Cartoon
The Treacle People
The story
The Treacle People is a stop motion animated children's television programme shown on CITV in the United Kingdom from 3 May 1996 to 25 July 1997 and re-ran on Channel 4 from 23 July 2005 to 16 February 2014. It had 2 series, each with 13 episodes, as well as a Christmas special. It was produced by The London Studios for London Weekend Television (Granada Television produced the second series) and Fire Mountain Productions in association with Link Entertainment.
In 2023, the series was remastered, with full episodes uploaded on the official Treacle People YouTube Channel, and in 2025, a sequel audio drama was released on Audible, entitled "Still Sticky".
Development
The concept for the show was created by Bill Dewhurst, a resident of Sabden, Lancashire, who created dolls on which the Treacle People characters were based during a period of unemployment in the 1980's. Dewhurst, together with his wife, son, and two daughters, sold the dolls at craft fairs, before the Dewhurst family developed the show together with a production company. The show, which used stop-motion animation, ran for 27 episodes from 1996 to 1997.
Plot
The show was written by Brian and Jonathan Trueman (the former of whom was the writer of Danger Mouse) and was based in a fictionalized version of the Northern English village of Sabden, in Pendle, where treacle is (allegedly) a natural resource extracted through mines. However, the mines have run dry from overextraction, and the village may face destruction from a lack of economy. The main characters Bill Wizzle and Rosie use a Treacle finder, similar to a water dowser, to discover a vein of treacle in the abandoned mines which is home to treacle-loving creatures called Boggarts. The two series focus on reopening the mines, and problems faced (such as exportation).
Characters
Bill Wizzle – The boy who uses a Treacle finder to find for Sabden another vein of treacle. He is voiced by Jim McManus.
Rosie – Bill Wizzle's best friend. She is voiced by Caroline Bernstein.
Bert – A white Boggart whom Wizzle and Rosie befriend. He is voiced by Caroline Bernstein.
The Professor – He seeks to research in treacle and find ingenious ways to export it, though not always succeeding. He is voiced by Alec Bregonzi.
Tapper – A miner who is also a mechanic, he also has a steam traction engine called Bessie. He is voiced by Glynn Mills.
Ike – Rosie's dad who runs as a blacksmith who also works with Tapper in building things. He is voiced by Glynn Mills.
Leyland Lil – The landlady who runs the Bubble & Boggart inn that serves ginger beer and makes parkin as hard as a rock. She is voiced by Caroline Bernstein.
Charlie – Lil's small assistant who doesn't talk much and is constantly abused by Lil when giving him orders. He was voiced by Brian Trueman
Nellie Newchurch – Lil's posh rival from Perfect Parkin Parlour shop across the street. She is voiced by Alec Bregonzi.
Brendan Robinson – Originated from Dún Laoghaire, Ireland, Brendan is the owner of a ginger beer brewery and bottling plant. He is voiced by Jim Norton.
Silas Mitton – Rosie's uncle, a wealthy investor who tries to come up with many way to put the village on the map. He is voiced by Jim Norton.
P.C. Pendle – A local policeman who is oftentimes clueless in his job. He is voiced by Jim McManus.
Digger – or Alaster Auchentoshen McMurdo of the Clan McMurdo of Ayr and Troon as his real name, is Brendan's Scottish cousin who appears in Series 2. He came for work in Sabden and dig for Porridge, which is something Boggarts like for curing their flu. He is voiced by Jim Norton.
Barrow & Furness – Two crooks who appeared in Sabden in Series 2. They are voiced by Alec Bregonzi and Brian Trueman
Santa – Only appearing in the Christmas Special, he'd gained help from Bert in finding Sabden to deliver the townsfolk their presents. He was voiced by Willie Rushton.
The Queen – Royalty who resembles Leyland Lil, who appears briefly at the end of the Christmas Special when making her speech, and in the very last episode of the series to unveil Sabden's statue. She is voiced by Caroline Bernstein.
Stirling – Digger's pet Haggis who resembles a bagpipe. He is voiced by Iain Russell
Boggarts – Creatures who thrive in treacle mines, unlike Bert who is white, the other Boggarts are normally brown. They are voiced by Caroline Bernstein.
Moobark – A cross between a Friesian cow and an Airedale Terrier.
Narrator – A witty offscreen voice (Glynn Mills) who narrates what happened in the last episode and asking how the people of Sabden going to fix this episode's mess. It was revealed at the end of the very last episode of the series that the narrator is actually The Professor's Sound Sponge from four episodes back in "Sounds Crazy".
Audio Sequel
In May 2024, an audio drama follow-up was announced, under the title "The Treacle People - Still Sticky". Acting as the show's official third series, the set was written by Jonathan Trueman, and stars Caroline Bernstein, Glynn Mills and Jim Norton, reprising their roles from the original series. The six episodes were released on Audible in April 2025.
Rights
The rights to The Treacle People are now owned by independent production company, Fire Mountain Productions Limited. Fire Mountain Productions was set up by the show's producer, Iain Russell.
Awards
The Treacle People, followed up by a Christmas special, was BAFTA nominated in the children's animation category in 1997.
Credits
Written by: Brian and Jonathan Trueman
Developed for television by: Mike Furness and Iain Russell
From an original idea by: The Dewhurst Family
Featuring the voices of: Caroline Bernstein, Alec Bregonzi, Jim McManus, Glynn Mills, Jim Norton, Willie Rushton and Brian Trueman
Title song: Sticky
Music by: Simon Webb
Casting director: Nikki Finch
Director of animation: Martin Pullen
Animators: Mike Cottee, Timon Dowdeswell, Andy Joule and Daryl Marsh
Production manager: Mike Fisher
Musical co-ordinator: Rachel Williams
Music recording: Gerry Kitchingham
Musicians: Simon Clark, Nick Hitchins, Ben Kennard, Roddy Lorimer, Bob Loveday, Glynn Matthews, Wes McGee, Tamsin Rowlinson and Simon Webb
Additional animation: Tobias Fouracre and Mark Waring
Lighting cameramen: Adrian Chadlecott, John Duffy, Peter Ellmore, Colin Innes-Hopkins and Tom Kinane
Puppets built and designed by: Richard Blakey and Maggie Haden
Original art director: Alan Murphy
Sets built and designed by: Jessica Ace, Colin Armitage, Toby Burrell, Barbara Cowdery and Keith Grant
Assisted by: James Heath and Melissa Johnson
Graphic designer: Bill Wilson
Editors: Martin Hay, Paul Hudson, Alex Maddison, Andy Marangone, Alan Ritchie and Jeremy Scott
Sound supervisors: Rob Ashard, Graham Hix, Jon Matthews and Russell Smithson
Production assistant: Jo Newey
Production associates: Kathy Schulz and Sue Bennett-Urwin
Executive producers: Penny Lent and Danielle Lux
Director: Mike Furness
Producer: Iain Russell