Here Come the Double Deckers!

Seven kids hang out in a junkyard with an abandoned double decker bus; Brains, the brainy one; Doughnut, the obese one; Spring, the Black one; Scooper, the leader (was he?); Sticks, the drummer; and two girls, Billie and the young girl named Tiger, as she carried around that stuffed tiger toy. There seemed to be more adventures with trying to retrieve the tiger toy than anything else. One episode, Doughnut dreamt he ate an invisible formula. Another involved a chocolate factory and a gun that shot out candy pieces. The gun was set on a radiator and later when fired, it spewed chocolate sauce all over the bad guys. My brother and I still can sing the fat ladies song, but I don't for the life of me recall what that one was about. There was a teacher all the boys fell in love with and saw as his ideal woman; Doughnut saw her as a chef, Brains as a scientist and so on. Billie sees her as a witch. One of the wildest adventures for me was that camping mishap when it started to rain and everyone climbed into the car and knocked the car out of gear. The only one who didn't get wet was Albert, who I take it was the adult who usually accompanied the kids on their adventures. Albert was asleep under the wagon. Very similar to what I have seen of the 'Carry On' movies in the UK, Double Deckers must have been a juvenile version. Nevertheless we never missed it when it aired. We loved this show.

'Here Come The Double Deckers!' premiered on B.B.C.-T.V. in 1970 and was repeated virtually every summer for years thereafter. Nobody objected because it was a thumping good show; a high-spirited comic version of Enid Blyton's 'Secret Seven', replete with singing, dancing, and lots of slapstick. If anyone fell over, they'd never be hurt. The gang came in all shapes and sizes, so the viewers could find at least one kid to identify with. I used to wonder how the gang had gotten together, and why we never saw their parents. A show like this could never be made now. With the Government getting tough on obesity amongst children, Doughnut would be out for a start. Secondly, parents would be bound to object to the sight of children in an old bus, clearly in imminent danger from the exhaust fumes. As for Albert the road sweeper, he'd probably be targeted by a 'News Of The World' style witch hunt. 'Double Deckers' is a charming relic from a bygone era when kids were allowed to be kids.

I too am an American with a good memory and I remember this TV show on one or both weekend mornings. I was 6 or 7 years old and I remember having a little crush on Tiger. Their accents were not all that strange to me and had me questioning that awful Boston accent I was afflicted with at birth. I believe this show was my original inspiration to train my own diction toward being less distinguishable from my region. The characters were great and varied and I remember seeing a kid in my school who had a Double Deckers lunch box, which would imply a greater popularity than the show had actually obtained. I would love to see it somewhere again, on DVD or in a Nickelodeon feature...or perhaps even TV Land. I'm sure my kids would enjoy the show, as their Daddy was exactly the age of the characters when it was being shown. I vaguely remember the theme song, can hum the melody but would love to hear it again!

"The Double Deckers" was a highly popular comedy series which was televised by the BBC on Saturday mornings. There was the attractive use of good natured banter as a group of friends were able to 'go and do their own thing'. It was outright escapism and for viewers such as myself who were under ten years old in age, it was a welcome delight to meet up with our friends. We used to identify with the characters. The cast were good and individually they still linger in one's memory. The songs and dance routines were light hearted and I guess that with the hindsight of a certain nostalgia, this has become a cult classic. Several of the actors have grown older and have progressed to successful adult acting careers.

I too have fond memories of this marvelously-slapstick children's show that debuted in the dawning 70's - a joint amalgamation of a venture between US television and the BBC. It dealt with the madcap exploits of a group of London children with a great den (a large red London double-decker bus in a disused works yard). Each week saw the gang in hilarious and ludicrous adventures - a runaway home-made hovercraft, invading "Martians", a haunted house and so on. Film-goers who recall the Children's Film Foundation productions may well recall also the adventures of 'The Magnificent Six-And-A-Half' - which was the mold for the TV series to come. Made by the CFF, with I believe Roy Simpson & Harry Booth at the helm it had seven children (the half was the youngest girl - as with "Tiger" being the youngest when it transferred to the small screen). Various insanely silly adventures made enjoyable children's stories - and included Michael Audreson and Brinsley Forde among the cinema cast - later to be members of the TV series gang. Mervyn Hayes who also became a stalwart member of the TV series also appeared in the cinema originals. The stories in fact were also re-worked for the TV series: "Ghosts & Ghoulies" transferred to become "Happy Haunting", "Bob A Job" became the TV episode "A Helping Hand" and so on. I believe the CFF story "Kon-Tiki Kids" may also have been the base for the TV story "Tiger Takes Off" (hovercraft adventure). Other TV ep's were derived from other productions by the CFF - such as 'Go-Kart-Go!' - a go-kart racing adventure - which transferred to the small screen with the episode "Go-Karters". Three of the TV cast (Michael Audreson ("Brains"), Gillian Bailey ("Billie") & Brinsley Forde ("Spring")made an appearance on French television in 2000 for a small re-union. Peter Firth - who became an established TV and film actor was unable to attend - nor was Debbie Russ ("Tiger") - she now works for a radio station in Hong Kong. There was no mention of Bruce Clarke ("Sticks") or Douglas Symmonds ("Doughnut") - or indeed Mervyn Hayes - now better known for his role in 'It Ain't 'Alf Hot Mum'. A full re-union would be good to see - though it's unlikely. I don't know for example whether all members are now still alive. Douglas Symmonds is the one who first springs to mind because of his massive appetite for food - but if he is - and if ever the series gets a DVD release (long-overdue!) - it would be immensely satisfying to hear the old gang (and "old" perhaps being the more operative word - they are all well-past their childhood days!) - seeing the old gang make a narrative track for the old TV episodes - to enlighten us with comical anecdotes and past memories of their time on the marvelous old show that was uniquely a British institution - British to the core - 'Here Come The Double Deckers!'...

Paul-Hillam1