Radio 4 and BBC Sounds celebrate the classic characters, marking 50 years since The Wombles first appeared on the Beeb.
The Wombles are back on BBC Radio 4 and director Johnny Vegas and performer Richard E. Grant have been explaining how they ended up teaming up to bring Wimbledon Common’s most famous fictional residents to life once again. Wombles live under Wimbledon Common, and it is their special responsibility to ‘tidy up’ everything that untidy Human Beings leave behind.
Radio 4 and BBC Sounds celebrate these much-loved classic characters, marking 50 years since the stop-animation series first appeared on the BBC. This joyful festive listen is based on the original books by Elisabeth Beresford, performed by Richard E Grant, directed by Johnny Vegas and nestled in a new soundscape for Christmas 2023.
Full of fun and warmth, with an underpinning environmental message – this is novelty and nostalgia combined and a gift of Christmas comfort-listening for all to enjoy. The original Wombles series was narrated by the late Bernard Cribbins with a memorable theme tune composed and performed by Mike Batt. The show proved so popular a music album was created which featured the festive classic Wombling Merry Christmas.
Listen to The Wombles on BBC Radio 4 on Monday 25 December from 6.15pm and listen to the whole boxset on BBC Sounds now
