Pogles Wood

Pogles' Wood

1966 United Kingdom

Another offering from the prolific Smallfilms company of Firmin and Postgate is this story of woodland folk (Mr and Mrs Pogle, son Pippin and pet squirrel Tog) who lived "deep in the middle of a wood" at the base of a tree with a magic bean plant. 

Originally called The Pogles the series featured a witch, but this character was dropped because the BBC thought it might scare tiny viewers (it was intended to be shown as part of Watch With Mother) and they asked Oliver Postgate to make all future episodes revolve around more everyday countryside matters. As a result of this the BBC never repeated the first six episodes which were shown as part of Clapperboard, a series that went out later in the afternoon and was aimed a older children. Once the content had been toned down and the title changed to Pogles' Wood two series of 13 episodes followed and were repeated until September 1973 in the originally intended Watch With Mother slot.

Share on...

Published on January 19th, 2019. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.

Read Next...

Play School

Also tagged Pre School

"Here is a house, here is a door, windows -one, two, three four. Ready to knock? Turn the lock. It's Play School."

For the Children

Also tagged Pre School

Just a year after experimental BBC television began broadcasting to a few hundred homes in London, a ten-minute show called For The Children made its debut.

Cathy Come Home

Also released in 1966

Harrowing drama of one family's downward spiral into poverty that sparked a national debate in the Houses of Parliament on the plight of the homeless.

Dusty Springfield

Also released in 1966

Dusty Springfield remains, to this day, one of the most respected and best selling female vocalists of all time. Simply titled Dusty (in the opening credits - although the closing credits read The Dusty Springfield Show) the format of the series was very straight forward...

Alice in Wonderland

Also released in 1966

Unimpressed with Disney's 1951 animated version of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, Jonathan Miller was keen to develop a new version which would bring to the fore undertones of the story that had been glossed over in the often 'traditional' presentation of this classic children's tale.

Batman TV Series

Also released in 1966

Unable to secure the rights to a new television revival of the classic masked western hero the Lone Ranger, producer William Dozier instead turned his attention to another masked vigilante...

Hector's House

Also tagged Pre School

Animated children's series - it wasn't Joanna Lumley

Seaspray

Also released in 1966

Australian series about a widowed father travelling the Southern Pacific seas with his two sons, daughter and a deckhand.