Click here to listen to the Theme music (start - wav file 1120Kb)
Jamie, Jamie,
Jamie and the Magic Torch.
Down the helter skelter, faster and faster
Towards Cuckoo Land.
Wordsworth, Wordsworth
Following hard behind.
Ready for adventure,
Always there to lend a paw .....or hand
Mr. Boo and all the others too,
The strangest people you've ever seen.
And the torch with its magical beam
If I hadn't really been there
I'd think that I was dreaming
Jamie, Jamie
No two nights are the same.
And life is one long glorious game with Jamie.
Jamie and the Magic Torch
Click here to listen to the Theme music (end - wav file 600Kb)
Little Gems - Jamie and the Magic Torch
This super little animated classic began life on ITV back in the days when children could watch a little television just after Schools and Colleges finished or when morning television for the grown ups had finished at midday. Jamie and the magic torch concerned the adventures of Jamie and his dog Wordsworth. Wordsworth took care of the torch to ensure that no one else found out about it. Each episode would being with Jamie's mother making sure he was tucked up in bed. She would then turn out the light thinking him asleep and say "Sleep well Jamie." The very second she had gone, Jamie would open an eye and Wordsworth would appear from beneath the bed. Wordsworth would hand the torch over to Jamie and he would shine it onto the bedroom floor. A large colourful hole would appear in the floor opening up the window to a new world. Jamie would go first followed by a slightly reluctant Wordsworth. A new adventure always began with Jamie and Wordsworth going down the helta skelta into Cuckoo Land. At the bottom Jamie and Wordsworth would fly out of the base of a tree onto a soft trampoline. Both Jamie and Wordsworth would spend time there each night, sorting out the problems that the people of Cuckoo Land may have got themselves into. Jamie and Wordsworth could not stay too long in Cuckoo Land as they would always have to return just in case his mother discovered them missing. At the end of each episode, Jamie and Wordsworth would go back up the helta skelta and they would find themselves back where they started in Jamie's bedroom. Jamie would quickly get into bed and then close his eyes upon which we would hear his mother say "Settle down now, Jamie. Come on Wordsworth, out of there."
To my knowledge, three seasons of Jamie were made each containing 13 episodes. The first season was shown in 1976 but it continued to be shown right through to the early 1980s. Each episode lasted a little over ten mins.
Jamie and the Magic Torch was produced by Cosgrove-Hall Productions which produced a whole line of great animated classics. Their first production, 'The Magic Ball' was an award-winning series and is the very first animation that I remember. The Magic Ball was my all time favourite animation - it is a shame we cannot get to see it again though. If anyone has any material for the "THE MAGIC BALL", then please email me as I would love to see this truly remarkable little animation again.
Characters
![]() Jamie |
![]() Wordsworth (Jamie's faithful dog) |
![]() The Magic Torch |
![]() Mr. Boo |
![]() Jojohelp |
![]() Strumpers Blunkett |
![]() Bulli Bundy |
![]() Officer Gotcha |
![]() Yoo Hoo Bird |
![]() Wellybob the cat (who does everything backwards) |
![]() Nutmeg |
![]() The unhappy Cloud |
Episode List
Click below to look at some classic episodes
Jamie Home Page | Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Books |
![]() |
Hidden Persuasion | The Dirty Submachine | Yoo-Hoo Yeti | A Marrow Escape | Jamie and the Magic Torch Books |
Other episodes in the series included:
Big Magic | Help Help |
Jamie's Birthday Party | One Cloudy Day |
The Flossed World | The Downside Upper |
A Policeman's Lot | Jeepers Creepers |
The Unexpected Visitor |
Credits
Written and Narrated by | Brian Trueman |
Music by | Joe Griffiths |
Drawn by | Graham Garside, Jean Flynn, Jane Johnstone, April Spencer, Bernard Dickin, Mario Cavalli, Graham Kennedy |
Rostrum Camera | Frank Hardie |
Film Editor | Dave Street |
Animation Director | Keith Scoble |
Post Production Director | Chris Taylor |
Producers | Brian Cosgrove / Mark Hall |
Executive Producer | John Hambley |
Cosgrove / Hall Productions Ltd. | |
Screen capture credits