He was no stranger to feeling fed up. As a boy at school in Colne, an old mill town in Lancashire, he had been a punchbag for the local bullies. He was naturally a peaceable boy who didn’t enjoy fighting at all but he had the misfortune to be much taller than anyone else so he was a natural target for every little hard man who wanted to make his mark in the playground. They used to ambush him routinely on the way home and batter him and his bike, too. Postman Pat was a big success. Ivor Wood’s 13 films, based on Cunliffe’s stories, were broadcast by the BBC in the autumn of 1981. Soon afterwards, Andre Deutsch published the stories as books, with illustrations by Celia Berridge, based on Ivor Wood’s images. The BBC repeated the films in the Spring of 1982 and then again in the autumn. In the shops, the books started to sell at speed. Woodland and the BBC produced annuals and a Postman Pat comic. Terry Wogan started playing the theme tune on his radio programme and it ended up in the charts. The films were repeated yet again, twice a year, becoming a new ritual of childhood.

Greendale has a different character in the various Postman Pat series. In the original series (1 and 2), it was a small village with narrow, winding roads. The gentle pace of life allowed Pat plenty of time to enjoy the countryside as he passed through, or even stop on quiet days to have a picnic. Children could paper their bedrooms with him, cover their lamps with him, hang their clothes on his hook, sleep under his duvet with their head on his pillow case next to his headboard, draw his curtains, wet his flannel, eat out of his lunch box. They could eat him in easter eggs, pasta shapes, party cakes, crisps, penny chews, goodie bags, chocolate biscuits, chocolate lollipops, and chocolate advent calendars. When Prince William went to school, he carried Pat’s thermos flask at his side. In 2006, Postman Pat was nominated for " Best Pre-school Animation" at the BAFTA Children's Awards. [21] Parodies [ edit ] Harry Enfield and Chums - S2 Ep5 - BBC". Archived from the original on 28 November 2015 – via YouTube.

Pat went round the world: Australasia, South Africa, Eastern Europe. In Norway, he was so popular that their Post Office adopted him as a Christmas mascot. In Japan, children loved Pato San. In China, the little red van took over where the little red book had failed. Only the Americans were difficult. CBS Television didn’t believe Greendale was in the real world, they complained that there were no ethnic minorities and they wanted to re-voice the videos with a mid Atlantic accent. Woodland kept selling. While no further classic series releases were seen in the UK until 2011, Universal and Classic Media issued all four specials from 1991 to 1994 on the DVD Happy Birthday Postman Pat. On 3 February 2014, the first and second series were made available in their entirety for the first time in the UK, However, the titles are both season 2 with the season 3 theme which came under scrutiny from classic fans and also credits Carole Boyd as doing voices in series 1, despite it being only Ken Barrie at the time. [17] [18] International [ edit ] In 2004, the entire original series was released on DVD in Spain, featuring both English and Spanish audio options. [19] Other versions [ edit ] urn:lcp:postmanpatplaysf0000cunl:epub:2000ce97-3c6b-4cc5-b2e1-bbaceed843f6 Foldoutcount 0 Identifier postmanpatplaysf0000cunl Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t9969h829 Invoice 1652 Isbn 0233979913 The theme song has undergone several adaptations; from 1994 to 2006, the theme tune had additional instruments such as synthesised strings and a tambourine. A similar edit had already been made to the 1993 album version, which was an edit of the original 1982 album version.

John Cunliffe felt terribly upset, but there was next to nothing he could do, so he tried to concentrate on new ideas, while behind him, Greendale became an enterprise zone. Bulletins from Woodland Animations told the story of the postman’s latest adventures: “Major developments abroad… the character breaking into influential markets… a programme of retail promotions… new high-calibre licences… a very strong presence in a competitive marketplace.” At his new home in Yorkshire, John Cunliffe watched his private world become a salesman’s playground. Every so often, Woodland sent him a cheque for his 10% and a long invoice full of Pat’s achievements. He tried not to read them. It wasn’t that he felt angry with Woodland. He understood they were only earning a living and, in a way, he admired their energy. But it left him feeling curiously sad. The inspiration for the post office itself comes from one located on the street in Kendal where Cunliffe lived when he was writing the original treatment. The post office, at 10 Greenside, closed in 2003. [8]From time to time, he protested quietly and was told to face commercial realities. His publishers complained that there were too many sub-standard books in the shops. Cunliffe’s literary agent talked to Woodland to try to define the difference between books and merchandise. But Cunliffe still walked into bookshops and found his creation in some strange new home. Recently, he found Pat in a set of six miniature books, written in doggerel verse. Cunliffe thought they were dreadful. But Pat no longer belonged to him.