Flower Pot Men facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Flower Pot Men |
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Still from original BBC series, with Little Weed centre
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| Created by |
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| Starring |
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| Narrated by |
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| Opening theme | Bill and Ben Theme (2001) |
| Ending theme | Bill and Ben Theme (different version; 2001) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 78 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Francis Vose |
| Running time | 14–16 minutes (Watch with Mother) 10 minutes (reboot) |
| Production company(s) | Original series BBC 2001 reboot Cosgrove Hall Films BBC Worldwide Ben Productions LLC |
| Release | |
| Original network | |
| Original release | 15:45, 12 December 1952 – 4 September 2002 |
Flower Pot Men was a classic British children's TV show. It was made by the BBC and first aired in 1952. The show was so popular that it was repeated for over 20 years! Later, in 2001, a new version of the show called Bill and Ben was created.
Contents
Meet the Original Flower Pot Men
The original Flower Pot Men show was part of a BBC children's TV series called Watch with Mother. This series showed a different program each weekday. Many of these shows used string puppets.
Who are Bill and Ben?
Flower Pot Men told the story of Bill and Ben. They were two small men made out of flower pots. They lived in a garden in England. Freda Lingstrom and Maria Bird created these characters in the 1950s.
Adventures in the Garden
The story in each episode was usually quite simple. It always happened in the garden, behind a small shed. A third character, Little Weed, also lived there. Little Weed looked like a sunflower or a dandelion with a happy face. She grew between two big flowerpots.
Sometimes, other characters visited the garden. These included a tortoise named Slowcoach. In one episode, Bill and Ben even met Dan the potato man, who was made of potatoes!
What Happened in an Episode?
Typically, the gardener would go inside for lunch. Then, Bill and Ben would pop out of their pots. They would have a small adventure, and usually, something would go wrong. The narrator would then ask, "Which of these two flower pot men, was it Bill or was it Ben?" One of them would then admit what they did.
Just as the gardener's footsteps were heard, Bill and Ben would quickly hide back in their pots. Then, a "Goodbye" screen would appear. The show always ended with the narrator saying, "..and I think the little house knew something about it; don't you?".
Oddle Poddle Language
The Flower Pot Men spoke their own special language called Oddle Poddle. Peter Hawkins, a famous voice artist, invented this language. He also did voices for the daleks in Doctor Who! For example, "Ickle-kickle" meant an icicle. Ben would often say "Flobabdob!".
At the end of each adventure, they would say goodbye to each other and to Little Weed. They'd say "Babap, Ickle Weed!". Little Weed would always reply with a shaky "Weeeeeeeeeeed!". Some people thought this language might make it harder for children to learn proper English.
The 2001 Reboot: Bill and Ben
A new version of the show, simply called Bill and Ben, started on CBBC in 2001. This time, it used stop-motion animation. This means that models were moved tiny bits at a time and photographed. When played fast, it looks like they are moving! This new series was made by Cosgrove Hall Films.
New Friends and Changes
The reboot added many new characters to the garden:
- Rose: A grumpy female rosebush with two talking buds.
- Thistle: A playful, prickly plant.
- Pry: A female magpie who loves shiny things, especially bottle caps.
- Boo: A friendly hedgehog.
- Slowcoach: The tortoise from the original show, still a bit grumpy when things go wrong.
- Tad: A male frog.
- Scamper: A female squirrel.
- Scuff: Scamper's baby nephew, a male baby squirrel.
- Whimsy: A female spider.
- Whoops: A male earthworm.
- Ketchup: A male talking tomato.
- Lightning: Another male tortoise, who is Slowcoach's brother.
There were also some changes to Bill and Ben themselves. Bill now had a deeper voice, and Ben had a higher voice. Little Weed also changed a lot. She no longer just said her name. Instead, she spoke normal English and often helped Bill and Ben.
Comics
The Flower Pot Men show was also turned into a comic strip. You could find it in a children's magazine called Robin.
Images for kids
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Still from original BBC series, with Little Weed centre
