Rosie and Jim (sometimes written as Rosie & Jim) is a British children's television programme which was produced by Ragdoll Productions and aired on the Children's ITV block on ITV from 3 September 1990 to 16 May 2000. The programme was then repeated periodically on CITV until 23 July 2004.
Story Rosie and Jim are two rag dolls who live aboard a narrowboat called the Ragdoll. There, they sit with a concertina on their lap and come alive when no one is looking to explore the world that they pass by on rivers and canals across England. They learn to experience things by following the Ragdolls owner on his or her adventures, and secretly joining in with them. Usually, they end up causing trouble, but they are never detected because no adult ever sees them off the boat or come to life.
Characters
Rosie Rosie (puppeteered and voiced by Rebecca Nagan) is the female rag doll. During their adventures, she carries a bag that has her name written on it. She wears a yellow dress, red stockings, green shoes, brown earrings and necklace, and has long shaggy black hair tied in a red ribbon. She and Jim often refer to the boat driver as "Fizzgog" (John Cunliffe), "Loopy Lobes" (or just "loopy"; Pat Hutchins) and "Tootle" (Neil Brewer). She sometimes calls Jim "Noggin". She was given a darker skin colour from series 2.
Jim Jim (puppeteered and voiced by Robin Stevens) is the male rag doll. In their adventures, he can be seen carrying a notebook, in which he sometimes draws things that he has seen. He has short red hair and wears light brown trousers, a shirt with a red scarf, a white-with-red-stripes sock, brown boots and a brown waistcoat. The shade of his skin has changed slightly throughout the series.
Duck Duck (also voiced by Robin Stevens) is an animatronic wooden model of a duck, who sits on top of the Ragdoll boat. He does not talk but can be heard quacking and flapping his wings when there are no humans around to let both Rosie and Jim know that the coast is clear. In some episodes, either Rosie or Jim give him a kiss. He is the only character to directly interact with all three presenters (as only John Cunliffe directly addressed Rosie and Jim regularly, and Pat Hutchins only did so once).
Narrowboat owners Rosie and Jim's home is the narrowboat Ragdoll. Throughout its run the boat was acquired by three owners, each one playing a role according to their real-life profession.
John "Fizzgog" Cunliffe: 1990–1992, 50 episodes An author who writes stories about Rosie and Jim based upon his own everyday outings. Cunliffe is the only presenter to break the fourth wall, delivering pieces to the camera and narration throughout every episode, which ended with a self-penned short cutout animated story done by Alan Rogers and Peter Lang (creators of Pigeon Street). He is the only presenter to directly address Rosie and Jim on-screen.
Pat "Loopy Lobes" Hutchins: 1995–1996, 45 episodes An illustrator who creates pictures, gathering ideas from her adventures. Each episode would start with Pat finishing a drawing of Rosie and Jim and end with an illustration, again by Pat, based upon the episode. At the end of each episode, Duck would be hidden in the picture, with Rosie and Jim trying to find him. Pat also illustrated the books and artwork for the video releases between 1995 and 1996. Hutchins is the only female presenter of the series.
Neil "Tootle" Brewer: 1997–2000, 80 episodes A singer and musician who plays the harmonica and the concertina. Neil would begin each episode looking for his harmonica followed by Rosie and Jim talking about and introducing him. Brewer would often end each episode with a song played on his concertina; prompted by Rosie and Jim who would leave the instrument for him to play, next to Duck. At the end of each episode, the rag dolls would often join in with the song, unknown to Neil. Brewer became the longest-serving owner of the boat and was the only one to star in a live theatre tour of the show in 1999 and 2000. Brewer is the only presenter to have starred in more than 2 series. He is also the last surviving presenter, following the death of Pat Hutchins in November 2017, and that of John Cunliffe in September 2018.
Following the boat's redundancy from Ragdoll Productions, it is no longer on display to the public.
Episodes
Series 1 (1990–1991) – John Cunliffe 1. "Locks" – 3 September 1990 – John plans to take the Ragdoll up the canal to Dudley, but in order to do so he has to navigate a series of locks. 2. "Painting" – 10 September 1990 – Tree branches scrape against the Ragdoll, scratching off its smart paint. So John goes out to the shops to buy some paint to make his boat look nice and shiny again. Rosie and Jim do some painting of their own, and they learn about mixing colours together to make even more colours. 3. "Supermarket" – 17 September 1990 – John is out of groceries, so he makes a trip to Sainsbury's to purchase what he needs. However, the two rag dolls have something else on their minds. 4. "Tunnel" – 24 September 1990 – Whilst John is on his travels, he goes inside a tunnel leaving the two rag dolls to believe that pure darkness can be frightening to travel through. 5. "Horse Towing" – 1 October 1990 – Whilst attempting to travel to Dudley, the Ragdoll's tiller comes apart in John's hand, meaning he has to walk to a nearby stable so a horse can tow the boat to somewhere he can get it fixed. 6. "Glass" – 8 October 1990 – John is very curious to know how glass is made, so he goes to a factory to see what ingredients are put together to make glass, sand being the main one. Rosie and Jim follow him there, and play in the sandpit making their own boat out of sand with marble glass windows. 7. "Boat Building" – 15 October 1990 – John visits Black Country Narrow Boats, the boatyard that built the Ragdoll, where Rosie and Jim try making their own boats out of paper and foil. 8. "Washing" – 22 October 1990 – It's a rainy day on the Ragdoll, and John's in need of washing his clothes, so he sets out to a local launderette to get them clean once again. Rosie and Jim have some dirty washing too, but they also have something else in mind. 9. "Coal" – 29 October 1990 – It is quite cold on the Ragdoll, and John is running out of coal for his furnace to keep him and Rosie and Jim warm, so he and Rosie and Jim set out to a coal mine to see where exactly coal comes from. 10. "Clipping" – 5 November 1990 – As John sails down the canal, he notices lots of different things being cut, so he takes a walk and goes to a farm to see some sheep having their wool sheared off. Later on, John does some trimming of his own by giving his beard a snip. Rosie and Jim join in by taking some sheep wool and begin pretending to shear it off themselves. 11. "Falcons" – 12 November 1990 – John is looking for an idea for a story, so he sails down the canal to a falcon country park to see all kinds of different birds. Rosie and Jim follow him, and watch the demonstrations of the falcons. 12. "Woollen Mill" – 19 November 1990 – John's woolly jumper is beginning to wear out, so he sets off to a mill to retrieve some wool to knit a new jumper. Meanwhile, Jim mistakes a sheep for a dragon, and is frightened, but soon learns that sheep are harmless. Then, Rosie and Jim finally get some coloured wool of their own. 13. "Bread" – 26 November 1990 – John sets out to a wheat field to find out how bread is made. He then sees a windmill, and is shown how wheat is turned into bread. Rosie and Jim get up to their old tricks and fool around with John when he isn't looking. 14. "Shopping" – 3 December 1990 – John sets out to the shops to buy some food and drink for a picnic. Rosie and Jim are hungry and want to have a picnic too, so they add their own items to John's shopping list without him knowing. Bearing in mind that John doesn't even like the items that Rosie and Jim added, they're afraid that John is going to be upset. However, John isn't overly upset after all, as he sees a family having a barbecue and gives them Rosie and Jim's items. 15. "Weaving" – 10 December 1990 – John thinks the blanket on his bed is starting to wear out, so he decides to go and get a new one. Rosie and Jim play with his blanket, but they play too rough, and put large holes in it. So John pays a visit to the weavers workshop to see how blankets are made from scratch. 16. "Ferry" – 17 December 1990 – John goes off to Hampton to see a ferry. When Rosie and Jim see a boat that's going to the same place as the Ragdoll, they fear that it's going to cause a crash, but of course, it doesn't. John hops aboard a ferry to be transported from one path to another that has the river as a collision. 17. "Milking (a.k.a "Milk")" – 7 January 1991 – John travels to a farm to see how the milk we drink every day is made. 18. "Sailing" – 14 January 1991 – John travels to Tewkesbury Marina to see some sailing boats and get some ideas for a story about Rosie and Jim 19. "Steam" – 21 January 1991 – While watching steam boats on the River Severn, John runs the Ragdoll aground in a mud bank needing help from another steam boat. 20. "Abbey" – 28 January 1991 – John visits Tewkesbury Abbey and explores the inside of the church. 21. "Breakdown" – 4 February 1991 – It's time for John to take out the rubbish from the boat, so he attempts to catch up with the bin-man and takes the rubbish to the tip so it can be broken down and recycled. 22. "Pottery" – 11 February 1991 – John travels to visit a pottery at Elmley Castle near Pershore in Worcestershire. 23. "Fairground" – 18 February 1991 – John travels along the River Severn through Worcester to Stourport to ride the dragon at the Shipley Amusements Park. 24. "Letters" – 25 February 1991 – John travels to Worcester to visit the Worcester Post and Sorting Office 25. "Finding the Way" – 4 March 1991 – John travels along the River Severn through Worcester, and then goes to Ragley Hall in Alcester to a maze.
Series 2 (1991–1992) – John Cunliffe 26. "Automata" – 30 September 1991 – John visits Ashorne Hall to see some musical instruments that play by themselves. 27. "Butterflies" – 7 October 1991 – John visits Stratford Butterfly Farm in Stratford-upon-Avon. 28. "Houses" – 14 October 1991 – John Visits Charlecote House. 29. "Hair" – 21 October 1991 – John visits Renoir Hair Salon in Birmingham. 30. "School" – 28 October 1991 – John visits Reaside Nursery School in Birmingham. 31. "Bricks" – 4 November 1991 – John visits Northcot Brick Ltd in Blockley. 32. "Small Animals" – 11 November 1991 – John visits Evesham in Stratford-upon-Avon to see some small animals at Twyford Country Centre. 33. "Hats" – 18 November 1991 – John visits The Rag Market in Birmingham. 34. "Hospital" – 25 November 1991 – John visits Birmingham Children's Hospital. 35. "Boat Painting" – 2 December 1991 – John visits The National Waterways Museum in Gloucester. 36. "Sheepdog" – 9 December 1991 – John visits Netherly Farm in Mathon to see a sheepdog at work. 37. "Waterworks" – 16 December 1991 – John visits Severn Trent Water. 38. "Blacksmith" – 6 January 1992 – John visits The National Waterways Museum in Gloucester for a second time. 39. "Library" – 13 January 1992 – John visits The Children's Library in Sutton Coldfield. 40. "Dredging" – 20 January 1992 – John visits a bucket dredger digging mud from a river. 41. "Rope" – 27 January 1992 – John visits Bewdley to get a new rope for The Ragdoll Boat. 42. "Trees" – 3 February 1992 – John accidentally breaks a plank of wood and decides to get a new one. He visits a timber yard to see how trees get turned into planks of wood. 43. "Shoes" – 10 February 1992 – John visits Worcester to buy some shoes from Blunts Shoes. 44. "Brass" – 17 February 1992 – John visits the Bewdley Museum to see how a brass windlass is made while Rosie and Jim try to return his jelly to him.