Co-creator of Bagpuss and Clangers Peter Firmin has passed away

Peter Firmin

by Emma Dodds |
Published on

Peter Firmin, the co-creator of beloved children's TV shows Bagpuss, Clangers and The Basil Brush Show, has passed away

Peter, who was also behind Ivor the Engine and Noggin the Nog, has passed away aged 89 at his home in Kent after a short illness.

His death has been confirmed by production company Coolabi, who look after the Clangers TV show, releasing a statement to express their sadness over his death.

GALLERY: RIP to all the celebrities who passed away in 2017

Gallery

RIP to all the celebrities we lost in 2017 slider short

dead celebs1 of 33
CREDIT: BBC

Andy Cunningham

Andy Cunningham was best known as the main character and puppeteer on his well-loved children's TV show Bodger & Badger.

dead celebs2 of 33
CREDIT: Hughes Entertainment

John Heard

John Heard became a household name after starring as father Peter McAllister in the Home Alone films alongside Macaulay Culkin.

dead celebs3 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

Peter Sallis

Peter Sallis was a British actor, best known for being the voice of Wallace from the famous Aardman Studios duo Wallace & Gromit.

dead celebs4 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

Sir John Hurt

Sir John Hurt CBE was a well-known and well-loved British actor. Over his 56-year career, he appeared in over 129 films and many TV roles, with 40 of his characters dying – a record for a mainstream actor.

dead celebs5 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

Tony Haygarth

Tony Haygarth was an actor from Liverpool. His career spanned 42 years and saw him star in many films and a lot of stage shows, for which he was nominated for Lauren Olivier Theatre Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

dead celebs6 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell was a musician, best known for being the lead singer of rock bands Audioslave and Soundgarden. He also wrote and performed the theme song for Casino Royale, the 2006 James Bond film which was the first to star Daniel Craig as Bond.

dead celebs7 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

Bill Paxton

Bill Paxton was an American actor whose career spanned 42 years. Starring in big blockbuster films such as The Terminator alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Aliens with Sigourney Weaver, True Lies again with Schwarzenegger and Apollo 13 with Tom Hanks.

dead celebs8 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

John Noakes

John Noakes was a TV presenter. He was best known as being the longest-serving presenter of children's TV show Blue Peter, hosting for 12 years and 6 months.

dead celebs9 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is widely acknowledged as being the biggest pioneer of rock 'n' roll, having begun his career in the 50s when the genre was just beginning to come about.

dead celebs10 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

Joni Sledge

Joni Sledge was one of the founding members of 70s pop girl group, Sister Sledge, who were known for the massive hits We Are Family, He's The Greatest Dancer and Thinking Of You.

GORDON KAYE11 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

Gordon Kaye

Gordon Kaye was an actor from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Although he enjoyed varying success throughout his career, it was in comedy series 'Allo! 'Allo! that he really became a household name.

dead celebs12 of 33
CREDIT: Twitter/ Santa Montefiore

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson

TPT was the original "It Girl" of our time - she was famous for being famous. She paved the way as a 90s socialite, and everyone loved her.

dead celebs13 of 33
CREDIT: BBC

Sara Coward

Veteran Archers actor Sara Coward played her character Caroline Sterling on the BBC Radio 4 show for a massive 40 years.

dead celebs14 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

Erin Moran

Erin Moran was an American actress, best known for her role as Joanie Cunningham on US TV show Happy Days alongside Ron Howard and Henry Winkler.

dead celebs15 of 33
CREDIT: ITV

Moray Watson

Moray Watson was a British actor, most famous for his role as Brigadier Arthur Maiford in The Darling Buds Of May alongside David Jason and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

dead celebs16 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

Sir Roger Moore

Sir Roger Moore was a British actor best known for playing the iconic role of James Bond in seven of the series' films. With a career spanning 72 years, the 89-year-old actor moved away from acting and became an ambassador for UNICEF in 1991.

dead celebs17 of 33
CREDIT: Granada TV

Roy Barraclough

Roy Barraclough was a legendary TV actor whose career spanned five decades. Starring as Alec Gilroy in Coronation Street, he originally started as a bit part in the 70s.

dead celebs18 of 33
CREDIT: ITV

Carol Lee Scott

Carol Lee Scott was a British entertainer, best known for her role as the titular character in children's TV programme Grotbags.

dead celebs19 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

Chester Bennington

Chester Bennington was the lead singer of popular rock band Linkin Park. They enjoyed huge success, winning a multitude of awards.

dead celebs20 of 33
CREDIT: BBC

Hywel Bennett

Hywel Bennett was a Welsh film and TV actor, possibly best known as the title character in Shelley and as gangster Jack Dalton in EastEnders, who ordered the killing of Dirty Den Watts in 1989.

dead celebs21 of 33
CREDIT: Warner Bros

Robert Hardy

Robert Hardy was a British actor whose career spanned 70 years. He has played Winston Churchill many times, was popular as vet Siegfried Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small – and also starred in the Harry Potter film series as Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge.

dead celebs22 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell was a country music legend, best known for his hits Rhinestone Cowboy and Wichita Lineman. He was married four times, and had eight children.

dead celebs23 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

Bruce Forsyth

Bruce Forsyth was arguably one of the most favoured national treasures that the UK has ever produced. His career spanned across 75 years, and the Guinness World Book of Records recognised him as having the longest television career for a male entertainer.

dead celebs24 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

Liz Dawn

Liz Dawn was an actress best known for her role as Vera Duckworth in Coronation Street, which she played for 34 years.

dead celebs25 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

Hugh Hefner

Hugh Hefner was an American businessman, magazine publisher and renowned playboy. He created the Playboy magazine in 1953, and stayed as its editor-in-chief.

dead celebs26 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

Tom Petty

Tom Petty was a world-famous musician who was best known as the lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He sold more than 80 million records around the world, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Half of Fame in 2002.

dead celebs27 of 33
CREDIT: Rex Shutterstock

Sean Hughes

Sean Hughes was a stand-up comedian, comedy writer and actor. He had his own TV show, Sean's Show, and quite often appeared as a guest captain on Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

dead celebs28 of 33
CREDIT: ITV

Iain Rogerson

Iain Rogerson was a British soap actor, and had appeared in most of the big shows - having parts in Emmerdale, Doctors, Casualty, Heartbeat, The Bill and most prominently, Coronation Street as Harry Flagg, a love interest of Eileen Grimshaw between 2002 - 2004.

dead celebs29 of 33
CREDIT: Rex Shutterstock

Antonio Carluccio

Antonio Carluccio was a world-famous restauranteur who launched the Carluccio's restaurant chain. The celebrity chef, dubbed the "Godfather of Italian cooking", also helped launch the career of Jamie Oliver and was well-known for his appearances on British TV.

dead celebs30 of 33
CREDIT: Rex Shutterstock

Rodney Bewes

Rodney Bewes was a British TV actor best known starring in The Likely Lads as Bob Ferris with his friend James Bolam.

dead celebs31 of 33
CREDIT: Getty Images

Keith Chegwin

Keith Chegwin was a British TV presenter, well-loved throughout the UK for hosting several children's entertainment shows in the 70s and 80s.

dead celebs32 of 33
CREDIT: Warner Bros

Heather North

Heather North was an American TV actress, best known for originating the role of Daphne on the universally-loved children's show, Scooby Doo in 1970.

dead celebs33 of 33
CREDIT: Rex Shutterstock

David Cassidy

David Cassidy was a world-famous musician and actor, best known for his role as Keith Partridge on musical sitcom The Partridge Family and his extensive musical career.

The statement read: "We are sad to announce that the artist Peter Firmin has passed away at his home in Kent after a short illness. He was eighty-nine.

"During a career spanning over six decades, Peter worked with great skill in a remarkably wide variety of creative disciplines as a fine artist, craftsman and author.

"Of all his work, he will probably be most fondly remembered for the characters he co-created and made."

Clangers
©BBC

The statement listed Peter's involvement on many children's TV characters, adding: "TV programmes with such magical and enduring appeal that they remain hugely popular to this day."

It also made reference to Bagpuss being voted the most popular BBC children's programme ever made in 1999, and Peter's BAFTA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014, praising his "great enthusiasm" right up until the beginning of this year.

Basil Brush
©Shutterstock

It concluded: "Peter leaves behind his wife Joan and his six daughters (who often collaborated on many of his works) as well as his many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

"We kindly ask for the family's privacy to be respected at this time."

READ MORE

Dec Donnelly 'reaches out' to Lisa Armstrong amid Ant McPartlin's new romance

Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black share adorable first pictures of son Robert

Catastrophe star Rob Delaney and wife expecting baby after death of their son

Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website, we never allow this to influence product selections - read why you should trust us