Friday, July 9th, 2010

The puppet stars of the hit 1950s children’s television show ‘Wirligig’ sold at auction for £3,000 – ten times the guide price.

Characters Hank the cowboy, his horse Silver King and Mexican Pete the Bandit went under the hammer 60 years after they first appeared on screen.

The kids show started each episode with puppetry before switching to animated scenes for the western-based adventures.

A spokesman from David Lays Auctioneers, in Penzance, Cornwall, said the puppets, which had a guide price of £300, were sold to a collector after a fierce bidding war.

He said: ”We originally sold these puppets about 18 years ago as part of creator Francis Coudrill’s studio sale.

”The owner then decided to sell them on. It is an unusual lot and they have a wonderful nostalgic value for fans of Wirligig.”

Wirligig became the first children’s programme to broadcast live from the Lime Grove BBC studios, in 1950.

Jon Mills

Twitter: @swns

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• nostalgia

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