Trumpton creator Gordon Murray dies age 95

Trumpton creator Gordon Murray has died at the age of 95.

The puppeteer and creator of the popular children’s programme passed away this week, his son-in-law William Mollett has confirmed.

Murray was best known for the Trumptonshire Trilogy, which included Camberwick Green, Trumpton and Chigley.

The first of the trilogy aired back in 1966 and all three programmes were shown weekly on the BBC for 20 years.

Camberwick Green was the first children’s programme to be aired in colour on the BBC when it launched.

Channel 4 and satellite channel Nickelodeon Junior later aired episodes of the shows for modern audiences.

Murray went on to create television shows Rubovia, Skip and Fluffy, which aired as part of the Multi-Coloured Swap Show in 1978, and The Gublins.

He retired from animation in the 1980s and went on to produce 34 limited edition miniature books, bound entirely by hand.

After the Trumptonshire Trilogy ended, Murray decided to burn all of his puppets, except for one soldier from Camberwick Green.

In an interview on Radio 4, he said: “I burnt them in a bonfire in my garden. I'd had them for some time after the transmissions had stopped.

“And various people had said "oh they're old fashioned", and they always were old fashioned actually. They were old fashioned from the word go.

“They had been used an awful lot you know so I burnt them, together with the scenery.”

He added: “A puppet is an actor you see, and as an actor he only exists as he is performing. After that he's done his job and therefore the actual figure is redundant.”