Roger and the Rottentrolls
| Roger and the Rottentrolls | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Gordon Firth Tim Firth |
| Starring | Nick Barber Holly Grainger |
| Narrated by | Martin Clunes |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 36 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Robert Howes |
| Running time | 10 minutes (approx.) |
| Production company(s) | The Children's Company in association with Meridian Broadcasting (1996-97) Yorkshire Television (1998-2000) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV Network (CITV) |
| Original release | 13 September 1996 – 25 February 2000 |
Roger and the Rottentrolls (sometimes called The Rottentrolls) is a children's comedy television series made for ITV by The Children's Company, which combined puppets with live action human actors. It was first broadcast on 13 September 1996 and ended on 25 February 2000.
Written by Tim Firth, it was based on characters created by Gordon Firth (always referred to as "his dad" in the credits) directed by Julian Kemp and executive produced by Robert Howes.
The first series won the 1997 BAFTA for "Best Children's Entertainment Show", beating the Ant and Dec Show. Later series were nominated for awards from both BAFTA and the Royal Television Society.
Roger and the Rottentrolls started life as a book and audio tape, written by Tim Firth and commissioned by EMI and W H Smith and produced by Robert Howes and The Children's Company, intended as a 'spooky story' for children part of a series, of over 30 titles.
Tim's dad, Gordon, who had originally invented the characters, drew the designs for all the characters from which the puppets were made.The pilot for the TV series was filmed in and around old lead mines in the Yorkshire Dales, by multi award winning documentary director /cameraman Paul Beriff, as a gesture of support for the project.
The TV series was filmed at Brimham Rocks near Harrogate, Yorkshire.
There were two spin-off series: a half-hour special for the BBC named Combat Sheep (based around Commander Harris (see below)), and a series for pre-school children (ITV) called Ripley and Scuff.
The series followed the adventures of Roger Beckett (aged 10¾) in Troller's Ghyll ("where the rocks are all slightly mad") as King of the Rottentrolls. He was crowned King of the Rotten Trolls after crashing his bike in the valley. As well as ruling over the Rottentrolls, Roger teaches them about things like sport and politics, and, in return, learns a few lessons himself.
...
Wikipedia