Tis the season of goodwill......

More factually innaccurate news stories!

I go out of my way to correct folks who miscredit me for my work on BOB THE BUILDER - I'm quick to let folks know that I'm officially NOT "the creator" of Bob, although I am the man who designed the show from scratch, from a blank canvas, with no influence or input from anyone else. The originator of the show, however, would appear to have no such compunction in misleading the public as to his own involvement:

"If you want some psychology from Chapman then he readily explains that, to succeed, a character must “touch a child’s heart, bond with them emotionally so they can’t do without it”. Deliberately, he drew Bob with a big head and a small body because that’s how pre-schoolers look. Although he still receives handsome royalties, he sold the creative rights for Bob to Hit Entertainment to have the financial freedom to set up his own company. But you get the impression that he is rather wistful about that now."

And there's more!

This time round a Guardian article:

"This time around, however, Mr Chapman is doing things on his own terms. "I don't want to criticise HIT - they made Bob the Builder a major success. But I was only involved in the development of my property up to when it began on television," he said. "

Another glaring misconception. The creative team who took Bob the Builder through development to the BBC consisted of myself, Kate Fawkes @ HIT and producer Jackie Cockle @ HOT Animation. It was our collective work that got BOB THE BUILDER commissioned, and for that I'm immensely proud. There was nobody else involved.

What a great shame that, even with millions that my designs helped to garner, some people are incapable of letting folk know the truth. I'm not really that bitter, guys, it just hacks me off when I read rubbish like that. Looking forward to setting the record straight when we start promoting FRANKENSTEIN'S CAT next year. The preschool knitted mittens are definitely OFF! :-D

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all @ BADA BLING! x