"If only I could fly..."
 

    Cheep is a bird. But he's not a proper bird. At least, not yet. Right now he's a
    fledgling, unable to fly and instead of taking to the skies he's taken to sharing
    a home with his cheery pal Orm the worm. Cheep dreams about flying, though,
    and he sings his little heart out over the opening credits.

    Orm and Cheep have some rather jolly woodland friends in the form of Snail,
    Mole and Mouse. But they also have some cunning enemies in Rat, Cat and
    Crow. One or all three of the latter are always devising some dastardly scheme
    to capture our friends and gobble them up for dinner.

          

    Tony Martin's creation is very sweet-natured. The puppets used in the show
    are simple foam and fur constructions, and they're operated against cut-out
    woodland sets whose colour pallette is predominantly pastel pinks and violets.
    Actor Richard Briers instills young Cheep with the softest of voices, and the
    tales are narrated via cosy rhyming couplets. The result is a soft-focus
    storybook show, which looks and feels very dreamy indeed. And these unique
    qualities mean that it remains a big fan-favourite from the '80's...

    » Mary Edwards of The Puppet Factory made the puppets for the series.
       She also gave us the manic Crow character seen on the BBC's "Saturday
       Superstore" - the one with Mike Reid and Sarah Greene. Mary is married
       to Prof. Glyn Edwards, one of the UK's foremost Punch and Judy performers. 

    » The series writer was Guy Halifax, who not only scripted all twenty-six
       episodes, but also wrote the accompanying storybooks and an "Orm and
       Cheep" annual. In addition, he wrote the original theme song for with tv's
       Rod, Jane and Freddy from "Rainbow" but alas, their tune was rejected
       by ITV. Guy has also been responsible for bringing us Emlyn the
       Gremlyn (BBC 1999 - 2001)...

      
 

    Episodes

    Water, Water Everywhere     A House for Mouse
    Buried Treasure                   What a Rat
    Spring Clean                       The Fall
    Gone with the Wind              A Piece of Cake
    The Dark Wood                   Cat Nap
    Eye Eye                             Down to Earth
    Strawberry Patch                Don't Sneeze, Please
    Cat and Mouse

 

     created by Tony Martin

     directors:       Jan Martin, Derek Oliver
     producers:      Jan Martin, David Hamilton
     assoc prod:    Claire Derry
     writer:           Guy Halifax
     music:           David Greenslade
     puppets:        The Puppet Factory (Mary Edwards)
     puppeteers:   Mary Edwards, Geoff Felix, Ian Thom
     electricians:   Ray Bateman, Derek Pugh
     vision eng:     Richard La Motte
     camera:         Dave Oakley
     lighting cam:  Simon Ffrench
     video:            E.S.P. Facilities Ltd
     prod asst:      Debbie Robinson
     sound dub:     Dave Moss
     VT editor:       Allan Ford
     narrator:        Richard Briers   

 

     On the web


       80sNostalgia
       Our fluffy duo are in the ClassicTv section...

       Jan Martin Productions
       Jan's now put her skills to use as a web site designer...

       Punchandjudy.com
       Mary Edwards' Punch and Judy puppets are showcased here on her
       husband's Punch and Judy site...

       Phew!
       Guy Halifax is part of Phew! with Ian Ellery and Mick Wells and
       this promo site details their achievements and projects...

       Absolute write
       An online interview with Guy here, in which he details the writing
       process for the series...

 
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