Puppet, string puppet

This is the Spotty Dog string puppet used in the television programme The Woodentops, part of the BBC's 'Watch With Mother' series. The brainchild of the BBC Head of Children's Programmes Freda Lingstrom and her colleague Maria Bird, 'Watch with Mother' was designed for the pre-school audience. The title echoed the BBC radio programme 'Listen With Mother' and was intended to allay fears that children were being corrupted by watching television alone.

The Woodentops first aired at 3.45pm on the 9th September 1955 and completed the Friday slot in the 'Watch With Mother schedule. The programme was intended to teach children about family life. The Woodentops were a middle class family who lived on a farm. The family consisted of Mummy and Daddy Woodentop and their children Willy, Jenny and Baby Woodentop. Other household characters included Spotty Dog and two servants, Mrs Scrubbit and Sam. The Woodentops was filmed in a tin shed at the BBC's Lime Grove Studios. Spotty Dog was introduced as the "very biggest spotty dog you ever did see" at the beginning of the programme.