Jimmy Hibbert
Encyclopedia
James "Jimmy" Hibbert is an English
television writer and voice actor best known for his work for Cosgrove Hall.
He was brought up and educated at Leighton Park School
and in Henley-on-Thames
and later studied at the University of Manchester
achieving a BA (Hons)
in drama
. After touring with a rock band
, Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias
, for 10 years, Hibbert began a successful voice-over
career appearing in the BAFTA Award-winning series Alias the Jester
, Wind in the Willows and Dangermouse
, as well as many other popular children's TV shows including:
The success of his voice-over work led him to writing for animation
and Hibbert was commissioned to write scripts for Count Duckula, a show he also script edited. Hibbert has continued to write and script edit for many other celebrated children's series such as The Legends of Treasure Island
, Oscar's Orchestra
, Wyrd Sisters
, Dr Otter
, Preston Pig
, The Secret Show
, Tom and Vicky, Teddybears
, Snailsbury Tales
, Dennis and Gnasher, Vampires, Pirates and Aliens, Shaun the Sheep
, Chuggington
, Fifi and the Flowertots, The Roly Mo Show
, Rubbadubbers
, Transylvania Pet Shop, Bob the Builder
, Little Monsters
, Little Red Tractor
, Oakie Doke, the 2005 version of Muffin the Mule
, Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks
, Zombie Hotel
, Enid Blyton's Enchanted Lands, Albie, Monty the Dog, The Magic Key
, P.B. Bear and Friends, Roary the Racing Car
, Jellikins, Jungle Junction
and Little Robots
. He has been involved as a writer and script editor
on two series for the European Broadcast Union: Marco and Gina and Tom. Other writing credits to his name are: Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto!
, Gordon the Garden Gnome
, Wide-Eye, Andy Pandy
and Bill and Ben
.
Hibbert has been involved in animated feature films and TV series such as doing voices on The BFG
, The King's Beard, Soul Music
, Wyrd Sisters
, The Reluctant Dragon
and The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
as well as writing scripts for Second Star to the Right, Father Christmas and the Missing Reindeer and two Bob the Builder
TV specials A Christmas to Remember
and The Knights of Can-a-Lot.
During the 1990s, Hibbert was also first ever voice actor of characters of a children's BBC show called The Little Polar Bear
where, he teamed up with a BBC Television actress called Susan Sheridan
who was also first voice actor of the show. He and Sheridan were also voice actors of the show Noddy's Toyland Adventures which ran between 1992 & 1994.
He is married with three daughters and lives in Manchester
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
television writer and voice actor best known for his work for Cosgrove Hall.
He was brought up and educated at Leighton Park School
Leighton Park School
Leighton Park School is a co-educational Quaker independent school for both day and boarding pupils. It is situated in the large town of Reading in Berkshire, in South East England...
and in Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...
and later studied at the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
achieving a BA (Hons)
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
. After touring with a rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
, Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias
Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias
Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias were a comedy rock band, formed in Manchester, England in 1973. Their story is told in the book When We Were Thin...
, for 10 years, Hibbert began a successful voice-over
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
career appearing in the BAFTA Award-winning series Alias the Jester
Alias the Jester
Alias the Jester is an animated series created by Cosgrove Hall Films, airing in 13 episodes on ITV starting on November 13, 1985. The show also aired during the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's after school timeslot and is considered one of the Classic ABC shows.-Synopsis:The show follows...
, Wind in the Willows and Dangermouse
DangerMouse
Danger Mouse is a British animated television series which was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for Thames Television. It features the eponymous Danger Mouse, an English mouse who works as a superhero/secret agent. The show is a loose parody of British spy fiction, particularly James Bond and the...
, as well as many other popular children's TV shows including:
- Count DuckulaCount DuckulaCount Duckula is a British animated television series created by British studio Cosgrove Hall, and a spin-off from DangerMouse, a show in which the Count Duckula character was a recurring villain. The series first aired on September 6, 1988 and was produced by Thames Television for 3 seasons and...
- FoxbustersFoxbustersThe Foxbusters is a British animation very loosely based on the Dick King-Smith book The Fox Busters. It was made by Cosgrove Hall and consists of two series of thirteen 11-minute episodes each, made between 1999 and 2000. The show was co-written by the animation partnership of David Max Freedman...
- Noddy's Toyland AdventuresNoddy's Toyland AdventuresNoddy's Toyland Adventures was a children's television programme that was broadcast from September 1992 until December 1994 and again from 1999 to 2001 on the BBC...
- Avenger PenguinsAvenger PenguinsAvenger Penguins was an animated series produced by Cosgrove Hall Films in 1993, it was animated by Alfonso Productions, a Spanish based animation studio also responsible for bringing Cosgrove's previous show Fantomcat to life. It aired largely on Children's ITV and was originally to be called...
- Albert the Fifth MusketeerAlbert the Fifth MusketeerAlbert the Fifth Musketeer is a French animated series based on the story of the Three Musketeers. It is a France Animation and Cinar, Franco-Canadian co-production, for Ravensburger and Children's BBC in association with France 3 and Canal+.- Plot :...
- Sergeant StripesSergeant Stripes (TV series)Sergeant Stripes is a TV series which aired on CBeebies on Thursday 11 September 2003. Stripes is a cute gray cat who lives in a sleepy provincial police station with little Katie and her father, PC Harker...
- Fiddley Foodle BirdFiddley Foodle BirdThe Fiddley Foodle Bird is a children's animated series written by Jonathan Hodge, and narrated by Bruce Forsyth. Thirteen episodes of the series were made in total, with one story continuing through the episodes...
- Animal ShelfAnimal ShelfAnimal Shelf is a children's model animation series that airs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia, and Kidzone on TVNZ 6 in New Zealand. It used to air on Playhouse Disney , now on CITV there...
- Enid Blyton's Enchanted Lands
- Sooty's Amazing AdventuresSooty's Amazing AdventuresA one season animated spin off of the popular puppet show SootyIn this incarnation of the famous bear he is a full bodied bear; free from the puppeteer's hand.-Setting:...
- Victor and HugoVictor and HugoVictor and Hugo, Bunglers in Crime is an animated series made by Cosgrove Hall for Thames Television and screened on CITV from 6 September 1991 to 29 December 1992 and is a spin off from Count Duckula....
- Bill and BenFlower Pot MenThe Flower Pot Men were a British pop group created in 1967 as a result of the single "Let's Go to San Francisco", recorded by session musicians, becoming a major UK Top 20 and Continental Europe hit) in the autumn of 1967...
- The BaskervillesThe BaskervillesThe Baskervilles is an animated children's TV show about a British family living in the most twisted theme park in the world. The show was originally created by series co-director Nick Martinelli and series co-writer Alastair Swinnerton, and eventually distributed and co-financed by CINAR and...
- The Adventures of Paddington BearThe Adventures of Paddington BearThe Adventures of Paddington Bear was a Canadian/French animated childrens television series. It was based on the book Paddington Bear by Michael Bond and written by Bruce Robb. It was produced by Cinar and Protecrea. The show had 117 episodes....
- The LampiesThe LampiesThe Lampies is a children's television series in which fictional engineers defend a lighting network. The series was created by Dave Bonner and features a mixture of 2D and 3D animation....
- Pinky and PerkyPinky and PerkyPinky and Perky is an animated children's television series first broadcast by the BBC in 1957, revived in 2008 as a CGI animation.-Original series:...
- Frankenstein's CatFrankenstein's CatFrankenstein's Cat http://www.wimp.com/frankensteincat/ ISBN 0-689-84695-9), created by Curtis Jobling, is a children's picture book that follows the exploits of Doctor Frankenstein's first experiment. The cat is created by the Doctor out of nine different cats, leading to his name being Nine...
- TruckersTruckers (TV series)Truckers is a stop motion animated series, an adaptation the first book of Terry Pratchett's The Nome Trilogy, produced in the United Kingdom by Cosgrove Hall for TV, then released on VHS, though edited together into a feature-length film...
- Little Red TractorLittle Red TractorLittle Red Tractor is an animated children's television series produced by the Little Entertainment Group. In the UK it is broadcast by the BBC, usually on the CBeebies channel. The main characters series are:...
- Lavender CastleLavender CastleLavender Castle is a British stop motion/CGI television series created by Rodney Matthews and produced by Gerry Anderson. It produced between 1996 and 1998 through a collaboration between Carrington Productions International, Gerry Anderson Productions and Cosgrove Hall Films, and was first...
- FantomcatFantomcatFantomcat was an animated series produced by Cosgrove Hall Films, it was first broadcast in 1995 and was animated after Avenger Penguins in 1994 by Alfonso Productions, a Spanish based animation studio. It aired largely on Children's ITV. The show also had a brief run on Pop...
.
The success of his voice-over work led him to writing for animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
and Hibbert was commissioned to write scripts for Count Duckula, a show he also script edited. Hibbert has continued to write and script edit for many other celebrated children's series such as The Legends of Treasure Island
The Legends of Treasure Island
The Legends Of Treasure Island is an animated cartoon from the UK that ran from 1993-1995. It had two series of 13 episodes each and each episode runs for 22–25 minutes....
, Oscar's Orchestra
Oscar's Orchestra
Oscar's Orchestra is an animated TV series that was shown on CBBC.It was set in the distant future, and was about a talking piano called Oscar, who rebels against the evil dictator of the world, Thaddius Vent, who has banned music...
, Wyrd Sisters
Wyrd Sisters
Wyrd Sisters is Terry Pratchett's sixth Discworld novel, published in 1988, and re-introduces Granny Weatherwax of Equal Rites.- Plot :...
, Dr Otter
Dr Otter
Dr Otter is a stop-motion animated series produced by Ealing Animation and Cosgrove Hall.It was shown on CBeebies during 2001. There were 3 seasons in all.- Plot :...
, Preston Pig
Preston Pig
Preston Pig is a children's cartoon show, that aired on CITV, based on a series of books by Colin McNaughton. It starred Nicky Croydon as Preston, and Hugh Laurie as Mr. Wolf....
, The Secret Show
The Secret Show
The Secret Show is a British animated show commissioned by BBC Children's in partnership with BBC Worldwide. First debuted in 2006, it currently airs on CBBC, The Den, ABC, BBC One, BBC Kids, MBC3 and TSR 2...
, Tom and Vicky, Teddybears
Teddybears
Teddybears is a Swedish band formed in 1991, known for mixing pop, rock, hip-hop, electronica, reggae, punk and many other genres.-History:...
, Snailsbury Tales
Snailsbury tales
Snailsbury Tales was a children's cartoon broadcast on the BBC between 2003 and 2004. It was produced by Maverick Entertainment.The cartoon was about a town whose inhabitants were all snails...
, Dennis and Gnasher, Vampires, Pirates and Aliens, Shaun the Sheep
Shaun the Sheep
Shaun the Sheep is a British stop-motion animated children's television series produced by Aardman Animations, and commissioned by the BBC and the WDR. It first aired in the UK on CBBC in March 2007...
, Chuggington
Chuggington
Chuggington is an international computer-animated television series for children produced by Ludorum plc and broadcast in 175 territories throughout the world including the BBC children's channel CBeebies...
, Fifi and the Flowertots, The Roly Mo Show
The Roly Mo Show
The Roly Mo Show is a CBeebies children's television series featuring a cast of puppets; it is a spin-off from the Fimbles show and was created by the same people, Novel Entertainment...
, Rubbadubbers
Rubbadubbers
The Rubbadubbers is a British stop motion animation children's show from Hot Animation which is owned by HIT Entertainment.-Plot:The television show features characters who are animated bath toys. They often excitedly announce that the children are about to take a bath.-Format:Each episode begins...
, Transylvania Pet Shop, Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder is a British children's animated television show created by Keith Chapman. In the original series Bob appears as a building contractor specialising in masonry in a stop motion animated programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of...
, Little Monsters
Little Monsters
Little Monsters is a 1989 comedy-drama film starring Fred Savage as Brian Stevenson, a sixth-grader who has recently moved to a new town, and Howie Mandel as Maurice, the monster under the bed....
, Little Red Tractor
Little Red Tractor
Little Red Tractor is an animated children's television series produced by the Little Entertainment Group. In the UK it is broadcast by the BBC, usually on the CBeebies channel. The main characters series are:...
, Oakie Doke, the 2005 version of Muffin the Mule
Muffin the Mule
Muffin the Mule is a puppet character in British television programmes for children. The original programmes featuring the character were presented by Annette Mills, sister of John Mills, & aunt to Hayley Mills, and broadcast live by the BBC from their studios at Alexandra Palace from 1946 to 1952...
, Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks
Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks
Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks is a children's television series. The show is animated using computer-generated imagery and broadcast in the United States on PBS Kids from 2003–2008, currently WMBC, and Univision ; in Ireland on RTÉ Two, as part of The Den; in Australia on...
, Zombie Hotel
Zombie Hotel
Zombie Hotel is an animated children's program about a hotel run by zombies, produced by French production company Alphanim and shown internationally. The main characters are Fungus and Maggot, two child zombies who pretend to be human to get into their local school, and their family and boarders...
, Enid Blyton's Enchanted Lands, Albie, Monty the Dog, The Magic Key
The Magic Key
The Magic Key is a series of books published for children as part of the Oxford Reading Tree, from Oxford University Press. The books are written by Roderick Hunt, illustrated by Alex Brychta, and primarily follow the lives of three children, Biff, Chip and Kipper Robinson, their parents and...
, P.B. Bear and Friends, Roary the Racing Car
Roary the Racing Car
Roary the Racing Car is an animated children's television show that currently airs on Milkshake! on Five and Nick Jr. in the United Kingdom, PBS Kids Sprout in the United States, Treehouse TV in Canada, Discovery Kids in Latin America, and Nick Jr. and ABC2 in Australia...
, Jellikins, Jungle Junction
Jungle Junction
Jungle Junction is a current CGI animated children's television series created by Trevor Ricketts. It airs on Disney Junior in the United States, as well as Playhouse Disney in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and on Playhouse Disney in Asia. It is produced in the UK by...
and Little Robots
Little Robots
Little Robots is a stop-motion animated children's TV series, produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for Create TV and Film Limited and broadcast on CBeebies . The fiction series was based on the eponymous book by Mike Brownlow, published by Ragged Bears Publishing...
. He has been involved as a writer and script editor
Script editor
A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas with writers, ensuring that scripts are suitable for production...
on two series for the European Broadcast Union: Marco and Gina and Tom. Other writing credits to his name are: Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto!
Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto!
Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto! was a 52-episode animated television series, produced by Collingwood O'Hare and HIT Entertainment, aired from 2003 to 2005, and was part of Cartoon Network's Tickle-U preschool television programming block in the United States...
, Gordon the Garden Gnome
Gordon the Garden Gnome
Gordon the Garden Gnome is a British animated children's television series aimed at getting children interested in gardening. The series premiered on CBeebies in 2005...
, Wide-Eye, Andy Pandy
Andy Pandy
Andy Pandy is a British children's television series that premiered on BBC TV in June or July 1950. The original series of programmes was shown until 1970, when a new series was made. A third series was made in 2002...
and Bill and Ben
Flower Pot Men
The Flower Pot Men were a British pop group created in 1967 as a result of the single "Let's Go to San Francisco", recorded by session musicians, becoming a major UK Top 20 and Continental Europe hit) in the autumn of 1967...
.
Hibbert has been involved in animated feature films and TV series such as doing voices on The BFG
The BFG (film)
The BFG is a 1989 animated film based on the book of the same name by Roald Dahl. It was first shown on Christmas Day 1989 on ITV1 in the UK.The film was dedicated to animator George Jackson who worked on numerous Cosgrove Hall Productions-Plot:...
, The King's Beard, Soul Music
Soul Music
Soul Music is the sixteenth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, first published in 1994. Like many of Pratchett's novels it introduces an element of modern society into the magical and vaguely late medieval, early modern world of the Discworld, in this case Rock and Roll music and stardom, with...
, Wyrd Sisters
Wyrd Sisters
Wyrd Sisters is Terry Pratchett's sixth Discworld novel, published in 1988, and re-introduces Granny Weatherwax of Equal Rites.- Plot :...
, The Reluctant Dragon
The Reluctant Dragon
The Reluctant Dragon is an 1898 children's story by Kenneth Grahame , which served as the key element to the 1941 feature film with the same name from Walt Disney Productions. The story has also been set to music as a children's operetta by John Rutter, with words by David Grant...
and The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
The Flying Ship or The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship is a Russian fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book and Arthur Ransome in Old Peter's Russian Tales....
as well as writing scripts for Second Star to the Right, Father Christmas and the Missing Reindeer and two Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder is a British children's animated television show created by Keith Chapman. In the original series Bob appears as a building contractor specialising in masonry in a stop motion animated programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of...
TV specials A Christmas to Remember
A Christmas to Remember
-Charts:Album – Billboard -End of year charts:...
and The Knights of Can-a-Lot.
During the 1990s, Hibbert was also first ever voice actor of characters of a children's BBC show called The Little Polar Bear
The Little Polar Bear
The Little Polar Bear is a franchise about a Polar Bear cub named Lars who first starred in a number of books written by Dutch author, Hans de Beer. It later became an animated TV series, Lars, der Kleine Eisbär, in the early 1990s. The show proved to be popular in Germany, but its English-dubbed...
where, he teamed up with a BBC Television actress called Susan Sheridan
Susan Sheridan
Susan Sheridan is a British actress. Her voice acting roles include Noddy in the Cosgrove Hall/BBC Television series Noddy's Toyland Adventures, Trillian in the radio series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Princess Eilonwy in the animated film The Black Cauldron.She has also provided...
who was also first voice actor of the show. He and Sheridan were also voice actors of the show Noddy's Toyland Adventures which ran between 1992 & 1994.
He is married with three daughters and lives in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.