Follyfoot
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Follyfoot was a television series produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV between 1971 and 1973, repeated for a couple of years after that and again in the late 1980s. A video release of the first three episodes in 1995 remains its only commercial appearance on video or DVD. It was originally inspired by Monica Dickens' 1963 novel "Cobbler's Dream"; she later wrote four further books in conjunction with the series - "Follyfoot" in 1971, "Dora at Follyfoot" in 1972, "The Horses of Follyfoot" in 1975 and "Stranger at Follyfoot" in 1976.
The series, which was filmed on the Harewood family estate, was set at a home of rest for horses, and often had challenging things to say about the treatment of horses and animals generally in British society. The ethos of Follyfoot was to give another chance to both horses and people who had been rejected by the rest of society. The series' theme song, "The Lightning Tree", written by Stephen Francis and sung by The Settlers, is well-remembered.
The series was also popular in Australia and Germany. The main actors were Gillian Blake as Dora, Steve Hodson as Steve, Christian Rodska as Ron Stryker, Desmond Llewelyn as the Colonel and Arthur English as Slugger.
Follifoot (note the slightly different spelling), is a small village just 3 miles from Harrogate, not far from the Yorkshire Television studios in Leeds.
- The Settlers - The Lightning Tree (Theme From Follyfoot) excerpt (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- An excerpt from The Settlers' The Lightning Tree
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.
[edit] Episodes
Series 1 (1971):
Dora
Steve
Gipsy
Shadow
One White Foot Charley
The Charity Horse
Know-All's Nag
Moonstone
Stryker's Good Deed
Mr She-Knows
The Standstill Horse
Birthday at Follyfoot
A Day in the Sun
Series 2 (1972):
Someone, Somewhere
The Debt
Family of Strangers
Present for Sandy
The Innocents
The Hundred Pound Horse
Poor Bald Head
The Prize
Treasure Hunt
Debt of Honour
Out of the Blue Horse
The Awakening
Fly Away Home
Series 3 (1973):
The Distant Voice
Four Legged Hat
Barney
Miss Him When He's Gone
The Dream
The Challenge
The Letter
The Bridge Builder
Uncle Joe
The Helping Hand
Rain on Friday
Hazel
Walk in the Wood
