The Ink Thief is a 1994 British children's TV show, shown on the ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 channel during their 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...

 segment. It starred Richard O'Brien

Richard O'Brien

Richard Timothy Smith , better known under his stage name Richard O'Brien, is an English writer, actor, television presenter and theatre performer. He is perhaps best known for writing the cult musical The Rocky Horror Show and for his role in presenting the popular TV show The Crystal Maze...

 and Toyah Wilcox. The series was produced by Animus Entertainment for Tyne Tees Television

Tyne Tees Television

Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...

.

Plot summary

The titular antagonist

Antagonist

An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...

 known only as the Ink Thief (O'Brien) steals the power of imagination by sucking the "ink" out of books and drawings. At the start of the show, brother and sister Jim and Sam stumble upon his gothic world filled with Oobs, Bumps, and other imaginary creatures. During the course of the show, the children's friendship is tested as Jim gets seduced by the Ink Thief, whereas Sam fights to stop him. Each episode is peppered with plot-specific songs, giving the show a musical feel.

Production

The initial idea for The Ink Thief came from illustrator Steve Hanson. Production Designer Murti Schofield says on his website: "It should be remembered that it was Steve’s brilliant concepts that got everybody fired up in the first place." The show was written by Paul Springer, who also authored a book based on the series. Springer actually appeared in the series as the character "Toddy", the Ink Thief's bumbling cat henchman. Director Tony White described it as "very much a low-budget, no-time effort but it was successful on British Television, making No. 5 in the ratings" The series' various songs were composed by Adrian Lee

Adrian Lee

Adrian Lee is an English musician, known especially for his brass instrumentation work with several well-known acts of the 1980s.-Career:...

. The show only lasted for one season, consisting of seven half-hour long episodes.

Cast

James Barton - Mr. Waverley

Mary-Louise Clark - Shake Rattle

Catherine Jansen - Mrs. Waverley

Richard O'Brien

Richard O'Brien

Richard Timothy Smith , better known under his stage name Richard O'Brien, is an English writer, actor, television presenter and theatre performer. He is perhaps best known for writing the cult musical The Rocky Horror Show and for his role in presenting the popular TV show The Crystal Maze...

 - The Ink Thief

Zoe Loyell Othen - Goosebump

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...

 - Lorni Snoop

Tamir Randall - Roll

Richard Ridings

Richard Ridings

Richard Ridings is a British actor and is best known for his portrayal of Allan Ashburn in the ITV television drama Fat Friends, and for playing Bernard Green in the BBC1 comedy-drama Common as Muck. He trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.Ridings was born in...

 - Aloysius

Joyce Springer - Miz Tiggle

Paul Springer - Toddy

Felicity Todd - Sam

Stefan Weclawek - Jim

Toyah Wilcox - Dog

Kristen Wilkin - Thumper