Christopher – played by Christopher Lillicrap, a semi-regular guest star who would guest on the show from time to time since the 70s, at first to read stories and later to perform songs, which the main cast would join in with. Georgette – a pink female hippo, identical in appearance to George except for her longer eyelashes and floppy hat. She appears in the 1986 episode "Falling Out and Making Up" in which she moves into the house next door to the Rainbow House and immediately gets along well with George. Despite her close resemblance to George in appearance and name, this appears to be nothing more than sheer coincidence. The theme song for the show was actually a small part of the full version, also called "Rainbow" and written by Hugh Portnow, Lady Hornsbrie, Hugh Fraser and Tim Thomas of the band Telltale, who regularly appeared in the first two seasons of the show. It was released as a single on an offshoot of the Music for Pleasure label called Surprise, Surprise in 1973 with the B-side "Windy Day". Although Telltale left the show in 1974, their recording of the theme tune continued to be used until the end of the original show's run in 1992. While the structure of the episodes remained generally the same as the early years, during this time the show's characters and format were developed significantly. Zippy became increasingly loud and boastful, his mischief a regular source of humour, while George became slightly more extroverted and was no longer afraid to speak, though his shyness remained a predominant character trait. Bungle also became increasingly 'goody-two-shoes' and showed a sneaky side, which put him frequently at odds with Zippy. Rather than just remaining outside the window, Zippy and George were shown within the Rainbow House itself more often, behind a table, while the singers would more frequently join the characters in the Rainbow House scenes rather than being confined to the song segment.

The Birthday Cake, I Want to be a Popstar, George's Secret Place, The Explorers, Without a Voice, Outer Space Zippy is Tongue Tied, Super Bungle, The Show Offs, Zippy's Cover Up Job, Night Out, The Singing Lesson Sunshine and Moony – optimistic sunshine (yellow with a red hat) and his more gloomy friend Moony (brown with a tuft of yellow hair) were the original 'stars' of the programme, but soon became little more than foils to the more popular Zippy. They would occupy short sketches in the early episodes, the humour coming from the boastful, extroverted Sunshine winding up the more modest, cynical Moony, in a loose parallel of the later relationship between Zippy and George. They were phased out by 1974, in favour of greater roles for Bungle and (especially) George. They were voiced by Violet Yeomans. The original Thames series has gained cult status and continues to get frequent mentions on radio and television. A few DVDs have been produced, including one celebrating 30 Years of Rainbow. Further information: List of Rainbow (TV series) episodes Characters [ edit ] Zippy and George at the National Media MuseumNew Friends, The Customer Is Always Right, Bungle's Blues, All Together Now, Zippy Learns His Lesson Rainbow is a British children's television series, created by Pamela Lonsdale, which ran from 16 October 1972 until 6 March 1992, made by Thames Television. The series was revived by Tetra Films from 10 January 1994 until 24 March 1997, in two different formats from the original Thames series, with differing cast members.

Zipman and Bobbin, Zippy's in Love, Hot Day, Zippy Sets Them Up, Bungle's High and Mighty Day, Zippy Wants To Be A Comedian, George's Secret Wish Tim Randall, Rainbow Unzipped – The Autobiography Published on 1 October 2009 by Headline Publishing Group ( ISBN 9780755319763). Although Roy Skelton and Geoffrey Hayes died in 2011 and 2018 respectively, the characters of Zippy, George and Bungle still make the occasional TV appearances to the present day.Each episode of Rainbow revolved around a particular activity or situation that arose in the Rainbow House, where the main characters lived. Some episodes, particularly in the early years, were purely educational in format and consisted of a series of scenes involving the characters learning about that particular episode's subject, interspersed with real-world footage, songs, stories and animations related to that same subject. The puppet characters of Zippy, George and Bungle would take the role of inquisitive children asking about the episode's subject, with the presenter (initially David Cook, and from 1974 onwards Geoffrey Hayes) serving the role of teacher figure, educating them about the subject. From the 1980s onwards, most episodes were more story-driven and frequently involved some kind of squabble or dispute between the puppet characters of Zippy, George and Bungle, and Geoffrey's attempts to calm them down and keep the peace.

An initial range of three hand puppet books featuring Bungle, Zippy and George was launched at the London Book Fair on 12 March on Sweet Cherry's stand, and then at the Bologna Book Fair on 1 April. These books were going to be available at retail from July–October 2019, but it was delayed further until May 2020. In 1972, Pamela Lonsdale was asked to create a preschool series for Thames Television. She cast John Kane as presenter and Tim Wylton as a bear named Rainbow. [3] Peter Hawkins was cast as the voice of Zippy, as well as Sunshine, Bramble and Pillar, however policy changes after the pilot meant those latter characters were recast. [4] No script was made for the pilot, [3] which led to Peter attempting to rewrite gags, difficult for the preschool audience, and would lead to him departing the show after its first year, [4] recommending Roy Skelton to take over. [5]Each episode also featured a song from the group Telltale about that episode's subject; Telltale also performed the show's theme tune which would be used for the entirety of its run. The scenes in the Rainbow House would also be interspersed with animations by Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall, who designed the opening, as well as short sketches featuring the puppet characters of Sunshine and Moony (both operated and voiced by Violet Philpott), stories from the Rainbow book, usually read by a guest star, and occasionally scenes involving different puppet characters. Most episodes ended with David showing the viewer how to make a particular item at home using paper or cardboard, again relating to that episode's theme. Sheridan, Simon (2004). The A-Z of Classic Children's Television: From Alberto Frog to Zebedee. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. pp.211–217. ISBN 1903111277. a b Hawkins, Silas (October 2014). "Voices-Voices-Voices!". Doctor Who Magazine. Panini Comics (477): 66.

TV Offal also broadcast some very risqué material featuring Hayes, Zippy and George as guests on a variety programme hosted by comedian Jim Davidson in the 1980s; the sketch in question featured former children's TV presenter Tommy Boyd asking a question about Adam and Eve. Boyd and Davidson used some profanities in the sketch, along with some innuendo from George (presumably again not intended for broadcast like the above), and Zippy exclaimed to Geoffrey an expletive phrase quite out of character from his children's television persona. (Incidentally, the said footage appeared uncut on Thames Television's 1984 Christmas tape.) What Goes Up Must Come Down, Abracadabra, Breakfast at Rainbow's, Where Did You Get That Hat?, Big, Bigger, BiggestRod, Jane and Freddy – a group of musicians who regularly featured on the show. When they debuted in 1974 they were 'Rod, Jane and Matt', Matt being Matthew Corbett (of The Sooty Show fame). Matt was replaced from 1977 by Roger Walker, before Freddy Marks, in turn, took over in 1981. Although initially confined to the song segment of the show, gradually Rod, Jane & Freddy began to feature more heavily in the episode's storylines during the show's run, often playing significant roles in the plot. Some of the early 80s episodes stated they lived in the Rainbow House and they were shown to have a bedroom of their own, although later episodes implied they lived next door. Rod, Jane & Freddy were very well-respected and looked up to by Zippy, George and Bungle, who admired their singing and rarely ever got into any conflict with them. Generally speaking, George and Zippy represented two 'types' of a child, George being the quiet and shy type, while Zippy represented the hyperactive and destructive type. Zippy often demonstrated a cynicism and wit that went beyond the "4th wall" and appealed to older viewers. George was usually vindicated, and Zippy got his comeuppance. While they were apparently young 'children' (aged around 6), Bungle was an older 'child' (aged around 8), and differed from them in being a costume rather than a hand puppet. Geoffrey's relationship to them was unclear, other than being a kind of mentor/teacher/carer. The series was originally conceived as a British equivalent of American educational puppet series Sesame Street. [1] The British series was developed in house by Thames Television, and had no input from the Children's Television Workshop. [2] It was intended to develop language and social skills for pre-school children and went on to win the Society of Film and Television Arts Award for Best Children's Programme in 1975. It aired five times weekly, twice weekly on Mondays and Wednesdays then Tuesdays and Fridays, and finally once weekly at 12:10 on Fridays on the ITV network. Zippo – Zippy's cousin, identical in appearance to Zippy but slightly brighter in colour, who would make the occasional guest appearance throughout the 80s and 90s seasons. Originally portrayed as an eloquent Frenchman, but a later episode depicted him as an American-accented rapper with loud, flashy clothing. Operated by Valerie Heberden, and voiced by Roy Skelton.