Puppet, string puppet

This is the Bizzy Lizzy string puppet used in the television programme Picture Book, 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.

Picture Book first aired in 1955 in the Monday slot of the 'Watch With Mother' schedule. Storytellers on the programme were the Irish actress Patricia Driscoll and Vera McKechnie, who also narrated Andy Pandy.

The character Bizzy Lizzy had a magic flower on her dress which she used to make wishes. She wished to life her Eskimo doll, Little Mo. Later in the 1960s, Bizzy Lizzy had her own programme in the 'Watch With Mother' series.