The Treacle People was a children's television programme shown on CITV in the United Kingdom, from 3 May 1996 to 25 July 1997. It only had two series, each with 13 episodes. The programme was short lived due to a lack of viewers. In a similar vein to other shows by the same writer, the humour worked on two levels for younger and older viewers. It was produced by The London Studios for London Weekend Television (Granada Television produced the second series) and Fire Mountain Productions in association with Link Entertainment.
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The show was written by Brian (the writer of Dangermouse) and Johnathan Trueman and was based in a fictionalized version of the Northern English village of Sabden, in Pendle, where treacle is (allegedly) a natural resource extracted through mines. However, the mines have run dry from overextraction, and the village may face destruction from a lack of economy. The main characters, Wizzle and Rosie, use a Treacle finder, similar to a water dowser, to discover a vein of treacle in the abandoned mines, bringing hope to the village. The two series focus on reopening the mines, and problems faced (such as exportation). One of the recurring support characters was the Moobark, a cross between a Friesian cow and an Airedale Terrier.
The show was repeated on Nick Jr in the UK, but was never shown elsewhere, but it will coming to Cartoon Network TOO soon during the Cartoonito block for preschoolers. It featured on Channel 4 before The Hoobs, and a microsite still exists. It is now repeated on Channel 4 weekday mornings.
There is an official website still maintained (but not updated) featuring the second episode of the first series, known as "The Great Escape".
The rights to "The Treacle People" is now owned by Shepperton Studios based production company, Fire Mountain Productions Limited. Fire Mountain Productions was set up by the show's producer, Iain Russell. Most recent credits include "London's Hollywood" which has just started showing on ITV1 in the London region. This documentary is based at Shepperton Studios and Pinewood Studios and takes viewers through the whole movie-making process from pre- to post-production.
The Treacle People, followed up by a Christmas Special, was BAFTA nominated.