Barnard wrote: ↑28 Jul 2022, 20:12
All I can find out about the narrator of the Great Car Race is that it seems to be ‘Patrick Troughman’, of whom I have not heard.
But it certainly sounds like Bernard Cribbins.
One of the comments under the clip says this:
Joseph Marrison
1 day ago
Pity the series was cancelled after this pilot was animated. It did look promising, since the animation was very good and I did like Bernard Cribbins’ character voices. Though I didn’t like how they had Bert Monkey a bully in this pilot, but ah well, it is a minor criticism
I have not heard of Patrick Troughman, either; could it be a misprint for Patrick Troughton? However, it does seem that Cribbins was the narrator in Noddy and the Great Car Race - an episode of The Further Adventures of Noddy, dated 1975.
I did find this for Google Books, I would imagine as Cribbins was listed as the narrator, it was because he narrated the TV series.
It's possible there was more than one narrator, though it could be one person putting on different voices. 'Noddy and the Great Car Race' was made in the 1980s and wasn't part of the 1975 TV series (Noddy), which was narrated by Richard Briers.
Going back to Bernard Cribbins, it was seeing his first Hornby advert that got my sister and me interested in model railways. We were delighted to receive a Hornby railway set from our parents that Christmas, with the rails set out on a wooden board on which my dad had glued green felt for grass, etc. I still remember coming in unexpectedly one day while he was working on the board in the run-up to Christmas. I asked what he was doing and he said he was making a map for work - an answer which I accepted without question! The Hornby railway set brought us a lot of pleasure over the years and we have Bernard Cribbins to thank for igniting our interest. Sadly, we gave it away when we were in our teens!
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
Anita Bensoussane wrote: ↑29 Jul 2022, 08:59
...Going back to Bernard Cribbins, it was seeing his first Hornby advert that got my sister and me interested in model railways. We were delighted to receive a Hornby railway set from our parents that Christmas, with the rails set out on a wooden board on which my dad had glued green felt for grass, etc. I still remember coming in unexpectedly one day while he was working on the board in the run-up to Christmas. I asked what he was doing and he said he was making a map for work - an answer which I accepted without question! The Hornby railway set brought us a lot of pleasure over the years and we have Bernard Cribbins to thank for igniting our interest. Sadly, we gave it away when we were in our teens!
A good few of my family also love model (and actual) trains.
I liked going with them to model railway exhibitions as a kid, and can still appreciate them from afar, whereas they've maintained their love of them. One of my brothers actually joined one of those kind of clubs - and so became involved with the building and displaying them at exhibitions himself. Mind you he's nuts about trains and has subsequently became a train driver, then driver manager, so has pretty much dedicated his life to them.
Anita Bensoussane wrote: ↑29 Jul 2022, 08:59
Going back to Bernard Cribbins, it was seeing his first Hornby advert that got my sister and me interested in model railways. We were delighted to receive a Hornby railway set from our parents that Christmas...
But did it come with a Hornby-sized Bernard Cribbins??
I mainly remember him from The Railway Children, The Wombles and of course, the absolutely legendary... RIP.
Society Member
It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
Courtenay wrote: ↑29 Jul 2022, 09:32But did it come with a Hornby-sized Bernard Cribbins??
It would have been a novelty to have a plastic figure of Bernard Cribbins for our Hornby railway! As it happened, the figures we did have were from a farm and zoo set as the proper Hornby ones were too expensive for us to buy. They were of a larger scale but that didn't bother us. We had hours of fun using our train set to act out Famous Five stories (based on Enid Blyon's originals or made up) and lots of other scenarios.
It's good to hear of your family's love of trains, Bertie. I enjoy looking at model railways at exhibitions.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
He came into the Doctor Who series in 2008 when an actor - who had already recorded scenes - had unexpectedly died.
It's a tribute to Bernard's acting (and that of the writer/showrunner Russell T Davies) that a last minute replacement (now re-written as grandfather instead of the original actors role of father) could become one of the most loved characters on the show.
I first remembered him as the miniaturized man in the Hornby adverts. Didn't he also do the voice of Buzby as well? Then I realised he had also narrated a childhood favourite of mine, The Wombles. (Did anyone else ever wrongly assume it was him singing the theme tune as well?) And ever since I've been reading Malory Towers, I've imagined Mam'zelle Dupont sounding exactly like Bernard's Madame Cholet!
Barnard wrote: ↑28 Jul 2022, 15:30
Bernard also appeared in two episodes of my favourite tv show, The Avengers.
I saw one of them a couple of years ago where he's playing a knitting enthusiast. Very whimsical role!
I passed him a few years ago at Comic Con in I think Olympia. He was being helped along by two people and looked very unsteady, but apparently he had recently had a hip replacement operation. So fair play to him for coming along!
RIP.
