Bump (British TV series)

This article is about the 1990 British TV series. For the 2021 Australian series, see Bump (Australian TV series).

Bump is a British animated children's television series which was created by Charles Mills and Terry Brain (who had previously created The Trap Door and Stoppit and Tidyup), produced by Queensgate Productions and originally shown on BBC One from 14 September 1990 to 26 December 1994.^[1]

Bump
Also known as	Bump the Elephant
Genre	Children's
Created by	Charles Mills Terry Brain
Written by	Christopher James
Narrated by	Simon Cadell
Composer	Steve Augarde
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	27
Production
Executive producer	Theresa Plummer-Andrews
Producer	Dennis Hooper
Running time	5 minutes (one 10-minute Christmas special)
Production companies	Queensgate Productions Abbey Broadcast Communications
Original release
Network	BBC1 (Children's BBC)
Release	14 September 1990 (1990-09-14) – 26 December 1994 (1994-12-26)

The series' two main protagonists are the eponymous Bump (an elephant who is very clumsy, a trait that emphasised by a bandage on his forehead) and his friend Birdie (a bluebird who often gives Bump advice on how he can become more graceful). The two series ran a total of twenty-six episodes, each 5 minutes long. The twenty-seventh and final episode was a Christmas special that was 10 minutes long. The programme is narrated by Simon Cadell (1950–1996) of Hi-de-Hi! fame.

Bump and Birdie regularly encounter animals that have a problem (such as Whizzer the mouse, Munch the tortoise, McDuff the dog, Big Bun and Little Bun the rabbits and Batty the bat) and help them to find a solution. Most of these animals are recurring characters, and all of the characters' Stoppit and Tidyup-like sounds were generated by analogue synthesizers.

Episodes

Series 1 (1990)

All thirteen of the first series' episodes were initially shown on BBC One as part of the Children's BBC strand on Fridays at 3:50 pm.

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Original release date
1	1	"Bump and the Hole"	14 September 1990 (1990-09-14)[2]
Birdie offers to take Bump to a place where there are no trees to bump into.
2	2	"Bump and the Clouds"	21 September 1990 (1990-09-21)[3]
Bump has a dream about sitting on a cloud and floating around the world.
3	3	"Bump's Upside Down Friend"	28 September 1990 (1990-09-28)[4]
Bump and Batty have something in common - they both like standing on their heads.
4	4	"Bump Plays a Trick"	5 October 1990 (1990-10-05)[5]
Whizzer turns over a new leaf after a game of hide-and-seek.
5	5	"A Ride with Bump"	12 October 1990 (1990-10-12)[6]
Bump has something special to share with his friends.
6	6	"Bump's Lost Button"	19 October 1990 (1990-10-19)[7]
Bump is very upset when he loses one of his buttons, so all of his friends help him to look for it.
7	7	"Bump Has a Funny Day"	26 October 1990 (1990-10-26)[8]
Strange things happen when Bump finds some stones.
8	8	"Bump's New Game"	2 November 1990 (1990-11-02)[9]
Bump decides that walking backwards will stop him bumping into things.
9	9	"Bump Learns to Fly"	9 November 1990 (1990-11-09)[10]
Bump's attempts at flying leave him firmly on the ground.
10	10	"Bump and the Monster"	16 November 1990 (1990-11-16)[11]
Bump has a big surprise when he and Birdie take a stroll by the river.
11	11	"Bump Wants to Help"	23 November 1990 (1990-11-23)[12]
Bump is saddened to discover he is too big to help his friends.
12	12	"Bump's Loud Song"	30 November 1990 (1990-11-30)[13]
Bump's loud trumpeting makes a din and saves the day.
13	13	"Bump Goes Away"	7 December 1990 (1990-12-07)[14]
When Bump feels he is a nuisance, he finds out who his real friends are.

Series 2 (1994)

All thirteen of the second series' episodes were initially screened on BBC One, again as part of the Children's BBC strand, on Mondays at 3:45 pm, and although they were produced in 1993, they were not broadcast until 10 January 1994. The sixteenth episode was also renamed to just "Aunty Doreen's Surprise" when shown in the United States, while the twenty-fifth one was renamed to "Bump and the Builder".^{[citation needed]}

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Original release date
14	1	"Bump's Umbrella"	10 January 1994 (1994-01-10)[15]
Birdie comes to the rescue when Bump has problems with his umbrella.
15	2	"Bump and the Talking Tree"	17 January 1994 (1994-01-17)[16]
Bump becomes a laughing stock after he is caught talking to a tree.
16	3	"Bump and Aunty Doreen's Surprise"	24 January 1994 (1994-01-24)[17]
Birdie tells Bump that Aunty Doreen is waiting for him by the river with a surprise.
17	4	"Bump and the Bucket"	31 January 1994 (1994-01-31)[18]
Bump steps back and plants his foot in a bucket whilst trying to get out of Whizzer's way.
18	5	"Bump's First Ride"	7 February 1994 (1994-02-07)[19]
Birdie takes his friends for a ride, but then notices that Bump is looking a little sad.
19	6	"Bump's Big Ears"	14 February 1994 (1994-02-14)[20]
When Bump pulls on a piece of string hanging from a tree, he is surprised to find it belongs to Cousin Jay.
20	7	"Bump and the Baby Mountain"	21 February 1994 (1994-02-21)[21]
Bump makes a flag and is eager to show it to Birdie.
21	8	"Bump and the Statue"	28 February 1994 (1994-02-28)[22]
On the way to meet his friends with his truck, Bump encounters a tall, grey figure in the bushes.
22	9	"Bump and the Flying Flowers"	7 March 1994 (1994-03-07)[23]
Bump loves flowers, especially those with a nice smell.
23	10	"Bump's Special Day"	14 March 1994 (1994-03-14)[24]
Bump gets very angry with himself because he cannot remember something important.
24	11	"Bump and the Pouncing Game"	21 March 1994 (1994-03-21)[25]
When Bump goes to visit Birdie one morning, he will not leave his tree.
25	12	"Bump the Builder"	28 March 1994 (1994-03-28)[26]
Bump is tidying up his house, but decides to go out and play instead.
26	13	"Bump and the Windy Day"	4 April 1994 (1994-04-04)[27]
Birdie will not come out to play because the wind is blowing too hard.

Christmas special (1994)

The twenty-seventh episode was initially shown on BBC One, once again as part of the Children's BBC strand, on Boxing Day 1994 at 7:55 am.

No.	Title	Original release date
27	"Bump's Christmas Story"	26 December 1994 (1994-12-26)[28]
On his way to see Santa Claus at the North Pole, Bump meets a snowman who convinces him that Christmas may never happen.

UK VHS releases

Two VHS tapes, which contain all thirteen episodes of the first series between them, were released by Abbey Home Media in the UK in 1991. The first one was later reissued on DVD under the title Bump: My First DVD in 2004 (three episodes from the second series and the Christmas special were also released on another DVD, Bump: Christmas Story, in 2006, but they were never previously released on VHS).^[29]

VHS title	Release date	Episodes
Bump: My First Video	11 February 1991	"Bump Has a Funny Day" "Bump Learns to Fly" "Bump and the Monster" "Bump's Loud Song" "Bump and the Clouds" "A Ride with Bump"
The Adventures of Bump	4 March 1991	"Bump and the Hole" "Bump's Upside Down Friend" "Bump Plays a Trick" "Bump's New Game" "Bump Goes Away" "Bump's Lost Button" "Bump Wants to Help"
Bump's Christmas Story	2001	"Bump's Christmas Story" "Bump and the Talking Tree" "Bump's Big Ears" "Bump's Umbrella"
The Very Best of Bump	2004	"Bump and Auntie Doreen's Surprise" "Bump and the Bucket" "Bump and the Baby Mountain" "Bump and the Statue" "Bump and the Flying Flowers" "Bump and the Builder"