Pinky and Perky

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Pinky and Perky was a children's television series first seen on the BBC in 1957. The title characters were a pair of puppet anthropomorphic pigs with very limited movements created by Czechoslovakian immigrants Jan and Vlasta Dalibor. The puppets looked alike but Pinky wore red clothes and Perky blue, which was not much use on black and white TV so Perky often put a hat on. Pinky and Perky spoke and sang in high-pitched voices using recordings that were played at a higher speed than they were recorded at and would often sing cover versions of popular songs. Their theme song was "We Belong Together" and they had their own TV station "PPC TV".

They also performed comedy sketches usually with a human foil (similar to Basil Brush). Actor John Slater worked with them as a straight man for many years, enduring soakings from water pistols and such pranks from the puppets. Other human companions were : Roger Moffat, Jimmy Thompson, Bryan Burdon and Fred Emney.

The show also included other puppets, including The Beakles — an avian parody of The Beatles, Topo Gigio, a famous mouse puppet who appeared in many later episodes, as well as a female pig. Other puppets on the show included : Ambrose Cat, Basil Bloodhound, Bertie Bonkers the baby elephant, Conchita the Cow, Horace Hare and Vera Vixen.

The puppets also appeared on the Ed Sullivan show a number of times : 532 (14 September 1958) and show 548 (4th January 1959), show 573 (5th July 1959), show 740 (10th March 1963), show 780 (23rd february 1964) where they shared the bill with The Beatles and Morecambe and Wise, show 908 (26th February 1967).

The pigs featured in series like "Pinky and Perky's Pop Parade" and "Pinky and Perky's Island for 11 years until 1968 on the BBC before going over to Thames TV till 1971. The characters enjoyed a brief revival in the 1990s on the short-lived children's series The Pig Attraction. A children's annual was also produced in the sixties featuring their adventures. Pinky and Perky will reappear in a CGI animation series on CBBC beginning in 2008.