CITV Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Portland Bill Title

The Adventures of Portland Bill is a British stop motion animated children's television series broadcast on ITV between 1983 and 1986. It is set in a fictional lighthouse on the Guillemot Rock, just off the coast from the fictional village of McGuillycuddy. Norman Rossington provided the voice of all the characters, with Portland Bill acting as the narrator of each episode.

Each broadcast consisted of two stories with a song in between.

Characters[]

Most of its characters were named after British Sea Areas and coastal weather stations and other words that occur in shipping forecasts:

These live in the lighthouse:

  • Portland Bill: lighthouse keeper
  • Ross and Cromarty: his assistants
  • Dogger: his dog

The rest of the characters live elsewhere:

  • Fastnet: fisherman, lives on the island
  • Mrs. Lundy: owns cottage on mainland
  • Grandma Tiree: makes oatcakes for the lighthousemen
  • Inspector Ronaldsway: belongs to the lighthouse service
  • Finisterre: owns a croft
  • Eddy Stone: owns the village shop
  • Young Gail: lives in McGuillycuddy

Episode Guide[]

Season 1

  1. Changeable Weather/The Tourist (October 4, 1983)
  2. The Fishing Match/The Seaweed Clock (October 11, 1983)
  3. Portland Bill's Busy Day/The Sea Monster (October 18, 1983)
  4. Bedtime for Cromarty/The Birthday Surprise (October 25, 1983)
  5. The Jam Session/An Inspector Calls (November 1, 1983)
  6. Important Message/Buried Treasure (November 8, 1983)
  7. Atmospheric Interference/Dogger's Best Trick (November 15, 1983)
  8. A Knot for Everything/The Wind Powered Vacuum Cleaner (November 22, 1983)
  9. The Good News Storm/The Whistling Kettle (November 29, 1983)
  10. Baking Day/Bird Watching (December 6, 1983)
  11. The Lost Key/Sick as a Parrot (December 13, 1983)
  12. Portland Bill and the Mermaid/The Big Shopping List (December 20, 1983)
  13. The Day the Sea Froze/The Fisherman's Ball (January 3, 1984)

Season 2

  1. The Guided Tour/St. Bozo's Treasure (April 9, 1986)
  2. The Foggy Day/Kite Flying (April 16, 1986)
  3. Football Pie/Gone Fishing (April 23, 1986)
  4. Bad Dogger/The Garden Party (April 30, 1986)
  5. Hot Gossip/Painting the Lighthouse (May 7, 1986)
  6. Forty Winks/Last Jam Tart (May 14, 1986)
  7. Penguins/Super Sale (May 21, 1986)
  8. The Runaway Sheep/Beach Combers (May 28, 1986)
  9. Good Ideas/Sky High (June 4, 1986)
  10. Weather Forecast/Dogger to the Rescue (June 11, 1986)
  11. A Quiet Night/The Phantom Piper (June 18, 1986)
  12. The Sea Chest/The Big Catch (June 25, 1986)

DVD Releases[]

The first season was released on DVD by Abbey Home Media in two volumes, "Changeable Weather" and "Atmospheric Interference". However, the episodes were in single bill format so the songs that originally linked them together were not featured.

Advertisement