were stolen in 1983. They were discovered a year later in Phillips’ auction room in London,[1] and are now in the collection of the Museum of London.[4]