"In 1963 an imported children's programme from Canada caught the imagination of the 6 to 8 year old age group, and it was called Mr Piper. Thirty-nine half-hour shows were made in colour by Pied Piper Films for ITC, produced by Allan Wargon from an original idea by Martin Andrews.
The host of the show was a rather large Canadian opera singer and actor named Alan Crofoot, who also appeared in several other TV series including The Forest Rangers and R.C.M.P.
As Mr Piper, Crofoot came dressed in a colourful costume with a flower in his hat and would introduce four segments to each half-hour show. He began by performing magic with his bag of tricks, followed by narrating a semi-animated cartoon fantasy story for example Ali- Baba or The Magic Horn.
Travelogue The third segment was a short travelogue called Port of Call about children from other lands, and the programme ended with Animal Farm, featuring the three live animals, Bessie the bunny, Rupert the rat and Kookie the kitten, all filmed on a miniature farm yard set. ATV in the Midlands began screening Mr Piper in 1963 on a Monday afternoon at 5.25 pm, and because of its success school holiday reruns continued until 1975.
The theme song was quite catchy and some readers might be able to sing along to the following lyrics: "Come with me, come and see, all the wonders there will be. In my stories, in my songs, in everything where fun belongs. We'll meet heroes, giants, bold, visit lands both hot and cold. Have magic tricks that shiver your skin, and laughs galore with animals in; our world of fun in the Pied Piper house."
