Trumpton

1967 (UK)

Trumpton was a quickly realised sequel coming in the wake of the success of Camberwick Green. Experienced children's writer Alison Prince was drafted in to help speed up production. Creator Gordon Murray acknowledged it was her input that enabled 13 episodes to be made within nine months. The first episode debuted exactly a year after the first series had begun.

Trumpton was the bustling town, to Camerwick Green’s village, deep in the county of Trumptonshire. A typical day in Trumpton would find Mr Munnings busily printing posters for the Fire Brigade's Band Concerts (every Thursday at 2:30pm at the band stand in Trumpton Park).

Mrs Cobbit would be selling flowers in the market square and Miss Lovelace arranging the window display in her hat shop or taking her three 'pekes', Mitzy, Lulu and Daphne, for a walk.

As always, The Mayor would be keeping order from the Town Hall while Chippy Minton and his son Nibbs dashed about mending things. But Trumpton is probably best remembered for Captain Flack's roll call of firefighters outside Trumpton Fire Station: "Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grubb".

Prince was asked to write thirteen episodes involving the Brigade, but with the proviso that she should not use water, steam or fire, all of which were too difficult to animate. Resulting scenarios had the Mayor's hat getting stuck in a tree or a tin of paint jamming the town clock mechanism.