Bimbles Bucket is an animated cartoon shown on CITV

CITV

CITV is a British television channel from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive, as well as commissions and acquisitions. CITV itself is the programming block on the main ITV Network .The CITV channel broadcasts from 06:00 to 18:00...

 created by Michael Jupp

Michael Jupp

Michael Jupp is an English cartoonist, designer and illustrator.Jupp studied at the West Sussex College of Art and Design at Worthing, West Sussex gaining qualifications in Art and Animation, plus diplomas in Art and Advertising Design. Jupp started his career in London working for E.F...

 the creator of The Dreamstone

The Dreamstone

The Dreamstone is a British animated television series that ran for 4 series of 13 episodes each between 1990 and 1995. The original concept and artwork were created by Michael Jupp. The series was animated by the FilmFair animation studio as a Central production for ITV...

and produced by Martin Gates Productions for HTV

HTV

HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, which operated from studios in Cardiff and Bristol. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW in 1968...

. The show ran for 3 series between 1996 and 1998.

Plot

The main character of the series was Bimble, a young male anthropomorphic creature (a fox rabbit hybrid creature of whom some fans dub his species as 'foxbits' unofficially, though Mike Jupp had given them an official name called 'Squonks', it was never mentioned on the show) who had a bucket which could grant him wishes. A small green female character (who has leaves and an acorn on her head) called Teeny Weeny lived inside the bucket. Teeny Weeny's bucket is damaged in the first episode of the series when it is attacked by slingshots.

A witch called Dolly Clackhanger would try to steal the bucket from Bimble, many times, for her queen, Kak. She usually sent her gang to steal it. They consist of two Sleazians from Sleaze City who look like punk rockers called Bilge and Oiler, who usually go around on motorised pogo sticks. They were the ones who dented the bucket to begin with. Dolly also has an odd looking blue creature with green hair called Sploot, who is usually Dolly's guinea pig for her magical experiments.

Queen Kak is also assisted by her tax collector Mudge, another Sleazian wearing a pork pie hat. He would rather perform scientific experiments instead of collecting taxes for the queen, and he dislikes Dolly and her magic.

TV airings

The series aired in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 on CITV from 1996-1998 and was later repeated on the Sky Digital

Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)

Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...

 channel Pop in the early noughties.

Series 1

Julia McKenzie

Julia McKenzie

Julia McKenzie is an English actress, singer, and theatre director. She is best-known for her performance in Fresh Fields, but to current television audiences, she is best known for her role as Miss Marple in Agatha Christie's Marple...

 (Dolly Clackhanger / Narrator), Ellie Beaven

Ellie Beaven

Ellie Beaven is an English actress. She was educated at St. Mary's R.C. Primary School in Isleworth then at Gumley House Convent School, Isleworth.-Film & television:...

 (Teeny Weeny), Jonathan Kydd

Jonathan Kydd (actor)

Jonathan Kydd is a British actor. He is the son of the actor Sam Kydd.His first film was The Iron Maiden, in which he appeared aged six with his father. His mother, Pinkie, was one of England's first female advertising copywriters. She also played table tennis eleven times for England.Kydd was...

 (Mudge / Mr. Gallypot), Gary Martin

Gary Martin (actor)

Gary Martin is a British voice artist and actor who has been in the industry since the early 1980s. His first recorded acting credit is as a chauffeur in the television series Nobody's Perfect. He has since gone on to perform in over 60 roles, either as a voice artist or actor...

 (Sploot), Lewis MacLeod

Lewis MacLeod

Euan Lewis MacLeod is a prolific Scottish character actor, who can be heard as the voice of a huge number of television commercials, movie trailers and cartoons in his native UK. He voices characters such as Sebulba from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Postman Pat...

 (Bimble), Kate Robbins

Kate Robbins

Katherine Robbins is an English actress, comedienne and singer.-Biography:Robbins is a first cousin once removed of Paul McCartney and older sister of Amy Robbins . She attended Wirral Grammar School for Girls and won the Drama Prizes each year, notably with her monologue "All this glitters is not...

 (Oiler)

Series 2/3

Julia McKenzie

Julia McKenzie

Julia McKenzie is an English actress, singer, and theatre director. She is best-known for her performance in Fresh Fields, but to current television audiences, she is best known for her role as Miss Marple in Agatha Christie's Marple...

 (Narrator / Dolly Clackhanger), Ellie Beaven

Ellie Beaven

Ellie Beaven is an English actress. She was educated at St. Mary's R.C. Primary School in Isleworth then at Gumley House Convent School, Isleworth.-Film & television:...

 (Teeny Weeny), Maria Darling

Maria Darling

Maria Darling is an English voice actress who regularly provides character voices for children's television programmes in the UK and the US, as well as videogames such as the Professor Layton series and the UK versions of the Ape Escape franchise....

, Sally Kinghorn, Gary Martin

Gary Martin (actor)

Gary Martin is a British voice artist and actor who has been in the industry since the early 1980s. His first recorded acting credit is as a chauffeur in the television series Nobody's Perfect. He has since gone on to perform in over 60 roles, either as a voice artist or actor...

 (Sploot), Paul Panting (Bimble), Richard Tate (Mudge / Mayor of Stiltsville)

Episode list

Series One: (25 minute episodes)

1. The Beginning - First broadcast: 5/1/1996
2. The Really Bad Idea - First broadcast: 15/1/1996
3. Mistaken Identity - First broadcast: 22/1/1996
4. The Catastrophe - First broadcast: 29/1/1996
5. The Journey - First broadcast: 3/5/1996
6. Pogo Time - First broadcast: 10/5/1996
7. The Birds
8. Marooned
9. The Moon Bridge
10. Nearly
11. The Carpet
12. Catnap
13. The Return

Series Two: (10 minute episodes)

1. The Cauldron – First broadcast: 4/2/1997
2. The Homing Bubble
3. The Fair
4. Sploot’s Monster
5. The Hypnopipe
6. Dolly Rules
7. A Question of Colours
8. Keep Fit
9. The Plant
10. Queen Kak’s Birthday
11. Invisible
12. Sheep
13. Pirates

Series Three: (10 minute episodes)

1. Small - First broadcast: 27/4/1998
2. The Pogo Tournament
3. The Bird (different episode from Series 1 "The Birds")
4. The Robot
5. Vandals
6. Dad's Tomatoes
7. Fairy Tale Day
8. The Sludge Monster
9. The Freeze
10. Celebration
11. The Crab
12. Sweetie
13. Weather Witch

Series 1

Written by : Sue Radley and Martin Gates
Original Concept and Design by : Mike Jupp
Music Written and Composed by : Chris Caswell
Animation Directors : Simon Ward-Horner, Chris Randall, David Elvin, Greg Ingram
Directed by : Martin Gates
Dialogue Recording Engineer : Ben Leeves
Dubbing Editors : Kevin Brazier, Alan Sallabank
Dubbing Mixer : David Humphries
Sound Re-recorded at : DB Post Production
Negative Cutting : Mike Fraser
Telecine Grader : Alan Bishop
Video Editor : Neville Donoghue
Film Editor : David Hillier
Production Facilities : Moving Images International
Managing Director : Jimmy Costello
Head of Production : Louie Jhocson
Production Facilities : Sae Rom Animation
President : Kil Whan Kim
Production Assistants : Emma MacGregor, Samantha Warden, Charlotte Simpson-Orlebar
Production Secretary : Sarah Absalom
Production Co-ordinator : Robert Dunbar
Production Manager : Stuart Lock
Storyboard : Mike Jupp, Gordon Harrison, David Elvin, Keith Scoble, Greg Ingram, Bruce McNally, Marty Murphy
Timing : Paul Stibal, Dick Horn, Duncan Varley
Art Direction and Timing : Barry Macey
Edit and Story Supervisor : Sue Radley
Executive Producers : Dan Maddicot, Tom Parkhouse
Line Producer : Marion Edwards
Produced by : Martin Gates

Series 2-3

Written by: Sue Radley and Martin Gates
Original Concept and Design by: Mike Jupp
Music Written and Composed by: Chris Caswell
Animation Directors: Chris Randall, Vincent Woodcock
Directed by: Martin Gates
Dialogue Recording Engineer: Ben Leeves
Dubbing Editor: Kevin Brazier
Dubbing Mixers: David Humphries, Alan Sallabank
Sound Re-recorded at: DB Post Production
Negative Cutting: Mike Fraser
Telecine Grader: Ray King
Video Editor: Andrew Mitchell
Film Editor: David Hillier
Production Facilities: Hong Ying Animation
General Manager: Bobby Hsieu
Production Manager: Tom Pong
Production Assistants: Charlotte Simpson-Orlebar, Ellen Moreno, Samantha Warden
Production Secretary: Sarah Absalom
Assistant Producer: Emma MacGregor
Production Co-ordinator: Robert Dunbar
Production Manager: Stuart Lock
Songs and Music Published by: Telestar Management Ltd.
Character Development: Alan Case, Leila Marr
Storyboards: Gordon Harrison, Mike Jupp, Barry Macey, Clive Pallant, Vince James & Jez Hall, Michael Zarb, Marty Murphy
Timing: Chris Cuddington, Barry Macey
Edit and Story Supervisor: Sue Radley
Executive Producers: Dan Maddicott, Tom Parkhouse
Producer: Martin Gates

External links

• Mike Jupp's official homepage
• Mike Jupp's official forum