Bagpuss 50th anniversary: ‘BBC was mistaken about show’s lack of appeal’

The family of the creators of the popular children’s show Bagpuss have said the BBC “were mistaken” about the show’s enduring appeal as the cat character celebrates 50 years.

Artist and puppeteer Peter Firmin and animator Oliver Postgate, who also made Clangers through their Kent-based production company Smallfilms, only put out 13 episodes of the series about the “saggy old cloth cat” on the BBC, which began on February 12 1974.

However, the show, which is set in a the toad; rag doll and various mice, has continued to be popular.