Alphabet Zoo is a series of ten-minute programmes for young children, produced by Granada Television and was broadcast on ITV for two series in 1983 and 1984. It was presented by singer Ralph McTell and actress Nerys Hughes. Each episode is dedicated to a letter of the alphabet.
Split into 16 episodes, Alphabet Zoo aired its first episode on 10 January 1983.[1] Ralph McTell wrote 26 songs, one for each letter of the alphabet.[2] The series was produced by Stephen Leahy, directed by Frank Hayes, and illustrated by Valerie Pye.[1] Alphabet Zoo was written by seven people, of whom only two—Diane Wilmer and Linda Thornber—had prior experience in television. The other five writers were Anne Yates, Jeffrey Flynn, Nicholas Symons, Amanda Webb, and Chris Galer.[2] Paul Danson designed the series' set, which was made in the studio of Granada Television, and which The Stage and Television Today said is "a much larger set than is customary for children's programmes".[1][2] The set, which Broadcast's Belkis Bhegani called "expensive" and lavish", featured Duster the Dog, a Bernese mountain dog, as well as fountains and ponds.[1]
The second series aired for 27 weeks.[3] It was directed by Lorne Magory (who also worked on several famous British programmes such as Press Gang, Life Force and Emmerdale)
A hard-cover book of the series featuring an extended play containing four songs was published in March 1983.[1] Another book, The Complete Alphabet Zoo, was published in 1994 and featured songs McTell wrote for the series including "Fergus the Frog", "Ollie the Otter", and "Yuri the Yak". Lahri Bond of Baltimore said that "there are some brilliant turns of a phrase and I guarantee that it will be you who asks your kids to listen to this fun-filled recording again, as soon as it is done".[4]
Nearly a decade after Alphabet Zoo came to an end, the format was revived by ITV Carlton on the similarly named series Alphabet Castle which ran from September 1993 to December 1995.
The series was also transmitted on television in several countries worldwide such as TVNZ 1 (originally called TV One) and TVNZ 2 (originally called Network 2) in New Zealand, RTB in Brunei, GBC in Gibraltar, TV1 and TV2 in Malaysia and on BFBS and SSVC Television in Germany.
Stephanie Lucas criticised the series in The Times Educational Supplement, writing, "Alphabet Zoo is a nice idea: take each letter of the alphabet and make a series of programmes about animals whose names begin with the different letters. In practice, however, it turns out to be pretty standard stuff, efficiently and thoughtfuly done, but lacking in inspiration."[5]