Back Torchy the Battery Boy German Torchy the Battery Boy French トーチー・ザ・バッテリー・ボーイ Japanese Straaltje, de Speelgoedman Dutch
| Torchy the Battery Boy | |
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| Genre | |
| Written by | Roberta Leigh |
| Directed by |
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| Voices of |
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| Music by | Roberta Leigh, arranged by Barry Gray |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Roberta Leigh (S1) |
| Cinematography | Arthur Provis (S1) |
| Running time | 13 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Budget | £27,000 (S1)[1] |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 11 January 1959 (ABC Weekend TV)[1] |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Torchy the Battery Boy is a British children's puppet television series, the second to be produced by AP Films (APF), which first aired on the ITV network between 1959 and 1961. Created and written by author Roberta Leigh, it had music by Barry Gray, art direction by Reg Hill and special effects by Derek Meddings. Featuring string puppets created by Christine Glanville,[1] the series depicts the adventures of the eponymous boy doll, who has a battery inside him and a lamp in his head, and his master Mr Bumbledrop (voiced by Kenneth Connor).
Two series of Torchy, each comprising twenty-six 13-minute episodes, were made. The first was produced by APF, on a budget of £27,000 (about £797,000 in 2023), between October 1958 and April 1959. After APF declined to make a second series (opting to create Four Feather Falls instead), Leigh, who retained the rights to Torchy and its creative elements, commissioned Associated British-Pathé to produce a further 26 episodes.[1]
The first series premiered on ABC Weekend TV on 11 January 1959, followed by Associated-Rediffusion on 23 February 1960. The second series premiered on Associated-Rediffusion on 23 August 1960.[1] The show is one of several children's television programmes from the mid-20th century to exist today in its entirety, without loss or damage. Both series have been digitally remastered and released on DVD.