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Bagpuss
Bagpuss was not actually meant to be the distinctive pink and white colour that we all know and love. He was originally ordered as a ginger and white cat, but due to a mistake at the factory in Folkestone where he was made, he was born pink and white!
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Professor Yaffle
Full name Professor Augustus Barclays Yaffle, Profeesor Yaffle was a bookend that came to life. As you can probably guess by looking at the picture he was the clever one!
The mice used to love playing tricks on him, as unlike them he wasn't very street smart. |
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Madelaine
Madelaine Remnant was voiced by Sandra Kerr. Sandra was a firm kid's favourite having appeared in lots of BBC Radio shows such as The Listening Corner. Madelaine didn't really do much, she lived in her wicker chair, many reveiwers of the programme see her as a device to bring Sandra's voice into the programme. Madelaine often read stories or sang to the mice bringing Sandra's well know voice into the show. |
Gabriel
Like Madelaine, Gabriel Croakey, provided a means to bring John Faulkner's talents into the show. John Faulkner alongside Sandra Kerr created all of the show's beautiful music. |
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The Mice
When you talk to people about Bagpuss they can generally remember two things, a big pink and white cat & the mice! The mice lived in the organ and they were: Charlie Mouse, Jenny Mouse, Lizzie Mouse, Eddie Mouse, Willy Mouse, Janey Mouse and probably a few more!
The mice were the guys that actually got the job done most of the time. As mentioned earlier each episode generally revolved around the animals fixing a broken item in the shop. Often it is the mice that actually fix the thing, Baguss just listens to a story about it and falls asleep! As the mice fix they sing in VERY high piping voices "we will fix it, we will stitch it, we will make it new, new, new" |
Bagpuss: Resources
 Bagpuss Intro Theme[MP3 Audio - 831.33 KB]
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Bagpuss: Lyrics
Although Bagpuss didn't have lyrics in the strictest sense, each show did begin and end with the same spoken verse. At the beginning Emily would always say:
Bagpuss, dear Bagpuss
Old Fat Furry Catpuss
Wake up and look at this thing that I bring
Wake up, be bright, be golden and light
Bagpuss, oh hear what I sing
Then at the end Bagpuss would start falling asleep and the animals would all go back to being puppets once more and the narrator would say:
And when Bagpuss was asleep,
All his friends were asleep.
The mice were ornaments on the mouse organ.
Gabriel and Madeleine were just dolls.
Professor Yaffle was just an old wooden bookend in the shape of a woodpecker.
Even Bagpuss himself, once he was asleep, was just an old, saggy cloth cat,
Baggy, and a bit loose at the seams,
But Emily loved him |
Bagpuss: The Episodes
Ship In A bottle
Emily brings a bottle to the shop that's filled with pieces of wood - three guesses as to what it turns out to be!
The Hamish
Emily brings a strange tartan covered object to the shop. Bagpuss tells the gang of a fierce Scottish beast called the 'Hamish', but don't worry it turns out to be a porcupine shaped pin cushion, phew!
The Giant
Some broken pieces of pottery find their way into the shop. The mice and professor speculate about them possibly being part of a Giant! Bagpuss relates a story about a sad giant to the group and how it was made happy again!
The Owls Of Athens
Emily brings a cushion with an owl on it into the shop. The mice repair the cushion and then Madelaine tells them a story about the Owl of Athens.
The Wise Man
Professor Yaffle tells the mice about the wisest man he knows, Ling-Peo and the mice build a statue of a china man using some pieces of pottery that Emily has brought into the shop.
The Old Man's Beard
Emily brings back a plant that has lots of tangled branches. This inspires Bagpuss to tell the group a story about a king who used to weave carpets from his beard. Charlie Mouse decides he's going to have a go at weaving a carpet himself.
The Frog Princess
Gabriel Croakey tells the gang the tale of the Frog Princess. A princess that not being able to find a prince that suits her, kisses a frog and becomes a frog princess . . . they lived happily ever after! The mice who have been playing with some enamel that Emily brought them decide that they will make a bracelet for a princess.
Uncle Feedle
Emily brings a rag into the store, which the mice decide is a house for a rag doll. The mice create Bagpuss a thinking cap from it so that Bagpuss can think of a story for them. Whilst Bagpuss tells them the story, Madelaine repairs the rag doll house. They then put the house in the window and Bagpuss falls to sleep. |
The Elephant
Emily brings back a straw elephant which is a bit down-trodden - it's lost it's ears. According to Bagpuss the elephant got lost on a desert island and the mice it was with used its ears to row to safety! The mice decide to make the elephant a hat so that it will feel better.
The Fiddle
At first what appears to be nothing more than a bucket with a hole in it is brought to the shop, but then smoke and a strange noise start to eminate from the bucket! Bagpuss tells the mice that there is a leprechaun inside the bucket playing the fiddle. The group all sing some songs to the music, then at the end when they look inside the bucket there is nothing there but the fiddle, which Charlie mouse plays for them all.
The Ballet Shoe
A strange episode this. A worn-out old shoe is broguht into the shop. As usual the mice start playing with it, tricking the Professor into thinking they could live in it, then inspired by Madelaine they start using it as a boat, until finally they make a ballet shoe from it. The episode then concludes with the professor Yaffle dancing with the Clockwork Prima Ballerina (which the mice bring out when the Professor says he has never heard of a ballerina).
The Mouse Mill
Emily brings a strange device into the shop, a small model waterwheel. The mice investigate it and proclaim that it is a Marevellous Mouse Mill! and start to make 'cookies' with it. However Professor Yaffle uncovers their trick, then Bagpuss, as he tends to do, falls asleep!
Flying
Emily brings a wicker basket into the store. After the mice find a broom in there, Madelaine sings about a woman that uses a broom to clean cobwebs from the sky. The group then share stories on flying, which inspires the mice to make a flying machine from the basket. Really they are tricking Professor Yaffle and Bagpuss by lifting the basket with a string pulley. |
