Postman Pat

Postman Pat
GenreAnimated television series
Slice of life
Stop motion
Created byJohn Cunliffe[1]
Developed byIvor Wood
Directed byIvor Wood[1]
Kitty Taylor
Derek Mogford
Chris Taylor
Voices of
Narrated byKen Barrie
Peter Sallis[2]
Opening theme"Postman Pat" by Bryan Daly
Ending theme"Postman Pat (Can You Guess What's In His Bag?)" by Simon Woodgate (2003-2007)
Composers
  • Bryan Daly (1981–1996)
  • Simon Woodgate (2003–2017)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series8
No. of episodes184 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersfor Children's BBC:
for Entertainment Rights:
  • Jane Smith
  • Oliver Ellis
for Cosgrove Hall Films:
  • Chris Bowden
Producers
  • Debbie Pears
  • Jo Jorden
  • Owen Ballhatchet
EditorMartin Bohan
Running time
  • 15 minutes (series)
  • 30 minutes (specials)
Production companies
Original release
Network
Release16 September 1981 (1981-09-16) –
29 March 2017 (2017-03-29)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Postman Pat is a British stop motion animated children's television series first produced by Woodland Animations. The series follows the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman who works for the Royal Mail postal service in the fictional village of Greendale (inspired by the real valley of Longsleddale near Kendal).[3]

Postman Pat's first 13-episode series was screened on BBC One in 1981.[4] John Cunliffe wrote the original treatment and scripts for the series, which was directed by animator Ivor Wood, who also worked on The Magic Roundabout, The Wombles, Paddington, and The Herbs. Following the success of the first series, four TV specials and a second series of thirteen episodes were produced during the 1990s. In this series, Pat had a family shown on screen for the first time (though his wife had been mentioned in a number of episodes[5]).

A new version of the series was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films from 2003 to 2008 and expanded on many aspects of the original series.

The show ended on 29 March 2017, after eight series and twelve specials. The Special Delivery Service spin-off is still being rerun on CBeebies on weekends, and the previous Cosgrove Hall series from the 2000s is being rerun on ITVBe's children's block littleBe, starting from September 2023. The original two Ivor Wood series are available to watch on BritBox, Prime Video and on DVD.

  1. ^ a b "Postman Pat's creator looks back at its conception". BBC News. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2014. The first episode, Postman Pat's Finding Day, was broadcast on 16 September 1981
  2. ^ "Postman Pat's Parcel of Stories - Cunliffe, John: 9780001016552 - AbeBooks".
  3. ^ "Postman Pat". BBC. 30 March 2006. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  4. ^ DeMott, Rick (13 June 2011). "Postman Pat Kicks Off 30th Birthday Celebration". Animation World Network. Retrieved 24 June 2014. First introduced on BBC1 on September 16, 1981,...
  5. ^ Series one - Episode 3 - Postman Pat's Birthday.