Peter Firmin death: Tributes for Bagpuss and Clangers creator flood in
'What a wonderful legacy he leaves behind'
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Your support makes all the difference.Peter Firmin, the famed co-creator of Bagpuss, Basil Brush and the Clangers, has died aged 89.
Firmin helped create various popular children’s TV shows, helping bring to life Noggin the Nog and Ivor the Engine, working primarily with longtime collaborator Oliver Postgate.
He passed away at home surrounded by friends and family. Clangers production company Coolabi confirmed the death in a statement that said “During a career spanning over six decades Peter worked with great skill in a remarkably wide variety of creative disciplines as a fine artist, craftsman and author.
”Of all his work he will probably be most fondly remembered for the characters he co-created and made.“
Firmin’s recent work includes the £5 million, BAFTA-winning return of the Clangers which saw Michael Palin serving as narrator in Postgate’s place.
Tributes to the puppeteer have been posted on social media, Shadow Culture Secretary Tom Watson writing: “Peter Firmin took millions and millions of children on magical journeys, filled with glorious laughter and exquisitely joyful characters... What a wonderful legacy he leaves behind.”
Former children’s entertainer Floella Benjamin, of Play School and Play Away fame, said she has ”fond memories” of working with Ferman, while others also remembered his work online.
Firmin’s most popular creation with Postgate was Bagpuss, which was voted the most popular BBC children’s programme ever made in 1999. Firmin was later honoured with a Bafta Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.
Firmin leaves behind wife Joan, six daughters, eleven grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren.
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