Parents and grandparents will find CBBC the place to head for a bit of nostalgia this week.
The Clangers, who made their debut way back in 1969, return with a brand new series on the Beeb’s kids’ channel.
And new narrator Michael Palin could hardly be more enthusiastic.
“I had no hesitation in saying yes, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever been offered,” he says.
“It’s a classic, you know. I mean for children’s shows, it’s like Hamlet!”
Taking on the role originally filled by Oliver Postgate took him back to the childhood of his kids.
“I liked the series when it originally went out,” confides the former Python star.
“My son Tom was about two or three when it was in its heyday.
“I found it a lovely thing to watch and enjoy together because there was a gentle, relaxing pace to it. It had a level of celebratory imagination that made it stand out.
“Strange and surreal things were happening, but it was never noisy or shouty.
“It was also humorous and subversive. It could be instructional, but the message was never heavy.
“I thought Oliver Postgate’s narration was such an important part of it too.
“I felt comforted in a busy world to hear that lovely pace to the voice and the tone of curiosity, and often puzzlement.”
Postgate’s son Daniel is heavily involved in the return of the children’s favourites.
So too is original co-creator Peter Firmin, who has written scripts as well as acting as executive producer.
The pink, whistling, mouse-like creatures inhabit their strange blue planet again, from Monday at 5.30pm on CBBC.
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