T-Bag facts for kids

T-Bag was a popular British TV show. It was about a magical character named T-Bag and her helper, T-shirt. The series aired on Children's ITV from 1985 to 1992. Grant Cathro and Lee Pressman wrote the show. Each season had a different name and told one big story over several episodes.

The Magical Story of T-Bag

How T-Bag Gets Her Powers

The main characters get their magic from a special tea. This tea is made from a plant called the 'High T-Plant'. T-Bag can't make the tea properly herself. So, she needs her assistant, T-shirt, to do it for her. In return, T-Bag shares her magic with T-shirt. His real name is Thomas Shirt, and he was played by John Hasler.

T-Bag and T-shirt's Magic Abilities

T-shirt started as a small child in the show. He grew taller than T-Bag by the end of the series in 1992. T-shirt is always with T-Bag. He's like a son who gets bossed around and also helps with chores. Their magic lets them make things appear from nowhere. They can also send objects to other places. They can even magically move through time and space. T-Bag teleports by clicking her fingers. T-shirt finds finger clicking hard, so he blinks instead.

T-shirt: Hero or Helper?

Even though T-shirt was T-Bag's assistant, he wasn't evil like her. Sometimes he seemed to be helping T-Bag. But usually, he was a hero. He would always end up helping the child heroine of the story.

The Quest to Stop T-Bag

Most series followed a similar pattern. T-Bag would try to get more power. She would often need to get T-shirt back first, either by begging or using her magic on him. There was always one special thing that could stop her. The parts of this item were spread out across time and space. A young girl had to travel to collect all the parts. She had to find them before T-Bag could get her hands on any of them.

The Brave Heroines

Debbie Carter was the heroine for the first three series. Jennie Stallwood played her. Diana Barrand took over as Holly Anna Jones for the fourth series. Kellie Bright played Sally Simpkins in series five and six. She also appeared in a Christmas special. Kellie Bright later starred in shows like The Upper Hand and EastEnders. In T-Bag and the Rings of Olympus, the heroine was Polyzena, or Polly. She was a handmaiden to the Goddess Athena. Natalie Wood played Polly. In T-Bag and the Sunstones of Montezuma, the heroine was Penny Hunt. She was an archaeologist's daughter. Evelyn Sweeney played Penny. Each episode usually had two guest actors.

Amazing Places and Famous Faces

Each episode took place in a different setting. A magical item was hidden in each place. These settings were often historical or from famous stories. For example, they visited ancient Egypt, ancient Rome, and Elizabethan England. They also went to places from books, like Tom Sawyer's American South. Or they visited Robin Hood's Sherwood Forest. Famous people from history sometimes appeared. These included Napoleon, Leonardo da Vinci, or Queen Elizabeth I. Each episode usually had two guest stars. An "anchor character" would appear in the first and last episode. This character would send the girl on her quest.

T-Bag's Downfall and New Villains

Towards the end of each series, T-Bag and T-shirt would have a big fight. T-Bag would take away T-shirt's magic. Then she would kick him out. After that, T-shirt would team up with the heroine. In the last episode, T-Bag would usually steal the collected items back. She would be very close to winning. But she would be stopped at the last second. She would seem to be destroyed, but it was usually only for a short time.

Tallulah Bag was finally defeated for good in the last episode of T-Bag and the Revenge of the T-Set. Her sister, Tabatha Bag, then took her place. Both sisters were villains, and T-shirt was still by their side. But Tallulah and Tabatha were quite different. Tallulah tried to stay calm and impress people. Tabatha was often over-dramatic and lost her temper easily.

When Tabatha arrived, T-shirt's role changed. He became more capable and sensible. Tabatha was often silly and rushed into things. For example, in Pearls of Wisdom, T-shirt successfully gave a pearl to T-Bag twice. But she immediately lost it both times! Of course, she still blamed him for her mistakes. Both Tallulah and Tabatha were often funny. But they could become very scary when they needed to be, usually in the final episode.

The Final Adventure: Take Off With T-Bag

The last series, Take Off With T-Bag, was different from the others. In this series, T-Bag was the main character. She traveled in her spaceship. T-shirt was with her, and he was working for her willingly. A new character, Tow Ling Shirt, who was T-shirt's Chinese cousin, also joined them. T-Bag spent the series collecting golden envelopes. These envelopes were leading her to a birthday surprise. In the final episode, she found out it was all a trick. Granny Bag had set up a surprise party for her while she was busy. T-Bag showed a rare moment of kindness. She said that friendship was the best gift of all. Then, her birthday cake was splattered all over her!

Series Information

The titles of the series and when they were shown are listed below:

DVD Releases

A new DVD called T-Bag: The Reunion Documentary came out on September 17, 2007. It included interviews with the actors and crew. Fantom Films, a UK company, released it. In December 2008, it was shown on Film24. In May 2010, Revelation Films announced they would release the series on DVD. By autumn 2013, only the first three series were available from Revelation. No more DVDs have been released since then.

• The first series was released on November 8, 2010.
• The second series was released on January 24, 2011.
• The third series was released on May 2, 2011.