1970Roobarb & Custard1974BBC

Grange Calveley

Bob GodfreyCG11The French House130

Richard Briers

Johnny Hawksworth200012005Jason Tammemagi39

1974When There Was A Spike400520030200

Roobarb and Custard were unleashed on an unsuspecting British public in 1974 with their debut series screening on BBC 1. Within weeks of being launched in a prime afternoon slot just before the evening news, in the era when there were fewer TV channels than fingers on Roobarbs paws, the show was a hit. Millions of viewers were tuning in for a daily dose of animated-chaos as their new hero, Roobarb, tried valiantly to deal with some of lifes biggest little problems.

The show was the creation of Grange Calveley. The ever-curious and optimistic Roobarb was in fact based on his own Welsh Collie who, on first arriving at the family home, excitedly ran around the lawn before watering the rhubarb to get his name! The sarcastic low-energy pink cat next-door, Custard, was the perfect foil for Roobarbs high jinks and, of course, they were joined by various other characters as the stories are played out in the wide-open spaces of the line-drawn garden.

The shows distinctive style was directed by the legendary animator Bob Godfrey. Long before any computer-generated conformity, each animation cell was hand-drawn to give a distinctive shake or boiling effect. Every now and then during production, Grange would bunk off from his advertising agency job and meet Bob in The French House pub in Soho; paying art students from St. Martins in half-pints to colour the individual drawings. It was punk TV production at its beer-soaked finest. If Roobarb changes colour over the 30 episodes of the first series (he does), it was because the local stationers had run out of felt-tip pens!

The artwork for the original series was beautifully brought to life by a then little-known actor who went on to become a national treasure all of his own, Richard Briers. His tone and rhythm brought Granges pun-laden scripts to life, adding a heartfelt humanity to all the adventures.

The iconic music for the shows original series was provided by Johnny Hawksworth and his jazz trio. The distinctive theme tune would blast out of millions of TV sets in Britain and around the world for many years as families congregated to view a charming slice of mayhem. In 2000, the show was voted Britains Favourite Cartoon and in 2005, 39 new episodes directed by Jason Tammemagi were produced to great acclaim for a new generation of fans.

This book celebrates the artwork and style of the original series and in particular the exploits of the very first award-winning episode When There Was A Spike. It beautifully illustrates the inventiveness and anarchy of the show, highlighting the creativity of all the original contributors along the way.