Percy the Park Keeper explained

Genre:	Comedy Children's television series
Creator:	Nick Butterworth
Voices:	Jim Broadbent Enn Reitel David Holt Kate Harbour Chris Lang
Narrated:	Richard Briers Jim Broadbent (only in the audiobooks)
Country:	United Kingdom
Language:	English
Num Episodes:	13 (4 seasonal specials)
Runtime:	10 minutes (full episodes) 30 minutes (seasonal specials)
Company:	HIT Entertainment
Channel:	ITV (CITV)

Percy the Park Keeper is a British animated children's television series based on the popular books by British author Nick Butterworth. The series is produced by HIT Entertainment with animation production by Grand Slamm Children's Films. The series initially ran as a series of four half-four specials that aired on CITV between December 1996 and December 1997^[1] which were followed by a single series of thirteen ten-minute episodes that aired between September and December 1999.

Characters and voice cast

• Percy the Park Keeper – (voiced by Jim Broadbent) – The show's title character who regularly maintains the park, and is still always able to find the time to have fun with the animals.
• Fox – (voiced by David Holt) – A fun-loving sort who tends to make others laugh and can still be quite sensitive.
• Badger – (voiced by Enn Reitel and later by Chris Lang) – A wise and sensible sort who often tries to organize games in the park to keep the other animals happy.
• Rabbits – (male rabbits voiced by David Holt and the female rabbit voiced by Kate Harbour) – An excitable sort who easily gets timid at anything remotely scary.
• Squirrels – (Mr Squirrel is voiced by Enn Reitel and later by David Holt and Mrs Squirrel is voiced by Kate Harbour) – An irritable sort who often buries nuts and acorns and cannot always remember where they put them in the first place.
• Hedgehog – (voiced by David Holt) – A quiet sort who finds his sharp spines problematic.
• The Mice – (the male mice are voiced by David Holt and the female mice are voiced by Kate Harbour) – Playful sorts who are always happy to join in various challenges in the park.
• The Ducks – (Mr Duck voiced by David Holt and Mrs Duck voiced by Kate Harbour) – Quarrelsome sorts who normally play at the duck pond and migrate when Winter comes to the park.
• Owl – (voiced by Kate Harbour) – A wise sort who never hunts at night time, like an ordinary owl. She is always active during the daytime, but she forgets things very easily.
• Robin Redbreast – (voiced by David Holt) – Spends most of his time flying around the park and perching on trees.
• Mole – (voiced by Enn Reitel and later by David Holt) – He is always in a rush and has trouble finding his way under the ground of the park.
• Narrator - (voiced in the audiobooks alternately by Richard Briers and Jim Broadbent) - Tells each of the stories.

Episodes

Seasonal specials (1996–1997)

	Title	Air date

Full episodes (1999)

	Title	Air date

Other Material

"After the Storm" got a theatre adaptation in London on Christmas 2015.^[2] The franchise eventually was commemorated with a statue of Percy in Raphael Park.^[3]

Release

HIT Entertainment released "After the Storm" on VHS in September 1998.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Web site: HIT Entertainment - 30 Minutes . https://web.archive.org/web/19980703165237fw_/http://www.hitentertainment.com/hit_ecat.html#_Toc406920251 . 1998-07-03 . July 3, 1998 . September 3, 2021.
2. News: Percy the Park Keeper's Winter Park review – the kids sigh with happiness . Gillinson . Miriam . December 1, 2015 . The Guardian . September 3, 2021 . en-UK.
3. Web site: Alwakeel . Ramzy . Children's author Nick Butterworth visits Raphael Park to unveil 'Percy the park keeper' statue and £7.5k picnic area . October 13, 2020 . September 3, 2021.
4. Web site: The Entertainer! . July 3, 1998 . https://web.archive.org/web/19980703164944/http://www.hitentertainment.com/ . September 3, 2021. 3 July 1998 .