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Where AP Films began
Our joint introduction covers Roberta Leigh’s Twizzle and Torchy productions.
Watch the early-years introduction →Early puppet series
The Adventures of Twizzle
A runaway toy with extendable arms and legs finds friendship and a new home in Stray Town. Discover Roberta Leigh’s series and the first television adventures directed by Gerry Anderson’s AP Films team.
- Created by Roberta Leigh
- Directed by Gerry Anderson
- First broadcast in 1957
The Adventures of Twizzle
Where to begin
A few rewarding routes into this world. Choose the one that catches your imagination.
Meet the remarkable toy
Discover Twizzle and his friend Footso before exploring Stray Town.
Meet Twizzle →The other name in AP Films
Read the story of Arthur Provis and the partnership that made these early programmes.
Read the Arthur Provis story →The Adventures of Twizzle
Characters
Meet the people at the heart of this world. Open a card and follow their story.
Twizzle
The little toy boy can stretch his arms and legs to reach beyond the ordinary. After escaping the toyshop, he uses that unusual talent to help other unwanted toys find friendship and a place of their own.
- Created by: Roberta Leigh
Footso
Twizzle’s companion is a cat with exceptionally large paws. Their friendship brings the adventures back to small, recognisable concerns: finding a home, making friends and helping someone in trouble.
- Companion: Twizzle
The Adventures of Twizzle
Places
Explore the headquarters and locations that make this world possible.
Stray Town
The refuge for unwanted toys grows into a community through the work of Twizzle and his friends. It gives the early series a recurring home where belonging matters as much as adventure.
- World: The Adventures of Twizzle
Watch, listen and discover
A quick introduction
Explore Gerry Anderson’s first two television puppet series in the official joint introduction.
Watch the introduction →Stories
Go deeper into this world
Fresh perspectives, familiar heroes and adventures beyond the screen.
From the archive
The story of The Adventures of Twizzle
Explore the production, the people and the original archive material behind this world.
The first steps into a puppet world
A toy boy with extendable arms and legs escapes from a toyshop and meets Footso, a cat with very large paws. Together they find adventures, make friends and help build Stray Town: a place where unwanted toys can belong.
The Adventures of Twizzle was created and produced by Roberta Leigh, with Gerry Anderson directing for AP Films. First broadcast in 1957, it stands at the beginning of Gerry's long association with puppet television. Its concerns are small and personal — friendship, shelter and helping toys in trouble — rather than the spectacular emergencies of Thunderbirds.
Twizzle, Footso and Stray Town
Twizzle's ability to stretch his limbs helps him solve problems in a world designed around toys. Footso brings companionship and a talent for getting into difficulties. Around them, characters such as Jiffy the Broomstick Man and Candy Floss gradually turn their refuge into a community.
Looking back from later Anderson productions, there is a familiar idea here: unusual abilities matter most when they are used to help somebody else. The scale of the adventures would grow, but cooperation and practical ingenuity were already part of their appeal.
Making the early series
Roberta Leigh produced the series and supplied its lyrics. Gerry Anderson directed, Arthur Provis handled photography and Reginald E. Hill was art director. Leslie Clair composed the music, which Barry Gray arranged and conducted. Nancy Nevinson and Denise Bryer provided the voices.
There were 52 thirteen-minute episodes, with the first UK broadcast on 13 November 1957. Much of the series is missing from the surviving television archive, making contemporary records and the material that remains especially valuable.
Watch the introduction to Twizzle and Torchy
Episode title index
The following index preserves the original episode titles. For the documented broadcasts and production details, see Fanderson's guide to The Adventures of Twizzle.
- Twizzle And Footso
- Twizzle And Footso Get Caught
- Twizzle Saves The Doll
- The Breakdown Van
- Footso Is Stolen
- Twizzle And The Golliwog
- Jiffy And The Chawky Quarrel
- Footso Disappears
- Twizzle And The Broken-Down Toy
- Twizzle Builds Stray Town
- A Flag For Stray Town
- Jiffy’s New House
- Twizzle And Footso Go Fruit Picking
- Twizzle Has Some Fun
- Twizzle And Candy Floss Open A Cake Shop
- Twizzle Saves The Broken-Down Toys
- Twizzle Gets Lost
- Jiffy Opens A Barber Shop
- Another Racing Car
- Twizzle And His Friends Go To The Circus
- The Toys Go To School
- Bouncy The Ball
- Jack-In-The-Box
- Twizzle Catches Cold
- The Naughty Girl
- Jiffy’s New Twigs
- Twizzle And The Snowman
- Twizzle And The Thin Teddy Bear
- The Lazy Broomstick Man
- Twizzle And The Polly Moppet
- Footso And The Magic Seeds
- Jiffy And The Polly Moppet Quarrel
- Footso Gets A New Tail
- Twizzle Is Naughty
- Twizzle Is Stolen
- Chawky Gets A Present
- Twizzle And The Toy Inspector
- Twizzle And The Naughty Breakdown Van
- Orange And The Banana Tree
- Jiffy’s Birthday
- Polly Moppet Disappears
- Naughty Polly Moppet
- Footso And The Naughty Girl
- Stray Town Thief
- Twizzle Papers The Cabin
- Twizzle And Footso Go Camping
- Twizzle Goes To The Seaside
- Twizzle Goes To The Fair
- Twizzle Goes Fishing
- Twizzle Goes To The Zoo
- Candy Floss’s Birthday
- Footso Has A Toothache
Follow the creative thread
Your next world awaits
Shared makers, familiar ideas and unexpected connections. Choose your next world.
Torchy the Battery Boy
The next toy adventure
Follow the Roberta Leigh and AP Films partnership into Topsy Turvy Land.
Explore the world →
Four Feather Falls
From toys to the Wild West
See the company’s growing confidence in puppetry, character and miniature action.
Explore the world →
Thunderbirds
How far the craft travelled
Trace the distance from the earliest puppet work to International Rescue.
Explore the world →