Potamus Park

Potamus Park
Created by	Christopher Noulton John Lee Paul Cole
Voices of	Simon Buckley Philip Eason Rusty Goffe Atalanta Harmsworth Stroma Inglis Mark Jefferis Nikki Mclnnes Nigel Plaskitt Jo Manning Wilson
Opening theme	"(We're On Our Way To) Potamus Park" by Geoff Robinson
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of episodes	75
Production
Producers	John Lee Chris Noulton for ITV Central
Production location	Pinewood Studios
Running time	10 minutes per episode (approx.)
Production companies	Carlton UK Productions, Zoo Gang Productions, Central Television
Distributor	Carlton Communications, Nelvana
Release
Original network	ITV (TV network) CITV
Original release	1995 (1995) – 2002 (2002)

Potamus Park is a British pre-school television programme that ran on CITV in the United Kingdom between 1995 and 2002, and on the Disney Channel in the United States in 2005. The show centred on a small family of hippopotamuses, Herbie, Hippy, Hazel and Hinkley, this show was sponsored by Hippo Fromage Frais and was filmed at Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath, England.

Characters

Characters featured included Ticker, (a bird,) Got To Guess, (a blue creature that used sign language to communicate) and Mindy and Mo (two Moles who live in a water well and use a bucket as a lift whenever the hippopotamuses need help). Every episode was introduced by three anthropomorphic flowers, who would explain whatever is to come or what may have been happening in the episode.

Series 1 - (1996)

1. Pleased To Meet You (By Paul Cole) - 3 January 1996
2. How Does Your Garden Grow? (By Paul Cole) - 10 January 1996
3. Litter Bug (By Paul Cole) - 17 January 1996
4. Over The Counter (By Paul Cole) - 24 January 1996
5. Recipe For Success (By Paul Cole) - 31 January
6. Do It Yourself (By Paul Cole) 7 - February 1996
7. Too Hot For Hippos (By Paul Cole 14 - February 1996
8. Happy Hippos (By Paul Cole) 21 - February 1996
9. Crazy Golf (By Paul Endacott) 28 - February 1996
10. Name That Tune (By Paul Cole) 6 - March 1996
11. This Is Where We Live (By Paul Cole) 10 - September 1996
12. Gone Fishing (By Paul Cole) 17 - September 1996
13. Spring Clean (By Paul Cole) 24 - September 1996
14. Let's Pretend (By Paul Cole 1 - October 1996
15. Picture This (By Paul Cole) 8 - October 1996
16. Hungry Hippos (By Wayne Jackman) 15 - October 1996
17. I Spy (By Nigel Crowle) 22 - October 1996
18. Keep Fit (By Paul Cole) 29 - October 1996
19. Nothing Doing (By Peter Corey) 5 - November 1996
20. You Must Be Joking (By Peter Corey) 12 - November 1996
21. Secrets (By Wayne Jackman) 19 - November 1996
22. Nice To Be Nice (By Paul Cole) 26 - November 1996
23. Got To Guess Goes Missing (By Wayne Jackman) 3 - December 1996
24. Ticker Takes Off (By David Treloar) 10 - December 1996
25. The Show Must Go On (By Peter Corey) 17 - December 1996

Series 2 - (1997)

1. Episode 001 (By Paul Cole) - 7 January 1997
2. Episode 002 (By Paul Cole) - 14 January 1997
3. Invitations To The Dance (By Paul Cole) - 21 January 1997
4. Dressing Up 28 - January (By Paul Cole) - 28 January 1997
5. Things That Go Bump In The Night (By Chris Noulton) 04 - February 1997
6. Every Mole Has His Day (By Chris Noulton) 11 - February 1997
7. Lonely Bird (By John Lee) 18 - February 1997
8. I Talk To The Trees (By Paul Cole) 25 - February 1997
9. Buried Treasure (By Paul Cole) 04 - March 1997
10. Bedtime Story (By Paul Cole) 11 - March 1997

Series 3 - (1997)

1. Mums Day Off (By Paul Cole) 11 - September 1997
2. Home Again (By Paul Cole) 18 - September 1997
3. Bookworm (By Paul Cole) 25 - September 1997
4. Where Shall We Go (By Paul Cole) 02 - October 1997
5. Turn and Turn About (By Paul Cole) 09 - October 1997
6. If At First (By Paul Cole) 16 - October 1997
7. Bits and Bobs (By Paul Cole) 23 - October 1997
8. We Have No Bananas (By Paul Cole) 30 - October 1997
9. Abracadabra (By Paul Cole) 06 - November 1997
10. Wash Day Blues (By Paul Cole) 13 - November 1997
11. If Only (By Paul Cole) 20 - November 1997
12. Doctor Doctor (By John Lee) 27 - November 1997
13. Do Your Best (By John Lee) 04 - December 1997
14. Hip Hippo Ray Day (By Paul Cole) 11 December 1997
15. Different (By Nigel Plaskitt) 18 - December 1997

Series 4 - (1998)

1. Ticker Tells All (By Paul Cole) 06 - January 1998
2. Early One Morning (By Paul Cole) 08 - January 1998
3. Table Manners (By Paul Cole) 13 - January 1998
4. Episode 004 (By Paul Cole) 15 - January 1998
5. Episode 005 (By Paul Cole) 19 - January 1998
6. Episode 006 (By Paul Cole) 22 - January 1998
7. Episode 007 (By Paul Cole) 26 - January 1998
8. Episode 008 (By Paul Cole) 29 - January 1998
9. Episode 009 (By Paul Cole) 5 - January 1998
10. Episode 010 (By Paul Cole) 8 - February 1998

Video Tapes

Various episodes of the series were released on VHS by Carlton Video in the United Kingdom.

Title	Release Date
Pleased To Meet you VL 1	1996
This Is Where We Live VL 2	1996
Name That Tune Vl 3	1996
Hungry Hippos VL 4	1997
Secrets VL 5	1997
Buried Teasure	1998
Dressing Up	1999
Abracadabra	1999
Bedtime Story	1998
Where Shall We Go?	1999
Hip Hippo Ray Day	1999

Trivia

Carlton Home Video issued many video cassettes in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Although the television series was genuinely well received, ITV decided to cut the series in 1999 due to the rival show Bananas In Pyjamas, which received higher ratings. Even though the series ended in 1999, CITV continued to air repeated television programmes into the early 2000s.