Toytown was a BBC radio series for children, broadcast for Children's Hour on the Home Service. The plays were based on a set of puppets created by S. G. Hulme Beaman, who also wrote the stories for the series. The first Toytown plays were broadcast in 1929, and the pool of stories was re-used until the end of Children's Hour. There were 31 plays in all. During the 1970s, most of the plays were adapted as short films which were broadcast on ITV. The series starred Larry the Lamb, the central character, and his clever sidekick, Dennis the Dachshund. In each story a misunderstanding, often arising from a device created by the inventor, Mr. Inventor, occurs which involves Ernest the Policeman, the disgruntled Mr Growser the Grocer and the Mayor. During the early-1950s series on BBC Children's Hour, Larry the Lamb was always played by Derek McCulloch, Dennis at various times by Norman Shelley, Ernest Jay and Preston Lockwood, the Mayor by Franklyn Bellamy and Felix Felton, Ernest the Policeman by Arthur Wynn, Peter Claughton and Stephen Jack and the Inventor usually by Ivan Samson. The opening music was "The Parade of the Tin Soldiers" by Leon Jessel.
Characters
Larry the Lamb - The main protagonist and best friend of Dennis. Larry and Dennis are very mischievous and the closest thing Toytown has to hoodlums. On one occasion they vandalized the mayor's statue, and on another they convinced everyone there was a dragon on the loose.
Dennis the Dachshund. Clever friend of Larry. He speaks with a strong German accent and uses German word-order in his sentences. He is good at turning barrels and spit wheels. He dreams of being an Alsatian and particularly dislikes being called a "sausage dog".
Mr. Mayor - Toytown's chief official. He is rather pompous and has had a statue of himself placed in the town square. He has an inferiority complex about his short stature, and on one occasion asked the magician to make him "big".
Ernest the Policeman - Keeps "law and order" but rarely ever arrests anyone. He is always threatening to write down people's names and addresses in his notebook. He considers himself the mayor's deputy, and on one occasion set himself up as "mayor" while the real mayor was away on a rest cure.
Mr. Inventor - A brilliant engineer, capable of making almost anything. On one occasion however he was stumped at how to make an engine for the Mayor's car, and asked Larry and Dennis to provide the propulsion. He suffered the derision of Mr. Growser when this deception was revealed.
Mr. Noah - Keeps a menagerie of animals in his "Ark".
Mr. Growser - A disagreeable old gentleman who is always finding things to complain about - usually the behavior of his fellow citizens. His favourite phrase is "It's disgraceful, it ought not to be allowed!"
The Magician - A sorcerer who makes a specialty of granting people's wishes. In one story Larry becomes his apprentice.
A puppet show called Stories from Toytown Featuring Larry the Lamb was first broadcast on ITV between 1972 and 1974. Twenty-six of Hulme Beaman's stories were adapted for television by his friend Hendrik Baker.
