| Engie Benjy | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Animation Children's animation |
| Created by | Bridget Appleby |
| Developed by | Granada PLC |
| Written by | Sascha Paladino Nathan Cockerill Jonathan Davis Christian Donlan Robin Kingsland Marc Seal Gillian Corderoy Anthony Hatfield Colin Davies |
| Directed by | Chris Taylor Lyndon Evans |
| Starring | Ant and Dec Les Dennis Teresa Gallagher David Holt |
| Opening theme | "Engie Benjy" by Clint Boon |
| Ending theme | "Engie Benjy" by Clint Boon (Instrumental) |
| Composer | Rowland Lee |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Mark Hall |
| Producers | Bridget Appleby Debbie Peers |
| Running time | 10 minutes (Series 1-2) 11 minutes (Series 3-4) |
| Production company | Cosgrove Hall Films |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV (CITV) |
| Release | 4 September 2002 – 29 November 2004 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Engie Benjy is a British stop motion animated pre-school children's television show, broadcast on ITV's children's strand, CITV. Engie Benjy is a blue-haired mechanic who fixes problems with the help of his friends and an assortment of living vehicles. He owns a dog named Jollop and drives a breakdown van named Dan the Van. Other characters include Driver Dottie, Astronaut Al and Farmer Fred. The vehicles included in the show are Dan the Breakdown Van, Bus, Bike, Plane, Spaceship, Boat, Tractor and Big Rig the Truck.[1]
The main character voices were provided by television double act, Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly. In the first series, Dec voiced the title role of Engie Benjy while Ant provided the vocal effects for his dog, Jollop. In the third series after a pay dispute, another character was added for Ant to voice: Trucker Troy, Engie Benjy's cousin.[2] Astronaut Al and Pilot Pete were voiced by Family Fortunes presenter, Les Dennis, Driver Dottie by Teresa Gallagher (who also originally voiced Engie prior to Dec providing the voice), and Fisherman Fin, Farmer Fred, and Messenger Mo by David Holt.[2]
The theme tune was composed and sung by Clint Boon, the keyboard player with the Inspiral Carpets, with character voices by Ant and Dec.[3]
The show was created by Bridget Appleby at Cosgrove Hall Films, and first shown on CITV,[2] and it is also seen on Nick Jr.[1] It also aired in Welsh on S4C. Four series of 13 episodes were made, with first broadcasts from 2002 to 2004.[2] It has been sold in over 80 territories worldwide.[citation needed]
Internationally, the show aired in Australia on ABC and Nick Jr., TVNZ in New Zealand, Central in Singapore, Sveriges Television in Sweden, France 5 and Piwi+ in France, YLE in Finland, NRK in Norway, Discovery Kids in Latin America, Rádio e Televisão de Portugal in Portugal, IRIB in Iran, NPO Zappelin in the Netherlands, Çufo, Bang Bang and Top Channel in Albania, Rai Yoyo in Italy, KIKA and ZDF in Germany, Alter Channel in Greece, Hop! Channel in Israel, Educational Broadcasting System in South Korea, Telewizja Polska in Poland, Radio Television of Serbia in Serbia, Radio and Television of Slovakia in Slovakia, Télé-Quebec in Canada, Radiotelevizija Slovenija in Slovenia, Stöð 2 in Iceland and Sunflower TV in Ukraine.[citation needed]
In 2009, Engie Benjy along with several other well known children's characters appeared on The Official BBC Children in Need Medley by Peter Kay's Animated All Star Band. The final episode aired on 29 November 2004. Reruns of the series aired on ITVBe's children's block LittleBe between September 2018 and July 2021.