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Fortycoats & Co. facts for kids
| Fortycoats & Co. | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's drama series |
| Based on | Wanderly Wagon |
| Written by | Carolyn Swift |
| Starring |
|
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Production location(s) | Ireland |
| Distributor | RTÉ |
| Release | |
| Original network | RTÉ One |
| Original release | 7 January 1983 |
Fortycoats & Co. was an Irish children's TV show made by RTÉ. It was a fun drama series that aired on RTÉ One during the 1980s. The show was about exciting adventures and was very popular with young viewers. It stopped being made in the early 1990s.
Contents
What's the Show About?
The show followed the amazing adventures of a character named Fortycoats. He was played by Fran Dempsey. Fortycoats had a special saying: "Be me forty coats and me fifty pockets!" He always wore many coats and had lots of pockets.
Fortycoats traveled with his two friends:
- Sofar Sogood (played by Conal Kearney) was a very neat and proper character.
- Slightly Bonkers (played by Virginia Cole) was a sweet and a bit silly schoolgirl.
They all lived in a magical vehicle called the Flying Trick Shop. It was also known as the Flying Tuck Shop or the Flying Sweet Shop. This shop could fly and take them on many exciting journeys.
Battling the Villains
Fortycoats and his friends often had to fight against tricky villains. The main bad guys were:
- Whilomena, the Whirligig Witch: She was an evil witch who had a cat named Spooky.
- The Pickarooney: This character was also very evil. He lived in a rubbish dump and sometimes tried to kidnap children.
The heroes always worked together to stop these villains and save the day.
Who Were the Characters?
Many talented actors brought the characters of Fortycoats & Co. to life.
Main Characters
- Fran Dempsey played Fortycoats, the main hero of the show.
- Virginia Cole played Slightly Bonkers, the naive schoolgirl.
- Conal Kearney played Sofar Sogood, the prim and proper friend.
Other Important Characters
- Laurie Morton played Whilomena, The Whirligig Witch, one of the main villains.
- Des Nealon played The Pickarooney, another tricky villain.
- Robert Carrickford played The Count.
- Paula Lambert was the voice of Spooky the Cat, Whilomena's pet.
How the Show Started
Fortycoats & Co. was actually a spin-off from another popular Irish children's show called Wanderly Wagon.
Fortycoats' History
The idea for a character named Johnny Fortycoats came from old stories in Dublin, Ireland, from the 1930s. It was a nickname for a man who used to wear many coats. This is how he got his unique name.
From Wanderly Wagon
In Wanderly Wagon, the character of Fortycoats was first played by Bill Golding. He also played another character named Rory. It was a funny joke in Wanderly Wagon that Fortycoats would only visit when Rory was away. Rory would then wonder if Fortycoats was even real because he never met him!
When Bill Golding left Wanderly Wagon, Fran Dempsey took over the role of Fortycoats. Rory's character was then written out of the show.
Eugene Lambert, who created Wanderly Wagon, said he wasn't involved in making Fortycoats & Co.. He felt it was a new version of his original show.