Happy Birthday Bagpuss! - Emily joins party for classic show's 50th birthday
ITV News reporter Sarah Saunders joined fans at the Bagpuss' 50th birthday celebrations.
In 1974, ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton performing Waterloo, the UK saw two general elections and introduced the three-day working week to tackle the energy crisis, the FIFA World Cup was recorded in colour for the first time and David Bowie released his number one album Diamond Dogs.
That same year, a British television star was born as Bagpuss first aired on BBC One on Monday 12 February, soon to become the nation’s favourite saggy old cloth-cat.
To mark his 50th birthday, fans gathered at the Beaney Centre in Canterbury on Saturday, where the 'fat furry catpuss' has retired, and can be seen in a replica of Emily's shop window.
Only 13 episodes of the show were ever made, but it holds a special place in the hearts of the children who watched it.
The show was filmed and created at a farmhouse in Blean near Canterbury by children's TV icons Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate.
Their children joined the celebrations on Saturday.
Emily Firmin, who starred as Bagpuss’ loving owner, said “My father Peter Firmin, and Oliver Postgate, would be amazed and proud of the continued love for the blue-eyed, pink-striped puss-cat and his fellow characters.
“What an honour to be involved in such a great show!”
An exibition at the Canterbury Heritage Museum marks the other shows created by Firmin and Postagte and their company Smallfilms - including the Clamgers, Noggin the Nog and Ivor the `engine.
Cllr Charlotte Cornell, Cabinet Member for Heritage, added: “Despite turning half a century old, I think we can all agree that Bagpuss is truly a timeless British icon!
“The show has this incredible ability to inspire nostalgic joy across so many different generations which we see each time a visitor travels miles to glimpse Bagpuss at The Beaney or when they’re unexpectedly transported to a different time as they unwittingly stumble across him in the galleries.
“This shared love of Bagpuss really does feel like a unifying force, both locally and nationally."