Zippy (Rainbow) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Zippy |
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| Rainbow character | |
Zippy (second from left)
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| First appearance | 1972 |
| Portrayed by | Violet Philpott (puppeteer, 1972) John Thirtle (puppeteer, 1973) Ronnie Le Drew (puppeteer, 1973–present) |
| Voiced by | Peter Hawkins (1972) Roy Skelton (1973–92, 2005–11) Ronnie Le Drew (1994–present) |
Zippy is a famous character from the British children's TV show Rainbow. He is a bright orange puppet with a head shaped like a rugby ball. Zippy has blue eyes and a zip for a mouth, which is how he got his name!
It's a bit of a mystery what kind of creature Zippy is. While Bungle is a bear and George is a hippopotamus, Zippy doesn't look like any real animal. Geoffrey Hayes, one of the show's presenters, once said that nobody really knows what Zippy is supposed to be.
Zippy's Personality
Zippy is probably the most well-known character from Rainbow. He loves to be the center of attention and always thinks he's the best at everything. He enjoys eating sweets, singing songs, and telling his favorite jokes.
For example, if the other characters are talking, Zippy might suddenly shout: "But I don't want to talk, I want to sing! I'm very good at singing! [starts singing] I'm a little teapot short and stout, here's my handle and here's my spout..."
Because Zippy can be very loud and sometimes silly, the other characters on Rainbow occasionally zip his mouth shut. This stops him from talking for a short time. He usually can't unzip himself, but he did once! Zippy is also famous for loving food and is often seen eating in the episodes.
Why is Zippy Orange?
There's a fun story about why Zippy is orange. A newspaper article once said that Zippy's orange color was because presenter Geoffrey Hayes supported a football team called Dundee United F.C. when he lived in Dundee, Scotland.
The show's creators were planning to make Zippy blue, which is the color of Dundee United's rival team, Dundee F.C.. But Geoffrey convinced them to make Zippy orange instead!
Geoffrey Hayes explained:
Zippy was going to be blue before I begged the producers to make him tangerine. One of the most common questions I'm asked is "What in God's name is Zippy meant to be?" You have me, a big bear, and a pink hippo and then there's Zippy. I don't think anyone has a clue what he's meant to be, but I do know why he's tangerine. It's because – like me – he's a Dundee United fan.
I lived in Dundee for much of the 60s and even came back a few times in the 70s. I had very happy times there and my fondest memories are of going to Tannadice Park one week and Dens Park the next. I became a United fan. They were languishing in the Second Division in those days, playing teams like Brechin and Alloa. Dundee were the strong successful team at the time, but we thought United played the more attractive football.
Because of that I was determined Zippy was not going to be blue.
However, Zippy was actually orange from the very first episodes in 1972, which was more than a year before Geoffrey Hayes joined the show.
In 2006, a BBC online poll asked people to name Britain's favorite celebrity sports fan. Zippy won by a huge amount, getting 47% of the votes! He was called Dundee United's biggest fan. Other famous people in the poll included singer Robbie Williams and TV chef Delia Smith.
Zippy's Later Appearances
Zippy has appeared in many other shows and adverts over the years!
In 2002, Zippy was in a TV advert for Marmite. In the commercial, he zipped up his own mouth when he saw Marmite, showing he didn't like it!
Zippy has also appeared in interviews on shows like SMTV Live. In these, he was often even louder and funnier than usual.
In December 2007, Zippy and George were on a special puppet episode of the game show Weakest Link. Zippy answered most of the questions incorrectly, and they were voted off in the third round. The host, Anne Robinson, even zipped up Zippy's mouth during an interview!
Zippy and George also appeared in the TV show Ashes to Ashes in 2008.
In 2008, Zippy was on Harry Hill's TV Burp twice. He appeared in an edited scene of EastEnders and later in a collection of TV characters saying the word "cataracts."
In 2009, Zippy and George were part of Peter Kay's song for The Official BBC Children in Need Medley. In October 2009, they appeared on The One Show (BBC One) to talk about childhood and tell funny jokes. Zippy also appeared on the TV show Celebrity Juice.
After the voice artist Roy Skelton passed away in 2011, the character of Zippy was officially retired. However, Zippy and George still appear in funny sketches, performed by different people. Zippy even appeared on BBC Children in Need in 2016.
In March 2017, Zippy was on John Bishop's TV show, The Nightly Show.
In October 2017, Zippy, George, and Bungle appeared together in a Pizza Hut Delivery advert.
In November 2017, Zippy also made an appearance on The Last Leg.
