Mr Benn

As if by magic... the shopkeeper appeared

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The Animation

Mr Benn was an animated series created by the brilliant David McKee. McKee originally wrote Mr Benn as a children's book in the late 1960s before the series was turned into the much-loved TV animation. 

The fifteen-minute cartoons were first broadcast on 25th February 1971 on the BBC and featured our bowler-hatted hero, Mr Benn. Each episode had no other voice except the narrator Ray Brooks (who also narrated King Rollo, another of McKee’s animations), who told the story as it unfolded on screen.

Each episode followed a similar theme with Mr Benn, wearing a black suit and bowler hat, leaving his house at 52 Festival Road, London and entering a fancy-dress costume shop. When the shopkeeper would appear, at the words ‘As if by magic, the shopkeeper appeared.’ Mr Benn would then dress up in one of the outfits and be transported, through a magic back door, to his adventure. At the end of his tale, the shopkeeper would reappear, guiding Mr Benn back to the shop.

Cleverly each episode gave a clue before he would undertake his venture. An example of this was to watch for the children playing in the background as he walked to the shop revealing where Mr Benn could be going on his adventure.

Mr Benn

An upstanding member of British society, the stories often had a moral hidden within them that Mr Benn resolved by the end of the episode. Mr Benn lived at 52 Festival Road, London. David McKee lived at 54 Festing Road and said that when he created the character, it would be someone he’d like to live next door to. Always dressed in his regular clothing, viewers would have to guess what he was about to change into…a knight, caveman, spaceman, pirate… All have been used.

The Shopkeeper - read Fun Facts to find out his name!

The shopkeeper was the other main character in every episode. He was always dressed in glasses and wore a red fez. He would help Mr Benn make his choice and take him to the changing rooms before Mr Benn slips into his awaiting story.

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Production & Episodes

The animation was produced at Zephyr Films, and thirteen episodes were made and shown in 1971 and 1972. A fourteenth episode was created in 2005 and debuted on the channel Noggin in the UK. This episode was taken from the 2001 McKee book Gladiator.

Although the show was shown for over 20 years, McKee signed a contract where he got paid a one-off payment and no repeat fees.

Spin-Offs

Generations have loved the series, and several different merchandises have been produced, from bedspreads to badges. There was only ever one annual made which now would cost around £90 for the original 1972 version. 

Of course, the most significant spin-off was the original books that created the series, which are again an expensive choice now.

David McKee also wrote several other books, such as Elmer the Elephant and Not Now Bernard, along with showing his art in exhibitions.

Fun Facts

• The shopkeeper's name was Smasher Lagru, and he first appeared as an inmate in Mr Benn’s book, 123456789 Benn. This was where Mr Benn was a convict; it didn’t make it into the animated series.

• Mr Benn’s first name was William.

• In the first episode, Mr Benn is a knight.

• Very little of the animation originals are left as they were thrown into a skip in the 1970s

• In 2009 a plaque at 54 Festing Road (where the inspiration for Mr Benn came from) was installed as a tribute to McKee.

• In a recent poll, Mr Benn was voted the sixth most popular kids' TV show of all time.