Tidy Bag

Mike Batt confirms future Wombles plans

New CGI Orinoco outside the burrow door

Mike Batt has confirmed that he’s planning a brand new Wombles TV series, along with a film and a new website.

On his Madhouse Rag blog, Mike quietly announced on 30 June that his company Dramatico is now the major shareholder in Wombles Copyright Holdings Ltd. Until now, he shared the rights to The Wombles equally with author Elisabeth Beresford’s children, but Dramatico has taken an 85% controlling stake, after years of gradually gathering all the rights together.

New CGI Orinoco eating cake

This means Mike can go ahead with his plans to revive The Wombles for a new generation, which he’s been talking about over the past few years.

Dramatico is working on:

Mike Batt said: "We think the Wombles characters are timeless, funny and loveable, and we can assure the Beresford estate that we shall protect and look after the quality and integrity of the characters as we always have done.

“We think there are audiences of new children and international audiences who missed the Wombles the first time around who will be thrilled to see the brilliant high quality animations and new musical productions we shall be mounting.”

New CGI Orinoco having 40 winks on a bench

Elisabeth Beresford’s children, Marcus and Kate Robertson, have kept the rights to her original Wombles novels (recently republished by Bloomsbury), and the right to any future novels that Kate may write.

Earlier this year, Mike Batt said on Twitter that the new TV series was scheduled for late 2014 - though of course plans may change. (Two years ago when he spoke to the music business magazine Music Week, the new episodes were due to be ready in early 2013, which still seemed a long way off.)

New CGI Wombles line-up

On 9 August the Press Association picked up the story, which led to coverage in most major newspapers, as well as on many websites that use the syndicated PA news feed:

The news was welcomed with hundreds of comments on Twitter and other social media - read a selection below.

A few days later, as the story continued to spread, Mike Batt tweeted: “Blinkin eck!! I only blogged about Wombles casually, a month ago, and today everyone wants a piece!”

The Wombles get set for big screen debut

Eco-friendly Wimbledon dwellers The Wombles are set to star in their own feature film for the first time. The movie is one of the projects being planned by musician Mike Batt - the man who put the lovable characters into the charts in the 1970s - after he took a controlling interest in the company that owns their rights.

The Wombles to return on TV, film?

The Wombles may return in a new TV series and feature film. Mike Batt - who helped turn the children’s TV characters into popstars in the 1970s - has outlined plans to bring back the Wombles after acquiring the rights to the brand.

The Wombles becoming (Wimbledon) common again with new film and TV show

Missing believed lost on Wimbledon common, the Wombles could be set for a big-screen return under the auspices of co-creator Mike Batt. The gentle, point-nosed eco-activists were a mainstay of British television in the 1970s, going on to enjoy film and chart success. And now, it seems, they could be back.

https://twitter.com/loveandgarbage/status/365845100074512385 https://twitter.com/loveandgarbage/status/365846686511280129

New Wombles TV series planned

Hugo Myatt is playing Tregard again, Peter Lord wants to take Morph out of the mothballs, and now Mike Batt, Wombles and Katie Melua song-writer extraordinaire, has announced plans to bring the Wombles back in force.

https://twitter.com/ChrisTomson2013/status/365858491082092545 https://twitter.com/heycos/status/365859050077954048 https://twitter.com/grant_williams/status/365871615319359488 https://twitter.com/Abandofan/status/365876870031486977 https://twitter.com/EduroDust/status/365894864300281859 https://twitter.com/Abandofan/status/365917226102034433

The Wombles are on their way back as 1970s children’s favourites set to return in feature film and TV series

Now children’s favourites The Wombles are to make a return - this time in their own feature-length film. Musician Mike Batt, who put the characters into the charts in the 1970s with a string of novelty songs, such as Remember You’re A Womble and The Wombling Song, is also aiming to bring the cuddly creatures back to TV in a 26-part series.

https://twitter.com/kft66/status/366069012062408704 https://twitter.com/leelinford/status/366077306214686722 https://twitter.com/katieanne_92/status/366112412174262274 https://twitter.com/sisterspooky/status/366137536797605888

The Wombles to make a comeback in two new series and a feature-length movie

The Wombles are set to make their TV comeback - and a return to the big-screen is on the cards too. The show’s co-creator Mike Batt is plotting to revive the eco-activists for two new ‘brilliant’ 26-part TV series as well as a feature-length film.

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10151579136117286&id=718517285

https://twitter.com/HLTennick/status/366233231697256448 https://twitter.com/MorayMacdonald/status/366255124982665218 https://twitter.com/SarahOConnell_/status/366509722679001088 https://twitter.com/AndyOakey97/status/366526373155708928

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10151755044429268&id=629499267

https://twitter.com/newsbanks/status/366580804668768259

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10201999999626186&id=1371577171

https://twitter.com/MelandriVlok/status/366772246942990338 https://twitter.com/SelinaCattanach/status/366782346122379264 https://twitter.com/theqza/status/366783743597363203

The Wombles to make TV comeback and star in own movie - NME

The Wombles are set to make a major comeback on both the small and big screen. The comeback is being spearheaded by Mike Batt, the songwriter behind The Wombles pop group.

Remember, You’re A Womble… Again - They’re Back!

Hankering for some Womble action? Fancy seeing them back on the small screen? The big screen? You can have both; Mike Batt has announced on his website that he and his company - Dramatico - have a majority stake in…

https://twitter.com/TimesTelevision/status/366878480635404288 https://twitter.com/Kaptain_Khaos/status/366888753664499714 https://twitter.com/JemStone/status/366900511842119680 https://twitter.com/htwcentral/status/366902999878090752 https://twitter.com/WinMeEu/status/366912491567071232

Televisual | The Wombles lined-up for TV series and feature film

Mike Batt, the composer behind 70s stop motion sensation the Wombles, is planning two new 26-part animated series seeing the return of the Wimbledon Common crew.

https://twitter.com/oliviavdw/status/366968617545367552 https://twitter.com/GuyNormas/status/366978447777599489 https://twitter.com/smcclk/status/367024012838174720

Wombles set for a comeback in new feature length film

The Wombles could be making a return to the silver screen to star in their own film - nearly four decades after they left our TV screens. Created by Elisabeth Beresford in 1968, the furry pointed-nosed, litter pickers lived on Wimbledon Common and enjoyed success throughout the seventies with a TV series and later as a novelty pop act.

https://twitter.com/Loouuiseee/status/367312405808029696