Remember You’re a Womble: Bernard Cribbins

The late Bernard Cribbins was a legendary actor and singer whose career spanned an incredible eight decades. The Oldham-born actor has died, at the age of 93, after a lifetime of entertaining the public. He became a household name in the 1950s and his fame never wavered.

As well as winning leading roles in many iconic comedy films, he starred in several TV series, including Coronation Street. He also narrated and voiced characters in the cult 1970s children's TV programme, The Wombles - a series way ahead of its time, encouraging kids to stop littering and start recycling.

His final film role was in 2018, when he starred as Albert with the late Roy Hudd in the comedy, Patrick, about a pampered pug dog and the impact he has on the people around him.

 

Early career

Born in December 1928, Cribbins left school at 13 and took his first job backstage at a local theatre. He soon began taking on small acting roles and served an apprenticeship with Oldham Repertory Theatre. He completed his National Service with the Parachute Regiment and was awarded the General Service Medal in 1948 after serving in Palestine.

His West End debut, in 1956, was in A Comedy of Errors, at the Arts Theatre. The same year, he won the role of Thomas Traddles in the BBC TV adaptation of Charles Dickens' David Copperfield.

He had his first movie role in the war film, Yangtse Incident, in 1957. He also had a role supporting Tommy Steele in the 1959 comedy hit, Tommy the Toreador. The same year, he starred in another British comedy, Make Mine a Million, with Sid James and Arthur Askey.

Other most memorable films include The Water Babies, The Railway Children, The Mouse on the Moon, The Wrong Arm of the Law, Casino Royale and Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy.

 

Iconic roles

Cribbins had leading roles in the famous Carry On films during the 1960s, but his most iconic roles were in TV series. He made regular appearances as Wally Bannister in the long-running ITV soap, Coronation Street. He played Jolly Jack in the ITV kids' series, Worzel Gummidge, starring Jon Pertwee as the scarecrow who came to life.

Many of his television appearances were in children's shows. He was the regular Storyteller in Jackanory, the BBC children's TV series, making 114 appearances between 1966 and 1991. He appeared as Officer P Brain in Super Gran, the kids' series about a grandma with superpowers.

With an ongoing role in Doctor Who as Wilfred Mott, the grandfather of the Doctor's travelling companion, Donna Noble; his character became a Dr Who legend with a recurring role in the science fiction drama series between 2007 and 2010.

 

The Wombles



For many viewers of all ages, Cribbins will always be associated with the family of furry creatures who lived on Wimbledon Common. The Wombles’ purpose in life was to collect the rubbish that other people left behind and recycle it into something useful.

Created by author Elisabeth Beresford in 1968; it is thought she had taken her children for a walk on Wimbledon Common and they mispronounced it as "Wombledon" Common, which got stuck in her head – and so she invented The Wombles!

When the first book was published in 1968, it featured on Jackanory. This inspired Film Fair Animation to turn it into a children's series for BBC1, using stop-motion animation to create the Wombles, who were voiced by Cribbins.

Perhaps surprisingly, considering how he made the role his own, he wasn't the obvious choice for the narrator. However, Ivor Wood (the animator who had worked on Magic Roundabout before moving onto The Wombles) liked the way Cribbins was able to ad lib the lines, as the script sometimes wasn't long enough to fill the slot.

Other popular actors who auditioned for the role included Derek Guyler, Bernard Bresslaw and Leslie Philips. None of them quite made the mark - but when Cribbins came along, director Wood knew right away they had found their man.

 

How was The Wombles made?

The series revolved around items of rubbish that would be easy for the model-makers to craft. Once the model rubbish was made, the scriptwriters would devise a reason why it should be recycled and how it would end up. They usually chose items made from cardboard, because it was easy to collect and could be made into different things.

However, Beresford, the author, when liaising with the TV crew on the scripts, admitted she struggled to fill up the scene by adding extra words. Cribbins' mastery at ad-libbing and filling any gaps with impromptu lines made him the greatest choice for the narrator.

The series was compulsive viewing between 1973 and 1975. When it was reprised in 2016, Cribbins provided the voice of Great Uncle Bulgaria.

The show was way ahead of its time: recycling is now commonplace, and many businesses and individuals do it on a regular basis, but 50 years ago, it was relatively unheard of.

Cribbins himself supported the ethos of the pioneering show and was a keen recycler himself. Fans paying tribute on Twitter, after the great man's death on 27th July, wrote how he was often spotted at his local recycling plant, adding, "Top man - you get exactly what it says on the tin."

 

Wombles' relaunch

Cribbins' most famous creations, The Wombles, have made a comeback. They have come out of hibernation for a worthy cause to spread the Keep Britain Tidy message of helping the environment.

The furry characters were given a CGI-makeover, while the #WomblesWanted advertising campaign inspired a new generation of our furry favourites. The message is to recycle rubbish and reuse and refurbish old items, instead of dumping them at landfill sites.

As fans prepare for the 50th anniversary of The Wombles in 2023, a series of events have been lined up, including celebrating Haydon the Womble's birthday on 26th August. In 2006, he became the mascot for AFC Wimbledon football club. He can still be seen at every Saturday home game, encouraging fans as he wanders around the terraces.

On 15th November, Mike Batt, who wrote the Wombles' music, will make a rare appearance in concert at Bush Hall, London. On 5th February 2023, celebrations will begin on the 50th anniversary of the first Wombles broadcast back in 1973.

Following his death, the late Bernard Cribbins has been hailed a national treasure. Leaving a legacy of some of the greatest characters in film and television history, not to mention an environmental message that is even more important today than ever before, he will be greatly missed.