Hector's House
Encyclopedia
Hector's House is a children's television series using stick puppets.
It is best remembered in the late sixties and early seventies for its 5 minute long screenings on BBC1 at 5.40 p.m. before the News. Like the more famous The Magic Roundabout
it was actually a French production (by Europe Images SA and Tellytales Enterprises) revoiced for the British market. A gentle, rather than subversive or outright bizarre series, it was first broadcast in 1965. Its French title was La Maison de Toutou and the French version was written by Georges Croses. "La Maison de Toutou" translates as "The House of the Doggie" and in the French version, ZsaZsa is known as ZouZou.
The main characters, affable Hector the Dog and cute Zsazsa the Cat, live in a house and beautiful garden. Kiki the Frog, dressed in a pink smock, is a constant and at times an intrusive visitor, through her hole in the wall. Despite Hector's willingness to endlessly help them out, Kiki and Zsazsa often played tricks on him to teach him a lesson, leading him to say his catchphrase at the end of the episode, "I'm a Great Big [whatever he was] Old Hector".
Hector's voice was performed by Paul Bacon, who died in 1995. The voice of Kiki was by Denise Bryer
, who also had roles in Noddy, Terrahawks
and Labyrinth
. The voice of Zsazsa was supplied by Lucie Dolène. At least 50 episodes were made, each of 5 minutes duration. A DVD featuring some of these episodes has been released.
Characters from the show appeared alongside various other puppet characters in an episode of The Goodies
, in which the puppets take over the running of Great Britain
as a "puppet government
."
It is best remembered in the late sixties and early seventies for its 5 minute long screenings on BBC1 at 5.40 p.m. before the News. Like the more famous The Magic Roundabout
The Magic Roundabout
The Magic Roundabout was a children's television programme created in France in 1963 by Serge Danot...
it was actually a French production (by Europe Images SA and Tellytales Enterprises) revoiced for the British market. A gentle, rather than subversive or outright bizarre series, it was first broadcast in 1965. Its French title was La Maison de Toutou and the French version was written by Georges Croses. "La Maison de Toutou" translates as "The House of the Doggie" and in the French version, ZsaZsa is known as ZouZou.
The main characters, affable Hector the Dog and cute Zsazsa the Cat, live in a house and beautiful garden. Kiki the Frog, dressed in a pink smock, is a constant and at times an intrusive visitor, through her hole in the wall. Despite Hector's willingness to endlessly help them out, Kiki and Zsazsa often played tricks on him to teach him a lesson, leading him to say his catchphrase at the end of the episode, "I'm a Great Big [whatever he was] Old Hector".
Hector's voice was performed by Paul Bacon, who died in 1995. The voice of Kiki was by Denise Bryer
Denise Bryer
Denise Bryer is an English voice actress.Bryer voiced Billina in Disney's 1985 film Return to Oz, as well as The Junk Lady in the 1986 movie Labyrinth, and many other films. In addition to her work voice acting in film and television she also worked extensively on UK radio and children's recordings...
, who also had roles in Noddy, Terrahawks
Terrahawks
Gerry Anderson & Christopher Burr's Terrahawks, simply referred to as Terrahawks, was a British science fiction television series produced by Anderson Burr Pictures and created by the production team of Gerry Anderson and Christopher Burr. The show was Anderson's first in over a decade to utilize...
and Labyrinth
Labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos...
. The voice of Zsazsa was supplied by Lucie Dolène. At least 50 episodes were made, each of 5 minutes duration. A DVD featuring some of these episodes has been released.
Characters from the show appeared alongside various other puppet characters in an episode of The Goodies
The Goodies
The Goodies are a trio of British comedians who created, wrote, and starred in a surreal British television comedy series called The Goodies during the 1970s and early 1980s combining sketches and situation comedy.-Honours:All three Goodies now have OBEs...
, in which the puppets take over the running of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
as a "puppet government
Puppet state
A puppet state is a nominal sovereign of a state who is de facto controlled by a foreign power. The term refers to a government controlled by the government of another country like a puppeteer controls the strings of a marionette...
."