Birthday People

Storyline

Birthday People was a British children's television program that ran for several years on Devon and Cornwall's regional channel Westcountry Television later Carlton Westcountry Television and then ITV1 Westcountry. The program, showcasing children's birthday cards and messages, was hosted by a pair of puppet characters called Flotsam and Jetsam. Captain Flotsam lived in a lighthouse on "Herringbone Rock" with his sidekick Jessie the Seagull. Here they would present "The Birthday Log", while having various - often surreal - adventures. They would occasionally be joined by other puppet characters - the pirates Salvador Swash and Buckle the Seadog, their cleaner - Lighthouse Lil and their resident scientist - The Eminent Professor, who would frequently be put through painful and humiliating experiments to test a silly theory or would answer emails from the viewers at home (who seemed to include a large number of students). The program was only two to three minutes long, but would often have an ongoing story or theme that would take them through the week.