Star Cutouts Ltd SC1030 Rainbow Cardboard Cut Out Party Scene Decoration, Multi-Colour, 93 x 5 x 93 cm

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Small World (1), Caterpillars and Butterflies, Looking After Baby, Small World (2), Going Out to the Circus, Going to a Toy Museum, Journey on a Narrow Boat, A Visit to a Safari Park

a b Hawkins, Silas (October 2014). "Voices-Voices-Voices!". Doctor Who Magazine. Panini Comics (477): 66. Vince – played by Vince Hill, a singer who would occasionally visit the Rainbow House and join in a song with Rod, Jane & Freddy. One episode portrayed him as a kind of 'Geoffrey' figure for Zippo when he showed up with Zippo to a garden party. The Birthday Cake, I Want to be a Popstar, George's Secret Place, The Explorers, Without a Voice, Outer SpaceEach episode of Rainbow revolved around a particular activity or situation that arose in the Rainbow House, where the main characters lived. Some episodes, particularly in the early years, were purely educational in format and consisted of a series of scenes involving the characters learning about that particular episode's subject, interspersed with real-world footage, songs, stories and animations related to that same subject. The puppet characters of Zippy, George and Bungle would take the role of inquisitive children asking about the episode's subject, with the presenter (initially David Cook, and from 1974 onwards Geoffrey Hayes) serving the role of teacher figure, educating them about the subject. From the 1980s onwards, most episodes were more story-driven and frequently involved some kind of squabble or dispute between the puppet characters of Zippy, George and Bungle, and Geoffrey's attempts to calm them down and keep the peace. While the structure of the episodes remained generally the same as the early years, during this time the show's characters and format were developed significantly. Zippy became increasingly loud and boastful, his mischief a regular source of humour, while George became slightly more extroverted and was no longer afraid to speak, though his shyness remained a predominant character trait. Bungle also became increasingly 'goody-two-shoes' and showed a sneaky side, which put him frequently at odds with Zippy. Rather than just remaining outside the window, Zippy and George were shown within the Rainbow House itself more often, behind a table, while the singers would more frequently join the characters in the Rainbow House scenes rather than being confined to the song segment. An initial range of three hand puppet books featuring Bungle, Zippy and George was launched at the London Book Fair on 12 March on Sweet Cherry's stand, and then at the Bologna Book Fair on 1 April. These books were going to be available at retail from July–October 2019, but it was delayed further until May 2020.

Zippo – Zippy's cousin, identical in appearance to Zippy but slightly brighter in colour, who would make the occasional guest appearance throughout the 80s and 90s seasons. Originally portrayed as an eloquent Frenchman, but a later episode depicted him as an American-accented rapper with loud, flashy clothing. Operated by Valerie Heberden, and voiced by Roy Skelton.Zippy – loud and domineering, but usually very funny (albeit not to the other characters in the show). The puppet was originally voiced by Peter Hawkins and operated by Violet Philpott and later voiced by Roy Skelton and Ronnie Le Drew – Hawkins and Skelton were voice artists also well known for voicing Daleks and Cybermen in Doctor Who. Ronnie has also operated Zippy and has done since 1972. Zippy's mouth is a zip, and when he became too bossy or irritating, this was zipped shut to prevent him from continuing: on at least one occasion he unzipped himself, though he appears unable to do so on other occasions or simply submits to this punishment. He broadly represented childhood self-centeredness, "naughtiness" and extroversion. Zippy was extremely boastful and would frequently brag about his superior intelligence and singing skill (both of which proved to be completely unfounded when put to the test) and was also greedy, often overeating and displaying a particular love for chocolate and sweets. The original Thames series has gained cult status and continues to get frequent mentions on radio and television. A few DVDs have been produced, including one celebrating 30 Years of Rainbow. Zipman and Bobbin, Zippy's in Love, Hot Day, Zippy Sets Them Up, Bungle's High and Mighty Day, Zippy Wants To Be A Comedian, George's Secret Wish

Sheridan, Simon (2004). The A-Z of Classic Children's Television: From Alberto Frog to Zebedee. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. pp.211–217. ISBN 1903111277.In 1989, Rod, Jane & Freddy left the show to concentrate on their own TV series and their touring. Rather than replace them, most episodes ditched the song feature altogether and the episodes became increasingly storyline-driven. Stanley Bates also left the show at this time although he continued to contribute as a scriptwriter, with George's puppeteer Malcolm Lord replacing him in the role of Bungle. George was now operated by Tony Holtham.

The theme song for the show was actually a small part of the full version, also called "Rainbow" and written by Hugh Portnow, Lady Hornsbrie, Hugh Fraser and Tim Thomas of the band Telltale, who regularly appeared in the first two seasons of the show. It was released as a single on an offshoot of the Music for Pleasure label called Surprise, Surprise in 1973 with the B-side "Windy Day". Although Telltale left the show in 1974, their recording of the theme tune continued to be used until the end of the original show's run in 1992. Rainbow is a British children's television series, created by Pamela Lonsdale, which ran from 16 October 1972 until 6 March 1992, made by Thames Television. The series was revived by Tetra Films from 10 January 1994 until 24 March 1997, in two different formats from the original Thames series, with differing cast members. Tim Randall, Rainbow Unzipped – The Autobiography Published on 1 October 2009 by Headline Publishing Group ( ISBN 9780755319763). Charlie Dore, Julian Littman and Karl Johnson – the singing trio who replaced Telltale in 1974. They stayed with the show before being replaced by Rod, Matt & Jane in 1975. Charlie Dore and Julian Littman went on to have hugely successful music careers, while Karl Johnson became a well-known actor. March, Cath; Francis, Penny (6 January 2013). "Violet Philpott obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017 . Retrieved 17 April 2017.Rod, Jane and Freddy – a group of musicians who regularly featured on the show. When they debuted in 1974 they were 'Rod, Jane and Matt', Matt being Matthew Corbett (of The Sooty Show fame). Matt was replaced from 1977 by Roger Walker, before Freddy Marks, in turn, took over in 1981. Although initially confined to the song segment of the show, gradually Rod, Jane & Freddy began to feature more heavily in the episode's storylines during the show's run, often playing significant roles in the plot. Some of the early 80s episodes stated they lived in the Rainbow House and they were shown to have a bedroom of their own, although later episodes implied they lived next door. Rod, Jane & Freddy were very well-respected and looked up to by Zippy, George and Bungle, who admired their singing and rarely ever got into any conflict with them.