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In the 1950s and 1960s , BBC Television ran a series of Children's Programmes under the collective title of '' Watch With Mother ''. There was a different programme on each weekday, one of which was ''The Flowerpot Men'', based on stories by Hilda Brabban . The puppeteers were Audrey Atterbury and Milly Gibson. The voices and other noises were produced by Peter Hawkins, Gladys Whitred and Julia Williams . The plot changed little in each episode. The programme always took place in a Garden , behind a potting shed. There was a Little Weed , of indeterminate species, somewhat resembling a sunflower with a smiling face between two large flowerpots. While the Gardener was away having his dinner, the two Flowerpot Men, Bill and Ben, emerged from the two flowerpots. After a minor adventure a minor mishap occurs; someone is guilty. "Which of those two flowerpot men, was it Bill or was it Ben?" the narrator trills, in a quavering soprano; the villain confesses; the gardener's footsteps are heard coming up the garden path; the Flowerpot Men vanish into their pots and the closing credits roll. This final punch-line was: "and I think the little house knew something about it! Don't You? " The Flowerpot Men spoke their own unintelligible language; for example, "Hello, Little Weed" came out as "flobadob, Ickle Weed", to which the Weed would inevitably reply "Weeeed". This language, like that of the Teletubbies in the 1990s , was criticised for hindering children from learning proper English . Legend has it that Hilda Brabban sold the rights to her stories to the BBC for a mere Guinea ( £1 1/– , or about $3 at that time). In 2001 a second series named Bill and Ben was produced for CBBC , this time involving Stop-motion Animation and full colour. However, many additions were implemented.
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