The Flumps

The Flumps is a children's programme, created and written by Julie Holder, and produced for the BBC by David Yates. It was broadcast by the BBC many times from 1977 to 1988.

Overview

The plot revolved around the various adventures of a family of furry characters called The Flumps. It was created and written by Julie Holder and narrated by Gay Soper. The theme tune was played by George Chisholm on the trombone.

In 1978, the BBC released a record, The Flumps (REC 309), that had 4 stories from the TV series narrated and sung by Gay Soper: "Keep Fit", "Balloons", "Moon Shot" and "Something Different".

In 2000, The Flumps was released on DVD. During early 2008, the theme tune was used in a series of adverts for Auto Trader magazine in the UK. These adverts were run again in Q3 2009.

Characters

The various flumps were:

• Grandpa Flump, who played a Flumpet (a type of trumpet),
• Father Flump, a keen gardener
• Mother Flump, often seen cooking in the kitchen
• Posie, a girl Flump
• Perkin, a boy Flump
• Pootle, the youngest boy Flump

Episode listing

• "Secrets"
• "The Cloud"
• "The Magnet"
• "Get Your Skates On"
• "Moon Shot"
• "Balloons"
• "Keep Fit"
• "Something Different"
• "Lend A Hand"
• "Quiet Please"
• "Grandfather's Birthday"
• "What A Carrot"
• "Where's Grandfather?"

Scheduling

The Flumps was shown 21 times between 1977 and 1988, usually around 1.45pm. The transmission runs were as follows:

14/2/77 -9/5/77 (Mondays)
5/10/77 - 28/12/77 (Wednesdays)
2/4/78 - 25/6/78 (Sundays)
2/10/78 - 25/12/78 (Mondays)
3/4/79 - 26/6/79 (Tuesdays)
4/10/79 - 27/12/79 (Thursdays)
1/4/80 - 24/6/80 (Tuesdays)
28/9/80 - 21/12/80 (Sundays)
7/4/81 - 30/6/81 (Tuesdays)
9/10/81 - 1/1/82 (Fridays)
6/4/82 - 29/6/82 (Tuesdays)
3/10/82 - 26/12/82 (Sundays)
6/4/83 - 29/6/83 (Wednesdays)
9/1/84 - 26/3/84 (Mondays)
6/7/84 - 28/9/84 (Fridays)
30/12/84 - 24/3/85 (Sundays)
5/7/85 - 27/9/85 (Fridays)
31/3/86 - 23/6/86 (Mondays)
8/1/87 - 2/4/87 (Thursdays)
8/7/87 - 30/9/87 (Wednesdays)
20/4/88 - 13/7/88 (Wednesdays)

Note 1: During the first transmission run of 1984, one of the first five episodes was not shown.
Note 2: The final two transmission runs were shown on BBC Two instead of BBC One.

References

Simon Sheridan The A to Z of Classic Children's Television (Reynolds & Hearn books, 2004, reprinted 2007) ISBN 1-903111-27-7. Features a chapter on the series and an interview with voice-over actress Gay Soper.

External links

• The Flumps at the Internet Movie Database
• Little Gems - The Flumps
• 80s nostalgia article on The Flumps
• The Flumps at ClassicKidsTV.co.uk