Pigeon Street


Pigeon Street is a cutout animated children's television series, written by Michael Cole, originally shown on the BBC in 1981 as part of its 'See-Saw' strand for preschoolers. There were two series with eight and five episodes respectively, each programme lasting 15 minutes. The series has been repeated a number of times.
The animation was created by Alan Rogers and Peter Lang of the Cut-Out Animation Co., who later went on to do a nursery rhyme series with similar animation called Rub-A-Dub-Dub. Voices were performed by George Layton, with additional voices by John Telfer. Music was by Benni Lees, and played by Soulyard.
The shows featured the everyday adventures of a group of characters living on Pigeon Street, an area of flats and terraced housing in a British city, also home to several pigeons which appeared in each show but only occasionally featured in the plot. Characters included Clara the long distance lorry driver, her husband Hugo the chef, Mr Baskerville the detective, Mr Jupiter the astronomer, Mr Macadoo the petshop owner, and twins Molly and Polly, who were only distinguishable by the letter M and P on their jumpers.

Episode listing

Episode TitleBroadcast DateSynopsis
All in a Day's Work10 February 1981William the Window Cleaner has a busy day when the lift of Skyrise Court breaks down, but Reg, Clara, Hugo, Mr. Jupiter and everybody else in Pigeon Street lend a helping hand.
A light in the sky17 February 1981What is the light in the sky that Mr Jupiter has spotted? Is it an aeroplane, a shooting star or a spark from Reg's bonfire?
Pigeon at sea24 February 1981Mr Macadoo, Mr Baskerville and 'Long Distance' Clara help a pigeon understand that it can't take to water like a duck or a gull.
Can I have my ball back?3 March 1981Gerald gets a football for his birthday. Reg, Mr Jupiter, Mr Baskerville and Watson join him for a game on the green, but a long kick by Gerald leads to trouble.
Noisy neighbours10 March 1981The noise Daisy makes gets on the nerves of her neighbour Rose. Rose's noise annoys Daisy too, but then they find out how to use the thin wall between them.
Pigeon Post17 March 1981Bob has trained his pigeons to fly back to him no matter how far they go. Clara, the lorry driver, finds that they are the only way of sending a very important message.
A cold day24 March 1981Everybody in Pigeon Street has a cold, until Hugo the cook stumbles upon a cure.
Somewhere to Eat31 March 1981When it's lunchtime in Pigeon Street most people make do with sandwiches. Hugo and Betty plan how everybody could meet up and eat lunch together, but it's not as easy as looks.
Down with the car park19 November 1981Jim, Gerald and the twins discover that Mr Clark of the council has plans to build a garage on their playground. The only answer is to protest, but it proves very expensive.
The Flood26 November 1981Days of rain bring a flood to Pigeon Street. Reg uses a boat from Swanlake Park to rescue the pets, and when they are aboard, Daisy thinks his boat looks like Noah's Ark.
Hobbies3 December 1981Everybody in Pigeon Street seems to be taking up a hobby, but when Gerald decides to play the saxophone, he has to find somewhere to practice where there's nobody to disturb.
Springtime for Hugo10 December 1981Hugo has to lose weight and Dr Glossop advises him to go jogging with him. But jogging is not the right sort of exercise for Hugo. What is? Clara comes up with the answer.
Getting away17 December 1981Everybody in Pigeon Street is going on holiday. Mr Macadoo wants to go too, and Gerald and Mr Baskerville look after his pet shop while he's away.

Characters

Rogers and Lang went on to create many animations for programmes like Words and Pictures, Numbertime, Rosie and Jim, Hotch Potch House, Rat-A-Tat-Tat and The Number Crew.

Credits

Plans have been announced for a potential reboot of the show.