birthday cards

A number of different formats for Birthday People were tried out from 1993, including a nature theme presented by ex-Really Wild Show host Nicola Davies. Westcountry presenters were also sent out to read birthday cards from local tourist attractions. From around 2000, Birthday People was hosted by a pair of puppet characters called Flotsam and Jetsam.

Captain Flotsam lived in a lighthouse on "Herringbone Rock" with his sidekick Jessie the Seagull. Here they would present "The Birthday Log", while having various - often surreal - adventures.

They would occasionally be joined by other puppet characters - the pirates Salvador Swash and Buckle the Seadog, their cleaner - Lighthouse Lil and their resident scientist - The Eminent Professor, who would frequently be put through painful and humiliating experiments to test a silly theory or would answer emails from the viewers at home (who seemed to include a large number of students).

The programme was only two to three minutes long, but would often have an ongoing story or theme that would take them through the week.

The characters went on to star in their own half hour Christmas specials in 2002 and 2003, in which Flotsam and Jetsam rescued Father Christmas from the clutches of Swash and Buckle and helped King Arthur recover the Holy Grail from marauding Vikings in an adventure through time (involving a very funny Doctor Who pastiche).

The programme aired until 2004, when the light was finally turned off at Herringbone Rock. There have been rumours of Flotsam and Jetsam's return on the internet, but so far they haven't resurfaced.

The show's puppeteers and voices were: Dave Oliver, Austin Hackney and Adam Carter; they also wrote the scripts. The programme was produced by Mike Geldard and Leila Fletcher.