Fimbles is a British children's television series created and produced by Novel Entertainment for the BBC. The series has 200 episodes, airing from September 23, 2002 to September 24, 2004 with repeats airing until early 2012 on CBeebies. The Fimbles are Fimbo, Florrie and Baby Pom, three magical characters who all live in a bright, lush, and colourful place called Fimble Valley. The production of the show itself was filmed at Bray Studios in Berkshire.

The programme has been broadcast in over 100 countries, including the countries Canada, China and all the countries in mainland Europe.

Overview

The series features three magical hippopotamus/pig/tapir-like hybrid creatures called the "Fimbles", who are portrayed by "skin" actors in complex, fluffy animatronic suits and all look quite similar apart from their colour and size. The characters explore Fimble Valley and can find things through a special "sixth sense". When the Tinkling Tree tinkles its bell-like blossoms, it makes the nose, fingers and topknot of one or more Fimbles twitch as they get the "Fimbling Feeling". This tells the character(s) that they are going to find something. It may be a natural phenomenon—a patch of sunlight for example, an everyday object, e.g. a tambourine, or something which would be totally inexplicable in the real world, such as a puddle of blue "galoo". Whatever is found becomes the catalyst for the episode's adventures and the trigger for the Fimbles' creative play. The other characters featured are large-scale puppets who normally help out the Fimbles with something.

The snouted and concentrically-ringed appearance of the Fimbles was based on the eponymous antagonists of Lucy Anna and the Finders, written and illustrated by Sarah Hayes. Although Hayes is cited in the credits of Fimbles, and she was involved in adapting the characters for the television series, the implacably omnivorous Finders (who, throughout the book, threaten to eat Lucy Anna) have nothing else in common with the Fimbles.

Characters

• Fimbo – A yellow Fimble with green stripes. Fimbo is the oldest, tallest and only male of the trio. He likes to play his Shimmi Shaker and eat crumble crackers. He is operated by John Tobias, Steve Poole and Adam Blaug and voiced by Aidan Cook.

• Florrie – A blue Fimble with purple stripes. She likes to sing songs and is normally seen with a doll that resembles a Fimble called "Little One". She is operated by Jenny Hutchinson, Leah Green and Holli Hoffman and voiced by Shelley Longworth (Season 1) and Kate Harbour (Season 2).

• Baby Pom – A green Fimble with pink stripes. Being the youngest and smallest, she has a personality similar to that of a toddler. She generally follows the other Fimbles around their world and normally pushes a yellow wagon called the "Trundle Truck". She is operated by Samantha Dodd and Denise Dove and voiced by Tamsin Heatley.

• Bessie – A plump pink bird who lives near the waterfall with Ribble. She normally gives out a summary at the end of the program of what the Fimbles did in the episode and she shows the Fimbles what the found items are. The episode, "Yodelling Echo", reveals she knows how to yodel. She is puppeteered by Neil Sterenberg, Steven Kynman and Robert Skidmore (assistant) and voiced by Tamsin Heatley.

• Roly Mo – A purple and green striped mole. He has a huge underground library, where he finds a book to show off to the Fimbles in every episode. He is puppeteered by Neil Sterenberg and Iestyn Evans (assistant) and voiced by Wayne Forester.

• Rockit – A blue tree frog who is normally seen hopping around and being quite inquisitive and energetic. He is puppeteered by Simon Buckley and Katherine Smee and voiced by Wayne Forester.

• Ribble – An orange male fluffball chick with a light blue beak who is Bessie's son. He makes squeaks that the other characters can understand. He was given black eyes in later episodes. He is operated by Garry Rutter, Dan Carlisle and Matthew Lyons and voiced by Tamsin Heatley.

Episodes

There are 200 episodes altogether.

Series 1 (2002-03)

1. Suitcase (23 September 2002)

2. Wig

3. Red (25 September 2002)

4. Tambourine

5. Jingly Hat

6. Tissues

7. Spots

8. Blue (17 October 2002)

9. Wellington

10. Hoop

11. Woolly Hat

12. Puzzle

13. Red Nose

14. Ball

15. Shiny Button

16. Tent

17. Watering Can

18. Pebbles

19. Hooter

20. Cotton Wool

21. Party Hat

22. Wind

23. Mirror

24. Sock

25. Wooden Spoon

26. Shopping Basket

27. Cushion

28. Sticky Patch

29. Windmill

30. Clockwork Toy

31. Gnome

32. Balloon

33. String

34. Russian Dolls

35. Sunbeam

36. Picture Frame

37. Reflection

38. Funnel

39. Pedal Bin

40. Moon (1 November 2002)

41. Squeaky Toy

42. Shoes

43. Magic Wand

44. Postcard (18 November 2002)

45. Stepping Stones (22 November 2002)

46. Money Box

47. Raincloud

48. Envelope

49. Cards

50. Invitation

51. Circle

52. Furry Material

53. Rainbow

54. Lunch Bag

55. Box of Coins

56. Treasure Chest

57. Arrow

58. Hairbrush

59. Radio

60. Yellow

61. Music Box

62. Keys

63. Cuddle

64. Bubbles

65. Tune

66. Star

67. Glitter

68. Snowflake

69. Wrapping Paper

70. Sleeping Bag

71. Feather

72. Tube

73. Picture Book

74. Building Blocks (16 December 2002)

75. Hiccup

76. Triangle

77. Baby's Shoes

78. Traffic Light

79. Spinning Top

80. Leaf

81. Whisper

82. Toy Phone

83. Tin Tray

84. Signpost

85. Yawn

86. Feather Boa

87. Scarf (20 February 2003)

88. Big Box (21 February 2003)

89. Box of Straws (27 February 2003)

90. Baby's Rattle

91. Bird Song (3 March 2003)

92. Door

93. Handbag

94. Apron

95. Jack in the Box (11 March 2003)

96. Coconut (12 March 2003)

97. Bucket and Spade (13 March 2003)

98. Broom

99. Sand Timer

100. China Plate

Series 2 (2003–04)

1. Trumpet

2. Flag (17 March 2003)

3. Glove

4. Smell

5. Purse

6. White Line

7. Silver Foil

8. Coloured Block

9. Stripy Towel

10. Brown Paper Bag

11. Quiet Place (8 April 2003)

12. Bracelet

13. Echo

14. Bell Pull (11 April 2003)

15. Maraca

16. Alarm Clock

17. Round Mat

18. Feather Duster (18 April 2003)

19. Trousers

20. Snowman

21. Kiss

22. Chime Bars

23. Tickle

24. Egg Cup

25. Pick Up Stick

26. Horse Shoe

27. Cactus

28. Drum

29. Curtains

30. Rose

31. Scrap Book

32. Rugby Ball

33. Smelly Sock

34. Comb

35. Cloth Bib

36. Fan

37. Ticket

38. Plaster

39. Musical Baton

40. Small Box

41. Bagpipes

42. White Football

43. Hoppy Ball

44. Flowery Hat

45. Chequered Flag

46. Pop-Up Frog

47. Tennis Ball

48. Wheelbarrow

49. Skipping Rope

50. Snow Globe

51. Red Tree

52. Handbell

53. Yellow Flag

54. Three Bowls

55. Bean Bag

56. Pot of Glitter

57. Pom's Triangle

58. Acorn

59. Pillow

60. Top Hat

61. Chalk and Board

62. Kite

63. Cowboy Hat

64. Birthday Present

65. Teddy Bear

66. Blue Cloth

67. Hole

68. Toy Box

69. Gold Star

70. Shadow

71. Dog Basket

72. Umbrella

73. Clockwork Mouse

74. Yodelling Echo

75. Seashell

76. Shoelaces

77. Cardboard Box

78. Jelly

79. Tinsel

80. Gold Coin

81. Stethoscope

82. Rollerskate

83. Wobbly Board

84. Pumpkin

85. Modelling Balloon

86. Raindrop

87. Widget

88. Castanets

89. Bead Counter

90. Whistle

91. Kazoo

92. Joke Teeth

93. Cold Place

94. Pop-Up Book

95. Chef's Hat

96. Nodding Dog

97. Queen's Crown

98. Zills

99. Wishing Stone

100. Squiggle

Related material and spin-offs

In 2004, The Roly Mo Show began airing on CBeebies. As with the original show, this series was also produced by Novel Entertainment and stars Roly Mo and a cast of other characters including Roly's niece Little Bo. The Roly Mo Show concentrates on literacy and books and is made as an educational programme.

Fimbly Songtime, a shortened version of the programme featuring only the songs, has also aired in the past. The programme has also erroneously been listed as Fimbles Songtime.

A radio series titled Rockit's Pocket, featuring the Rockit character, aired on the long-gone CBeebies Radio strand on BBC Radio 7 (now BBC Radio 4 Extra) in 2009.

Horrid Henry, another Novel Entertainment program, has referenced the show and characters frequently throughout the series.

A live touring show produced by BBC Worldwide titled Fimbles Live! - It's A Party toured theatres across the United Kingdom from April–November 2006 and was devised by the playwright and author David Wood CBE. The show focused on the characters planning a party, with CBeebies presenter Sarah-Jane Honeywell as the special guest, being the first human to visit Fimble Valley.

Merchandise

BBC Worldwide signed a master toy deal with Mattel's Fisher-Price subsidiary for the series in May 2002.

International airings

Until the early 2010s, the series' distribution and marketing was handled by BBC Worldwide. After the deal expired, distribution reverted to Novel Entertainment.

In the Republic of Ireland, Fimbles was broadcast on Network 2 (later changed to RTÉ2 in 2004) as part of a line-up of programmes for younger children called The Den and started airing on 20 January 2003.

In Australia from 3 February 2003 to 30 September 2008, Fimbles was broadcast on ABC and its third digital channel ABC2.

Fimbles (핌블핌블) has been extremely popular in South Korea, where KBS 2TV broadcast the programme under a partnership with the BBC from 23 June 2003 to 29 October 2004. Yoo Sang-won directed the Korean dub, which led the show to become well-known and liked among Koreans at the time because of its both fun and educational aspects.

In Spain Fimbles was broadcast on La 2 from March 2004 until Late 2000s during Los Lunnis, Starting from 2005, it was also shown on Playhouse Disney.

As of 1 June 2007 Fimbles (粉宝乐园) is being broadcast in China on Shanghai Media Group's children's network HAHA TV. All 200 episodes are being shown sequentially and dubbed in Mandarin Chinese. As the show in its original format is only 19 minutes long, the show has been lengthened by 5 minutes for the Chinese market.

In Vietnam, since 2008, Fimbles is a part of the show 5 Minutes to Learn English Everyday (5 phút học [tiếng Anh] mỗi ngày), which is produced by HTV4 together with many famous English centres and international schools. However, in VBC, it is a separate show named Những chú heo con Fimbles.

Since June 2008, the show has also been broadcast by Tata Sky DTH in India under a partnership with the BBC on the country's variant of the CBeebies channel.

In Colombia from 2004 and 2007, it was broadcast by Señal Colombia.

In New Zealand, the show was played on TV2.

In South Africa, Fimbles began airing on SABC 1.

In Singapore, it was broadcast by Central and played on their children's block Kids Central. The series aired in Singapore from 2003 to January 2006 and then on Okto in 2011.

In Hong Kong, the series was screened on TVB Pearl.

In Malta, Fimbles was aired on TVM.

In Thailand, the English version of the series was broadcast on Thai cable television TrueVisions (originally known as UBC at the time) on their children's network UBC Spark.

The show has aired on Bang Bang in Albania under the title Fimbëllsat, with re-runs continuing to air as recently as 2012. It is dubbed in Albanian.

In Israel, Fimbles has been broadcast in Hebrew on the Hop! Channel. One of the voice artists of that dub is Ami Mandelman, who also voiced Bert on Rechov Sumsum, and Goofy from The Mickey Mouse Series.

Awards

Award nominations

BAFTA Children's Awards 2003

• Nominated for Best Pre-school Live Action Series

BAFTA Children's Awards 2004

• Nominated for Best Pre-school Live Action Series

References

External links

• at Novel Entertainment