The Wombles 1970s TV episodes

The original BBC TV series began on 5 February 1973 and had a total of 60 five-minute episodes, narrated by Bernard Cribbins. Here is the official synopsis of each classic episode.

1973

1. Orinoco and the Big Black Umbrella – On a blustery day, Orinoco is swept up by the wind!
2. The Rocking Chair – Orinoco gets stuck in a tyre but all is well when it’s used to mend Great Uncle Bulgaria’s rocking chair.
3. A Sticky End – Sticky toffee papers are just the thing for mending leaky ceilings.
4. Great Uncle Bulgaria’s Keep-Fit Lesson – Great Uncle Bulgaria practices kicking a football, but not too successfully.
5. A Safe Place – A safe place must be found for a valuable Womble History book.
6. Peep-Peep-Peep – Wellington creates a telephone from tins and strings.
7. The Purple Paw Mystery – Making purple ink can make a lot of mess!
8. Bungo’s Birthday Party – Bungo thinks everyone’s forgotten his birthday but a surprise secret is in store.
9. The Invisible Womble – Orinoco decides that if he is invisible, no one will know he’s sleeping instead of working.
10. Orinoco Sees the Light – Planting light bulbs in the garden can lead to trouble.
11. The Conkering Hero – How to play conkers and learn to count.
12. One Pair of Feet – Wellington is rescued by Bungo disguised as a cardboard box.
13. Tobermory on Television – Tobermory puts on his own TV show.
14. Crossed Lines – Tobermory invents a new interburrow telephone system.
15. Blow the Womble Down – A vacuum cleaner blows rubbish – out!
16. Madame Cholet Returns – Cake mixing gets out of hand.
17. Weighing in Time – After weighing himself, Orinoco decides to go on a diet.
18. Musical Wombles – Tin cans and tennis racquets sound just like drums and guitars.
19. Wombles and Ladders – A ladder is adapted to Womble size.
20. Orinoco and the Ghost – Moonlight can make white shapes look deceptive.
21. A Game of Golf – Golf balls sometimes travel in the wrong direction.
22. North, South, East, West – Demonstration of a new portable weather vein.
23. The Picnic – How to make a picnic basket not so heavy to carry.
24. Games in the Snow – Plays for sleighs and how to start a minor avalanche.
25. The Snow Wombles – Competition for the best snowman.
26. What’s Cooking – A bird’s nest in the ventilation shaft.
27. Spring Cleaning Time – An elastic washing line can lead to trouble.
28. Marrow Pie – A packet of fertilizer makes a marrow grow and grow.
29. The Cement Mixer – Paw prints in wet cement.
30. The Circus comes to Wimbledon – The Wombles put on their very own circus act.

1975

1. Bungo Up a Tree – Going up a tree is easier than coming down.
2. Time and Slow Motion – Tobermory “organises” so more work can be done in less time.
3. Tomsk in Trouble – Tomsk gets in a tangle learning to make his bed.
4. The Largest Womble in the World – Orinoco finds a huge coat – and tries it on for size.
5. Running out of Steam – The Wombles recreate the days of the steam train.
6. Orinoco’s Midnight Feast – Orinoco is too hungry to wait until midnight!
7. Speak Up – Tomsk joins up the water pipe with the telephone pipe by mistake.
8. The Vanishing Pancake – Orinoco is the best judge of pancakes in the whole world.
9. Madame Cholet and the Blackberries – Blackberry time and no volunteer pickers!
10. The Fruit Machine – The one-armed bandit that does not produce real fruit.
11. Portrait of Great Uncle Bulgaria – The painting that comes alive.
12. Very Behind the Times – An enormous road to be built causes panic.
13. The Burrow Hot Line – Papers and wet laundry get muddled on the washing line.
14. Trunk Call – A hidden Womble is mistaken for a talking tree.
15. MacWomble the Terrible – A monster in a kilt turns out to be quite friendly.
16. A Single Piper – Peace at last when a musical instrument is broken.
17. Porridge for Breakfast – The Scottish Womble who likes salt on his porridge.
18. Highland Games – The Wombles try sword dancing and hammer throwing.
19. Home Sickness – Womble poetry is always entertaining to other Wombles.
20. Goodbye MacWomble – Cousin MacWomble takes his bagpipes home and he leaves the others in peace.
21. Hic-Cups – Tomsk and Bungo get hic-cups.
22. Film Show – A film all about the Wombles – but some of it turns out upside down.
23. Pirate Gold – Following a pirate treasure map.
24. Warm and Cosy – Another experiment in the workshop goes wrong.
25. Autumn Leaves – Tomsk discovers knitting needles pick up leaves very quickly.
26. The Womble Times – The Wombles make their own printing press.
27. Operation W.R.A.P. – Learning first aid for an operation.
28. The Secret Snorer – Orinoco falls asleep when he should be scaring crows away.
29. Womble Fool’s Day – Great fun with a rubber hammer.
30. Womble Summer Party – Demonstration of magical vanishing tricks.