Fat Cat and Friends

"Fat Cat and Friends" was an Australian children's television show starring Fat Cat, an orange anthropomorphic cat who wears red braces, a blue bow tie and a green bowler hat. The show was similar in concept to "Here's Humphrey" featuring Humphrey B. Bear. It was produced in the studios of Channel 10 Adelaide and it survived the 1987 frequency switch of channels 10 & 7 in Adelaide.

The show ran on the 0-10 Network (as it was then known) from 1972 until 1987, then on the Seven Network until it was cancelled in 1992 after the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal claimed that the program was not educational enough and was "not clearly defined and might confuse the young". The character being mute was also a clear issue despite the precedent of Humphrey B. Bear.

Despite cancellation, Fat Cat still appears on Perth television screens as the mascot of Seven Perth's highly successful Telethon fundraising organisation.

Fat Cat was played by Ralf Hadzic, who currently operates wine tours in Adelaide with an organisation called "Life is a Cabernet". The character had earlier been played by a male friend of the show's musician, singer Patsy Biscoe.

Initially slated for release as a sidekick to Fat Cat, the character of 'Stringbean' was originally played in the first month of screening by veteran comedic actor 'Nudge McGee'.

See also

* List of Australian television series

External links

*
* [http://colsearch.nfsa.afc.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=0;parentid=;query=626507;querytype=;rec=0;resCount=10 Fat Cat and Friends at the National Film and Sound Archive]