Postman Pat

***Postman Pat*** is a British stop-motion animated television series first produced by Woodland Animations. follows the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman who works for Royal Mail postal service in the fictional village of Greendale (inspired by the real valley of Longsleddale near Kendal).

*Postman Pat*'s first 13-episode series was screened on BBC One in 1981. John Cunliffe wrote the original treatment and scripts, and it was directed by animator Ivor Wood, who also worked on *The Magic Roundabout*, *The Wombles*, *Paddington*, and *The Herbs*. Following the success of the first series, four TV specials and a second series of 13 episodes were produced during the 1990s. Here, Pat had a family shown on screen for the first time (though his wife had been mentioned in a number of episodes). A new version of the series was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films from 2003, which expanded on many aspects of the original series.

The series ended on 29 March 2017 after 8 seasons and 12 specials.

#### Setting

*Postman Pat* is set in the fictional village of Greendale and the nearby town of Pencaster, on the border between Cumbria and North Yorkshire.

Greendale has a different character in the various *Postman Pat* series. In the original series (1 and 2), it was a small village with narrow, winding roads. The gentle pace of life allowed Pat plenty of time to enjoy the countryside as he passed through, or even stop on quiet days to have a picnic.

In the more recent series, Greendale became a big, busy village situated in the heart of the Cumbrian countryside. Running through the centre of the village is the High Street, home to Mrs Goggins's Post Office and shop, an unofficial meeting place for residents. Located on the edge of the village is the railway station, home to the Greendale Rocket. Nisha Bains runs a popular café there with Sara while her husband Ajay runs a regular schedule on the Greendale Rocket to the nearby town of Pencaster.

In the second series of the show, which aired in the mid-90s, the village at the centre of the series was briefly referred to as Garner Bridge, while Greendale was the name of the valley in which Garner Bridge was situated. In the episode *Postman Pat and the Suit of Armour*, Greendale Post Office is referred to as "Garner Bridge Post Office".

Pencaster is a large, bustling, modern town located within easy commuting distance for the villagers of Greendale. Situated on the waterfront, Pencaster is a hive of activity, boasting a market square in the centre surrounded by shops, houses, a large railway station, state-of-the-art buildings, and a boat jetty. It bears some resemblance to Lancaster, the county town of Lancashire, which likewise is a short commute from Longsleddale, the area used as the inspiration for Greendale.[*citation needed*]

Ingledale is another large, busy village town situated in the heart of the North Yorkshire countryside, only seen once in a special in 1991, set to make a second appearance in the revival.

#### Inspiration

Cunliffe, interviewed about the series, has said that he chose the character of a postman since he needed a character who could visit the countryside and interact with many different people.

The inspiration for the post office itself comes from one located on the Kendal street where Cunliffe lived when he was writing the original treatment. The post office, at 10 Greenside, closed in 2003.

Cunliffe did not retain rights to the character, and was disappointed by some of the tie-in media later released. He wrote the stories to the series *Rosie and Jim*, which he also presented, as a show which he could have more creative control over.

While Cunliffe visited post offices for inspiration, he has said that the character and village was not based on any one place or person. He commented in 2015 that "I got maybe half a dozen people last year saying they were the inspiration."

#### Cast

In the first series Ken Barrie voiced all the characters and narrated the series. In Series 2 Carole Boyd joined to voice all the female characters and child characters except Granny Dryden who was still voiced by Barrie. In Series 3 Kulvinder Ghir, Janet James, and Archie Panjabi joined to voice the new characters and the child characters while Boyd continued to voice the adult females, Charlie and Sarah, Melissa Sinden and Jimmy Hibbert also joined to perform the animal characters' vocal effects and Angela Griffin joined in Series 5 to voice a new character. In Series 6 Lewis MacLeod replaced Barrie as Pat. In Series 7 Barrie left completely and MacLeod, Bradley Clarkson, and Dan Milne took over the rest of Barrie's characters. Joe Trill joined in Series 8 to voice a new character.

* Lewis MacLeod as Patrick "Pat" Clifton (series 6-present), Ben Taylor, Robot 1, Sat Nav, Alf Thompson (series 7-present), Sean McGuinness
* Ken Barrie as Patrick "Pat" Clifton (series 1–5), Matt Clifton, Mrs. Goggins (series 1), Ted Glen (series 1–6), Alf Thompson (series 1–6), Dorothy Thompson (series 1), Bill Thompson (series 1), Reverend Peter Timms (series 1–6), Julia Pottage (series 1), Katy Pottage (series 1), Tom Pottage (series 1), PC Arthur Selby (series 2–6), Lucy Selby (series 1), Sylvia Gilbertson (series 1), Sarah Gilbertson (series 1), Jeff Pringle, Charlie Pringle (series 1), Rebecca Hubbard (series 1), Sam Waldron, Granny Dryden, Peter Fogg, Major Forbes, George Lancaster, Santa Claus, Train Inspector, Pumpkin Wrigglesworth, Narrator, Radio Greendale Speaker, John, George, Countdown Sequence Voice
* Carole Boyd as Sara Clifton, Julian Clifton (series 2), Mrs. Goggins (series 2-present), Dorothy Thompson (series 2-present), Bill Thompson (series 2), Julia Pottage (series 2–5), Katy Pottage (series 2), Tom Pottage (series 2), Betty Pottage, Lucy Selby (series 2), Sylvia Gilbertson (series 2-present), Sarah Gilbertson (series 2-present), Jackie Gilbertson, Charlie Pringle (series 2-present), Rebecca Hubbard (series 2), George's Wife, Radio Weather Woman
* Kulvinder Ghir as Bill Thompson (series 3-present), Tom Pottage (series 3–5), Ajay Bains, Bessie Thompson, Michael Lam, Robot 2, Grizzly, Shopper-Bot 3000
* Janet James as Julian Clifton (series 3-present), Lucy Selby (series 3-present), Lauren Taylor
* Archie Panjabi as Katy Pottage (series 3–5), Nisha Bains, Meera Bains
* Melissa Sinden as Jess Clifton, Polly Clifton, Dotty Pringle, Bonnie Goggins
* Angela Griffin as Amy Wrigglesworth, Lizzy Taylor, Flora, Rowena Roberts, Duchess of Pencaster
* Bradley Clarkson as Ted Glen (series 7-present), Arthur Selby (series 7-present), Ned Glen
* Dan Milne as Reverend Peter Timms (series 7-present)
* Joel Trill as Chris Beacon
* Professor Brian Cox as Professor Ryan Farrow (Guest star)

#### *Postman Pat: Special Delivery Service*

In the spin-off series, *Postman Pat: Special Delivery Service* (originally *Postman Pat: SDS*), Postman Pat has been promoted to Head of the SDS and is now called upon to deliver anything. Each episode follows Postman Pat on a Special Delivery mission, from rescuing a runaway cow to delivering a giant ice cube. In his new role, Postman Pat commutes to the nearby town of Pencaster where he collects his special deliveries from the Pencaster Mail Centre. Postman Pat now has a new fleet of vehicles including a gyrocopter, 4x4 Jeep and motorbike, complete with side-car for Jess. He has a new boss, Ben, who tends to give him instructions (whereas he was his own master before the "promotion"). Pat also seems to make more mistakes in his work since moving to SDS, largely because the new format is always based on one delivery, which has to go wrong somehow (thus often because of Pat's errors).

The series features an expanded and diverse cast, a fleet of new vehicles, a world full of gadgets and the new town of Pencaster. *Postman Pat: Special Delivery Service* first screened on BBC2 on 29 September 2008. The new series was commissioned by the BBC and produced by Entertainment Rights and Cosgrove Hall Films. A new series aired in 2016.