Balamory facts for kids

Balamory was a popular Scottish TV show for young children. It was a live-action series, meaning it used real actors, not cartoons. The show was set in a colourful, fictional island town called Balamory, located off the west coast of Scotland. It aired on BBC One, BBC Two, and CBeebies from 2002 to 2005. A total of 254 episodes were made, including a special Christmas episode. Brian Jameson created this fun and educational programme.

Tobermory, Mull, the real-life town that inspired Balamory

Edie McCredie's famous bus, now in the Glasgow Museum of Transport

Meet the Balamory Characters

There are eight main characters in Balamory. Each character wears a special colour of clothing. They also live in a house that matches their colour!

• Julie Wilson Nimmo as Miss Hoolie, the Balamory Nursery teacher. She helps start each episode and tells the story. Her main colour is green, and she lives in a green house.
• Miles Jupp as Archie, a creative inventor. He builds funny things from everyday items. His inventions are meant to be helpful, but sometimes they don't quite work! His main colour is pink, and he lives in a pink castle.
• Buki Akib (in series 1–2) and Kasia Haddad (in series 3–4) as Josie Jump. She is a fitness instructor at the primary school. Josie loves all kinds of sports, gymnastics, and dance. She's also great at telling stories using movement. Her main colour is yellow, and she lives in a yellow house with towers.
• Juliet Cadzow as Edie McCredie, the Balamory Bus Driver. Edie has travelled all over the world. She loves to share stories and photos from her adventures. She's also a fantastic driver and knows a lot about cars. Her main colour is blue, and she lives in a blue garage-house.
• Andrew Agnew as PC Plum, the village Policeman. He dreams of being a super detective. But since Balamory is a very safe place, he mostly spends his time watching wildlife. His main colour is white (even though his uniform is black), and he lives in a white police station.
• Rodd Christensen as Spencer, the painter. He makes Balamory so colourful! Spencer is also very musical; his painter's ladder even plays different notes. He is the only American living in Balamory. His main colour is orange, and he lives in an orange house.
• Mary Riggans as Suzie Sweet, who runs the cafe and shop with Penny. She is older than the other characters and acts like a kind grandmother. She loves to tell customers about the items in her shop. Her main colour is red, and she lives in a red village shop.
• Kim Tserkezie as Penny Pocket, who helps run the cafe and shop. She uses a wheelchair and is very good at maths. Her main colour is light blue.

Songs from Balamory

Each episode of Balamory features several catchy songs. The songs often depend on which character is the focus of the story.

In Season 3, some new songs were added, but the older favourites were still used sometimes.

• "What's the Story in Balamory?" - This is the main theme song for all four seasons.
• "Which Coloured House are we going to?" - This song helps viewers guess which character will help solve the problem.
• "Everybody Everyone" - Miss Hoolie's song when the nursery is open.
• "Everyone's at Home Today" - Miss Hoolie's song for play days (Series 1–2).
• "Strike Up the Band" - Miss Hoolie's song for play days (Series 3-4).
• "I'm Archie the Inventor" - Archie's main song.
• "Great Inventions, Groovy Solutions" - Another one of Archie's songs (Series 3–4).
• "Jump a Little Higher" - Josie Jump's main song.
• "Cheer You Up" - Another one of Josie Jump's songs (Series 3–4).
• "When I Honk My Horn" - Edie McCredie's main song.
• "Let Me Take You on a Journey" - Another one of Edie McCredie's songs (Series 3–4).
• "I'm PC Plum" - PC Plum's main song.
• "Follow the Clue" - Another one of PC Plum's songs (Series 3–4).
• "Climbing Up My Musical Ladder" - Spencer's main song.
• "If You Need a Little Rhythm" - Another one of Spencer's songs (Series 3–4).
• "I'm Suzie Sweet, I'm Penny Pocket" - Suzie and Penny's main song.
• "Suzie's Cookin'" - Suzie's song (Series 3–4).
• "Sort It" - Penny's song (Season 3-4).

How a Balamory Episode Works

A typical episode of Balamory follows a simple plan:

The show starts with a look at the colourful town of Balamory. Miss Hoolie then opens her nursery school. She greets the children and talks about the weather. On some days, called "play days," she visits the Pocket & Sweet shop.

One of the other characters will tell Miss Hoolie about a problem they have. This character then sings "Which Coloured House Are We Going To?". This song asks young viewers to guess which Balamory character might be best at helping with the problem. The main character then visits different friends until the problem is solved. Miss Hoolie and the main character always recap the story as it goes along. They also give a final summary at the end of the episode.

For example, in one episode, Josie Jump had to look after a neighbour's rabbit. She didn't know what it needed. She visited PC Plum, who told her to feed it vegetables. Then she went to the shop run by Pocket and Sweet to buy rabbit food. Finally, she brought the rabbit to Miss Hoolie's nursery for the children to feed and pet it.

Each episode of Balamory includes at least five songs:

• "What's the Story in Balamory?", the main theme song.
• Miss Hoolie's opening song, like "Everybody, Everyone" or a "play day" song.
• "Which Coloured House Are We Going To?", sung by the character with the problem.
• Songs specific to the characters visited by the main character.

Episode Guides

You can find more details about each season here:

• Series One
• Series Two
• Series Three
• Series Four

Who Watched Balamory?

The show was made for very young children, like preschoolers. However, older kids and even adults found it funny too! The characters in Balamory were often a bit innocent and light-hearted. The stories were about simple problems. These problems were designed to help young children think and learn.

Special Guest Stars

Some episodes featured guest actors. Terry Wogan, a famous TV presenter, appeared in an episode called The Game Show. This episode also featured Greg Hemphill and John Altman. Celebrity chef Keith Floyd also appeared in Suzie Sweet's song "Suzie's Cookin'".

Making of Balamory

The show was first announced on February 11, 2002. It was originally going to be called Applecross.

Filming Locations

Most of Balamory was filmed in a real town called Tobermory. This town is on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. However, scenes at Archie's castle were filmed in East Lothian. Other parts, like the nursery and the "Mainland City," were filmed in Glasgow.

Balamory Around the World

In the United States, Balamory was shown on TLC and Discovery Kids. It was part of their "Ready, Set, Learn!" block of shows from 2005 to 2007.

Why Balamory Ended

On April 30, 2005, the BBC announced that they would not make any more seasons of Balamory. They wanted to try out new show ideas. That same year, most of the cast went on a farewell tour called "Balamory Live: Strike up the Band." This followed an earlier tour from 2004. The show continued to be repeated on CBeebies until July 2016. After 2010, only the first two series were repeated because of licensing issues with the later seasons.

By the time the show ended, many of the actors were ready to move on. Miles Jupp, who played Archie, found that his role sometimes caused confusion with his comedy career. Parents would sometimes think his comedy shows were for kids. Julie Wilson Nimmo, who played Miss Hoolie, mentioned that it was hard to take her own children to play areas without being surrounded by fans. Mary Riggans, who played Suzie Sweet, passed away in 2013.

Andrew Agnew, who played PC Plum, later directed a children's TV show called Me Too!. This show had a similar idea to Balamory, but it was set in a city in Scotland instead of a coastal town.

Awards for Balamory

Balamory received several nominations and one award:

• Best Pre-school Live Action Series (nominated) at the 2003 BAFTA Children's Awards.
• Best Pre-school Live Action Series (won) at the 2004 BAFTA Children's Awards.
• Best Pre-school Live Action Series (nominated) at the 2005 BAFTA Children's Awards.

Balamory at BBC Programmes