Tales from Fat Tulip's Garden was a children's TV program in the mid-1980s, starring Tony Robinson. It was produced by Debbie Gates for Central Independent Television and aired on British TV network ITV from 1985 to 1987, in a 4:00pm timeslot, with each episode lasting about 10 minutes. Robinson would tell children's stories directly to camera in an English garden setting, and would put on all the voices himself. The show was written by Debbie Gates and Robinson and carried by Robinson's unique and engaging storytelling style, which was semi-improvised. Robinson hoped to provoke the imagination and produce a sense of immediacy in contrast to the shortcomings he saw in children's television at the time. The majority of the programme was filmed in the house and garden of Little Monkhams, a property in Woodford in the Redbridge Borough of London. Further scenes were filmed in the part of Epping Forest facing the house
CreatorsDeborah Gates, Tony Robinson
Tale of two frogs
May 1, 1985
Two frogs, Ernie & Sylv go looking for a new place to live after their pond dries up. They end up exploring Fat Tulip's garden and kitchen, where Ern takes an interest in the washing machine.
A load of old rubbish
May 8, 1985
Thin Tim has come to stay with Fat Tulip, forcing him to clean up the airing cupboard and the rest of his house. Then Inspector Challenor arrives to shed light on a missing key.
Meet a dog called Dorian
May 15, 1985
Thin Tim wants to do odd jobs around the house, but Fat Tulip would rather play Frisbee. When it lands right in the apple tree, local policeman Inspector Challenor and his new dim-witted dog Dorian arrive to help.
Swimming in custard
May 22, 1985
Fat Tulip is throwing a party, but has eaten all the food on the way back from doing the shopping. When everything else goes wrong and Fat Tulip is just about to give up, a bunch of mince decide to help him out.
Rip up the roses
May 29, 1985
Nasty toads Peter Paul & Mary have totally messed up Fat Tulip's Garden. Nice frogs Ernie and Sylv mean to find the culprits of this dirty deed, even though they expect they might be terrible stinky monsters.
Fred the baddy
Jun 5, 1985
Fat Tulip gets a kipper in the mail, meaning Fred the Baddie is coming to stay. So he decides the best thing to do is to pretend not to be home. But a note on the door does not stop Fred the Baddie, who can't read.
The tortoise who climbed mountains
Jun 12, 1985
Ernie and Sylv meet Lewis Collins, a tortoise who imagines himself to be very heroic, fast and strong. He first plans to jump over Fat Tulips house, but decides that would be too easy. He proceeds to dig a tunnel under it instead
Bees know best
Jun 19, 1985
One thousand two hundred and seventeen bees are looking for a new place to stay. Ernie & Sylv invite them to join them in Fat Tulip's Garden, but Fat Tulip and Thin Tim take objection.
No hiding place
Jun 26, 1985
Ernie & Sylv are playing hide and seek. But when Ern hides in a bucket, he ends up down the well in Fat Tulip's garden. Soon all the other insects and animals think there's a monster (possibly several of them) down there.
Fistful of bluebottles
Jul 3, 1985
Ernie & Sylv and all the other young creatures are off to training camp in the woods. But one of the teachers, Mary toad, is helping her kin Peter and Paul cheat at all the tasks.
Mice with Measles
Jul 10, 1985
All the mice in their hole that connects to Fat Tulip's kitchen are ill and Ernie and Sylv are looking after them. Fat Tulip isn't feeling very well either and asks Thin Tim to bake him a cake.
The ugliest possible face
Jul 17, 1985
A lot of different animals are practicing for the Ugliest Possible Face competition. Ernie and Sylv try to cheer up Mary toad by having her compete as well
Seven washing machines
Jul 24, 1985
Fat Tulip's washing machine is broken and his door number is missing. The morning after he hangs up an orange peel shaped like a six to serve as a door number, seven washing machine salesman visit him, bringing along seven washing machines to demonstrate
Never eat a tortoise
Jul 31, 1985
Thin Tim insists that Fat Tulip loses some weight and forces him to exercise in the garden and go on a diet. But Fat Tulip fills the shed with cakes and sweets for midnight snacks. Ernie and Sylvie want to investigate, but Lewis Collins the tortoise insists that he goes in first, disguised as a fruitcake
