he made several series of children’s programmes for british television. they all became very popular. they include "pingwings", "pogles' wood", "noggin the nog", "ivor the engine", "clangers" and "bagpuss". they were all made by smallfilms, the company he set up with peter firmin. they were shown on the bbc between the 1950s and the 1980s, and on itv from 1959 to the present day. in a 1999 poll, "bagpuss" was voted the most popular children's television programme of all time.