Zippy (Rainbow)

Zippy
Rainbow character
Zippy (second from left)
First appearance	1972
Portrayed by	Violet Philpott Ronnie Le Drew
Voiced by	Peter Hawkins (1972) Roy Skelton (1973 - 2011)

Zippy is a fictional character on the British children's television programme Rainbow. Zippy is a brownish-orange puppet with a rugby-ball-shaped oval head, blue eyes and a zip for a mouth, hence his name. His voice was first provided by Peter Hawkins and later by Roy Skelton. Violet Philpott and Ronnie Le Drew operated the character, the latter also providing the voice for the 1994 series and Rainbow Days.

It is unclear what kind of creature, if any, the character represents; while Bungle is a bear and George a hippopotamus, Zippy bears no obvious resemblance to any real animal. Presenter Geoffrey Hayes has said of him that "I don't think anyone has a clue what he's meant to be."

The character retains a cult following among those who watched the show as a child, and is overwhelmingly the most famous character from the show. Zippy claims to be the best at whatever is being discussed, and always claims to be right. He loves to eat sweets, sing songs and tell his favourite jokes, and always has to be the centre of attention. For example, the other characters might be having a discussion, when Zippy would shout: "But I don't want to talk, I want to sing! I'm very good at singing! [starts singing] I'm a little teapot short and stout, here's my handle and here's my spout..."

Due to his frequently loud behaviour and silly voice getting him into all sorts of trouble, other characters in Rainbow occasionally zip his mouth shut for a short time, rendering him unable to talk. On at least one occasion he unzips himself, although he appears unable to do so on most occasions. Zippy is well known for his love of food, and in many episodes is seen eating.

In a The Sun tabloid newspaper article headlined "Revealed: Why lost star Zippy is orange", Zippy's orange colour is apparently due to presenter Geoffrey Hayes following Dundee United F.C. when living in Dundee, Scotland, during the 1960s and 1970s. The show's producers were set to make Zippy blue - the colour of neighbouring rivals Dundee F.C. - but Geoffrey was convinced otherwise.