Monty the Dog

**Monty the Dog** is a British children's programme based on the books by Colin West and was broadcast on BBC1 in 1995 and repeated on BBC2 from 1996 - 2001.

## Character

Monty is a pet dog owned by the Sprod family (Mr and Mrs Sprod and
their children Simon and Josie). He wears his trademark red glasses
which the Sprod family made for him following a suggestion from a
cyclist who nearly hit him the day before. Monty still appears to be
accident prone and he likes to eat sausages, chocolate biscuits, ice cream, custard, mince pies and Walnut Whips which often gets him into trouble.[1]

## Monty the Dog UK VHS Compilation

Monty gets the Blame: BBC Children's Sensational Summer Fun - Released 1996

Monty's Magic Tricks: BBC Children's in Need Party for Pudsey - Released 1997 and BBC Children's in Need Party for Pudsey - Released Issued 1998

## Novels

The novels were published by A & C Black
 as part of the Jets series. They follow more or less the same format
except for the first one which includes an explanation on why Monty
wears glasses. The story is mainly told through text and illustrations
in black and white though there is the occasional speech bubble for the
human characters and thought bubble for Monty's thoughts. The
illustrations on the covers are in colour.

* *Monty, the Dog who Wears Glasses* (1989)

In *The Reason Why* whilst Monty was waiting outside the sweet
shop for Simon he stepped onto the road and was nearly hit by a cyclist.
 When Simon came out of the shop the man on the bike said "What that dog
 needs is a pair of glasses!" The following day Simon removed the lenses
 from an old pair of sunglasses and gave them to Monty to remind him to
be more careful. Simon did not think that Monty is short sighted but the
 family agree he looked more handsome with the glasses. In *Monty's Barbecue*
 there was talk of having a barbecue if the weather held on so Monty did
 his fair weather act to encourage Mr Sprod. Unfortunately for the
humans it rained but Monty got the uneaten sausages. In *Monty at School*
 Monty followed Simon and Josie to school wondering what it was like. He
 lost sight of them when they got there so he went into the staffroom
and rested in an armchair. A pupil came in to hand in some lost property
 and saw Monty so she spread the news round the playground. When Simon
and Josie heard the rumours of a dog with glasses in the staffroom they
realised that it could only be Monty and went to claim him. Mrs
Prendlethorpe the headmistress made it clear that Monty was not to come
back to school but let him stay for the rest of the school day. In *Monty at the Library*
 after posting letters and carrying a newspaper home with Josie Monty
got a chocolate biscuit for being helpful. Monty heard that Simon was
supposed to return a library book so he did it himself to try and get
another biscuit. He dropped the book in a puddle but returned it anyway.
 The librarian took the damaged book and wrote a note for Monty to take
back home. It was a fine for the damage so Monty did not get any
biscuits for it. In *Monty's Christmas* Monty was excited about
Father Christmas coming and thought he would give him Walnut Whips if he
 helped him. Monty saw a man with a sack in the living room thinking it
must be a burglar he bit him on the ankle but it turned out to be just
Mr Sprod. In *Monty at the Supermarket* Mrs Sprod left Monty
outside the supermarket whilst she went shopping. Monty got bored and
decided to have a go on one of the trolleys so he slipped out of his
collar to which he was tethered. A woman came and took the trolley but
did not notice Monty until it was emptied at the checkout. The manager
took Monty to his office and looked after him until Mrs Sprod claimed
him.

* *Monty Bites Back* (1990) Published in the United States as *Shape Up Monty!* in 1991.

In *Monty Gets the Chop* Monty was still accident prone with his
 glasses so Simon and Josie decided to record his accidents and
threatened to give him the chop if he had three mishaps in one day.
Monty had two accidents that day and worrying that they were going to
chop off his head he stayed in his basket and hardly dared to move. Mrs
Sprod cooked too much so she let Monty have the extra meat chop. In *Monty's picnic*
 the Sprod family were going to the seaside. When they stopped for
petrol Monty sneaked out to the picnic hamper on top of the car to eat
the mince pies. The car started again whilst Monty was still in the
hamper and he got sick. When the Sprod family realised Monty was gone
they screeched to a halt and Monty was hurled out though he was not hurt
 but the picnic was ruined. In *Monty and the Cat Next Door* Monty
was jealous at the attention Gertrude the cat was getting next door so
he sneaked up behind her to give her a surprise. Monty barked and
Gertrude got through the gate but Monty got his head stuck. A woman
released him by putting margarine behind his ears. In *Monty and the School Fête*
 Simon and Josie were not having luck selling Monty souvenirs at their
school fête. A gust of wind blew away the headmistresses hat but Monty
caught it. Everyone was impressed by this and bought Monty souvenirs.
Mrs Prendlethorpe was annoyed at the damage to her hat but was pleased
that Simon and Josie raised lots of money. In *Monty's Mistake* Mrs
 Sprod and the children talked about putting Mr Sprod on a diet and
Monty though they were talking about him. Monty then did exercises
around the garden to prove he was fit to the bemusement of the Sprod
family.

* *Monty Must be Magic* (1992)

In *Monty goes Missing* Monty went to the garden shed to get
away from the noise in the house. Whilst he was sleeping the Sprod
family worried that he had gone missing. The family looked for him but
Monty came back in for supper and Mrs Sprod ordered the rest of the
family to leave Monty in peace. In *Monty gets the Blame* Granny
Sprod was coming round to stay for the weekend. She took Monty to the
park with Simon and Josie and they were tired out at the end of the day.
 That night Granny who liked to eat the same things as Monty came down
for a snack and ate all the chocolate biscuits. In the morning Mr Sprod
put the blame on Monty because there were crumbs by his basket and the
biscuit jar was empty so Mr Sprod gave him no breakfast. Mr Sprod made
Granny breakfast in bed but she was not hungry after the biscuits so she
 offered it to Monty. In *Monty meets Bruiser* the Sprod family
went camping and Simon and Josie went to play before tea. They met two
children called Alan and Amy who had a dog called Bruiser who was better
 at frisbee catching and throwing than Monty. Monty tried to throw paper
 plates to show off but the first two attempts were disastrous. He
caught the third one and the crowd was impressed. In *Monty's Big Surprise* Simon and Josie gave Monty a bath which he did not like but he got back at them by shaking water onto them. In *Monty's Magic Trick*
 Mr Sprod was performing a magic show for the children at a Christmas
party and Monty hid in the magic box hoping to sneak for the sausage
rolls. The secret flap came down trapping Monty inside and Mr Sprod
performed the magic box trick. Just as they thought there was nothing
else inside Monty suddenly popped out and the kids thought Monty must be
 magic.

* *Monty - up to his neck in trouble* (1992)

In *Monty's Toothache* Monty had a nightmare about his teeth
falling out and having to have dentures fitted. He woke up with a
toothache and was afraid to eat in case his teeth really did fall out.
Mr Sprod decided to take Monty to the vet when Simon and Josie worry
about him. When the vet checked Monty's teeth he accidentally nipped her
 fingers and the vet said he had a good set of teeth. Monty started to
feel happy again and the vet said there was not much wrong with him. In *Monty at the Movies*
 Monty went shopping with Mrs Sprod and the children. It was raining so
they decided to go to the cinema to see the Four Eyed Monster from Mars
which Simon and Josie both wanted to see. They kept quiet about Monty
and luckily the cinema staff did not notice him. A popcorn advert got
Monty into a trance and he wondered off dreamily behind the back row
into the light coming from the projector. The silhouette of Monty's face
 scared the audience as he did when he jumped onto them in the seats.
The Sprods caught him and they decide to leave before they get thrown
out. In *Monty's Party Adventure* Simon and Josie went to their
friend Fiona's birthday party and Monty decided to sneak to her house
for the food. Monty took the shortcut through the back gardens but a tea
 towel fell on his head so he got mixed up and went to the wrong house.
Mrs Perkins-Smythe was having a tea party and everyone recognised Monty
by his glasses so they let him stay. The vicar at the party returned
Monty and explained to Simon and Josie who had just returned home. In *Monty at the Park*
 Monty went to the park with Simon and Josie to feed the ducks. They
tethered Monty to a tree where he got bored. Monty got tempted by people
 walking past with ice creams and he tripped up a man whose ice cream
fell into Monty's mouth. The man got angry about it and told Simon and
Josie that they should keep that dog under control. In *Monty in Trouble*
 Monty overheard Mrs Sprod saying that Josie left her recorder so he
decided to bring it to her in school. Monty sneaked into the kitchen to
avoid the headmistress and got chased by the dinner ladies. Monty got up
 to his neck in the custard whilst trying to jump over it. The
headmistress and the dinner ladies followed the trail of custard to find
 Monty outside Josie's classroom. Mrs Prendlethorpe was actually pleased
 about it because they could serve fruit for pudding instead of the
custard to get the children to eat healthily. The grateful headmistress
fished Josie's recorder from the custard and washed it so she could join
 in music practice.

* *Monty Ahoy!* (1994)

In *Monty and the Model Boat* Monty went to the park with Simon
and Josie to try out Simon's new remote controlled boat. A football
bounced off Monty's head into the lake and the kids with the ball blamed
 Monty. Simon tried to get the ball back with a stick but got it caught
up in some weeds. The biggest boy in the gang threatened to take the
boat so Josie placed Monty on the boat and moved it towards the ball.
Monty nudged the ball back to shore and they return it. In *Monty's Mixed-up Morning*
 Granny Sprod came to stay with the family. Whilst doing cartwheels in
the garden with Monty they bumped into each other and mismatched their
glasses which fell off. Through Granny's glasses everything looked
bigger to Monty and for Granny everything looked smaller with Monty's
glasses. Granny and Monty were confused by the size of their meals and
the Sprod family got into an argument about Mr Sprod not giving Granny
enough and Josie giving Monty too much. Monty and Granny go for a nap in
 the living room to get away from the arguing. Whilst they were asleep
their glasses fell off so they put them back on. This time they got the
right pairs and no one knew what really happened. In *Monty on Sports Day*
 Simon and Monty come along to cheer Josie in the school sports day. In
the Grand Relay the boy passing Josie the Blue Teams baton dropped it so
 Monty ran to pick it up and won the race. Mrs Predlethorpe was going to
 disqualify Monty but then she checked the rule book when Simon
suggested it and there were no rules against dogs competing. After
everyone had left the headmistress added a new rule to the book. In *Monty and the Dog Food*
 after watching an advert for the new Chubby Chunks dog food Simon and
Josie were impressed but Monty did not like the look of it. After the
kids told Mrs Sprod to get some Monty tried to tell them he did not want
 any by making faces, yowling and chewing the shopping list but the
family got the wrong message. Mrs Sprod came back without the Chubby
Chunks because the shops had sold out which pleased Monty but when the
Chubby Chunks advert came on again he liked the look of it. In *Monty's New Year*
 Monty went sledging with Simon and Josie on New Years Day. The three of
 them got thrown off the sledge after hitting an old tree stump. Simon
and Josie were unhurt but Monty got his head stuck in the snow. The
children pulled Monty out and took him home to thaw.

* *Monty's Ups and Downs* (1996)

* Book cover of Monty's Ups and Downs featuring Simon and Josie Sprod

(standing in front of the store manager). The sticker on the top right
mentions Monty as a BBC TV star which is a reference to the television
series.
In *Monty and the Raffle* Simon and Josie were running the
raffle stall at the Bumper Bazaar at their school and Monty came along.
The kids borrowed Monty's glasses and put them on the teddy bear to make
 him more exciting. Monty got tempted by the cakes on the next stall and
 knocked the teddy head first into a big chocolate cake. As the
headmistress approached Josie put the glasses and the teddy's hat onto
Monty, put him on the prize stand and told him not to move. When Mrs
Prendlethorpe picked up Monty to take prizes to the stage he sneezed and
 headmistress ran away screaming. In *Monty and the Antique Vase*
Granny was coming to visit the Sprod family so Mr Sprod went to clean
the vase she got them. Mr Sprod hated the vase and was sure it was cheap
 so he decided to get Monty to break it. He put the vase onto a spindly
table and called Monty who knocked it over as he ran past. Monty was
confused about why Mr Sprod was happy but then he got angry after seeing
 a similar vase on an antiques show that was worth about £1,000. In *Monty's Football Match*
 Granny took Monty to the park with Simon and Josie where they meet
Adam, Alice and Andrew. They decided to play football with them and mark
 out the goals using bags. They ran out of bags so the used Monty as a
goalpost. Monty cheated by secretly moving to make the goal wider to
help the Sprods to score then he made it narrower when they changed ends
 allowing the Sprods to beat the A Team. In *Monty's Midnight Snack*
 Monty was wide awake, whilst the Sprod family were asleep, thinking
about food so he decided to get a snack. Monty reached the handle of the
 fridge door from his basket and tried to reach the trifle but it landed
 on his head. In *Monty's Shopping Trip* Monty went with Simon and
Josie who tethered him to a lamp post whilst they did their Christmas
shopping. Monty slipped out of his collar and went into Borridge's
department store after his owners. After having mishaps with the
revolving door, the smell of the perfume which he did not like and the
lift Monty decided to rest on a trampoline but ended up bouncing on it. A
 man in the crowd caught Monty and handed him to Simon and Josie. The
manager became pleased when customers wanted to buy the trampoline after
 seeing Monty bounce on it so he gave Monty's owners a tennis racket as a
 reward.

## Television series

A television series made by Ealing Animation titled *Monty* based on the character, although he is referred to as *Monty the Dog*
 in the theme tune, was first broadcast on BBC 1 in 1995. It is narrated by Griff Rhys Jones, Unlike the
novels in which Monty's glasses do not have lenses it is implied that
Monty is short sighted and has lenses in his glasses on television.

Episodes
* *Monty's Picnic*
* *Monty Goes to School*
* *Monty and the Cat Next Door*
* *Monty's Magic Trick*

* *Monty Gets the Blame*

Based on the story in *Monty Must Be Magic* Grandma was coming
round to stay with the Sprod family and took Monty to the park with
Simon and Josie where they went to the playground, fed the ducks, brought some ice cream and
went on the boating lake. That night Grandma who liked to eat the same
things as Monty came down for a snack and ate all the chocolate
biscuits. In the morning Mr Sprod put the blame on Monty because there
were crumbs by his basket and the biscuit tin was empty so Mr Sprod gave
 him no breakfast. Mr Sprod made Grandma breakfast in bed but she was
not hungry after her late night snack so she offered the sausages to
Monty.[2]

* *Monty at the Vets*
* *Monty at the Library*
* *Monty at the Supermarket*
* *Monty at the Park*
* *Monty at the School Fete*

* *Monty and the Monsters*

Loosely based on the story Monty's Mixed-up Morning in *Monty Ahoy!*
 The Sprod family went to visit Grandma and Monty was excited that she
was going to give him his favourite treat. When Monty leaped onto
Grandma in his excitement both their glasses fell off and got
mismatched. Whilst the family were in the kitchen Monty wearing
Grandma's glasses met the grandfather clock and the vacuum cleaner which
 both looked like terrifying monsters to him. Monty accidentally broke a
 vase when he backed away nervously. The family came to investigate and
Simon realised that Grandma was wearing Monty's glasses when she could
not see the mess. They swapped the glasses and Monty was sent to the car
 where he would not cause any more trouble.[3]

* *Monty Goes Missing*
* *Monty Meets Bruiser*

## Monty the Dog - Blame in the Morning (Monty gets the Blame)

Chicken said: CuckleDoodle Doo

Mr. Sprod said: Monty Bad Dog

Narration Said: It's What Did They're Are Tip. What. Did Someone Say Something

Mr. Sprod said: You Are Very Greedy Dog Monty. Gave Me All of Chocolate Biscuits

Narration Said: Me I Never Touch Them

Mr. Sprod said: His Know Use Look Me Like That

Mr. Sprod said: Look There Crumbs Sorts Around Your Basket

Mr. Sprod said: No Breakfast For You Them I Glad

## Monty the Dog - Cooking Breakfast and Breakfast in Bed (Monty gets the Blame)

Narration said: But Tip Uh Oh Bother

Narration said: To Make Things Worse Mr. Sprod It's was Cooking ate Hugh Breakfast for Grandma

Narration said: Sausages My Favourite

Narration said: Oh My Love Sausages Smell

Mr. Sprod said: Here on My Love Breakfast in Bed

Grandma said: Oh Thank You Dear

Mr. Sprod said: Very Go Enjoy It

Narration said: The After her Midnight Feast Grandma I Didn't Feel Hungry

Grandma said: Hello Monty I Don't Supposed Love Like This Would You

Narration said: (Laugh a Bit) Try Me

Narration said: (Laugh a Bit) Good Old Grandma

## Monty the Dog (Ealing Animation Presents - 1995 Closing Credits)

Voices: Griff Rhys Jones

Music & Sound: Kick Productions

Animation: Ealing Animation

Animators: Neil Salmon Kevin Baldwin

Computer Operators: David Brylewski Kieron Murtagh Cornelia van de Water John McManus

Layouts: David Elvin

Backgrounds: Vivienne Radmond

Producer Ealing Animations: Richard Randolph

Executive Producer: Theress Plummer-Andrews

Associate Producer: Helen Crossan

Producer: Jill Green

Director: David Lewis

## Repeats

Monty the Dog has been shown and repeated on BBC1 and BBC2 several times in the 1990's and 2000's. CBBC on Choice premiered Monty the Dog on Wednesday 16th August 2000 at 8.55am, 11.55am, 2.55pm and 5.55pm and continued until Friday 1st September 2000. It returned on Thursday 26th October 2000 at the 7.55am, 10.55am, 1.55pm and 4.55pm until Monday 13th November 2000 and the final run was on Thursday 24th January 2002 - Friday 8th February 2002 at 6.55am, 9.55am, 12.55pm and 3.55pm. It has continued to be repeated on CBeebies until 2004.