Wombles set to return after 27 years as IP deal opens door to comeback

Move over Paddington Bear. After almost 30 years off screen, The Wombles – the furry, litter-picking creatures who live beneath Wimbledon Common – are set for a comeback.The characters, whose motto is “Make Good Use of Bad Rubbish”, are being revived after the consolidation of the brand’s intellectual property rights under The Blair Partnership, which will oversee its global development.The deal opens the door to new television, film, audio, publishing, theatre, live events, digital media and gaming projects for the first time since 1999, with plans aimed at nostalgic adults and a new generation of children.It comes at a time when environmental themes that once seemed quirky have become mainstream concerns, giving fresh relevance to The Wombles’s longstanding message about caring for the planet.Created by author Elisabeth Beresford in the late 1960s, The Wombles became a national phenomenon after the BBC adapted the books into a stop-motion television show that ran from 1973 to 1975.Two series of The Wombles were aired on BBC One accompanied by Mike Batt’s music, which included the show’s theme tune with the lyrics “Underground overground, Wombling free”. The characters were voiced by actor Bernard Cribbins, while the puppets were created by Ivor Wood.Although the original BBC series ended in 1975, the franchise proved resilient. A revival on ITV in the 1990s – together with a feature film, stage productions and a thriving merchandise business – helped secure The Wombles’s place in British popular culture.The revival will begin this summer with the launch of a Wombles YouTube channel featuring original episodes alongside new live-action content. Young hosts and influencers will front programmes designed to promote creativity and environmental awareness through activities including arts and crafts, cooking and gardening.Other projects in development include a digital interactive game, audio productions featuring celebrity casts and an expanded programme of charitable and educational initiatives.Neil Blair, founding partner and agent at The Blair Partnership, said: “The Wombles is an iconic British brand with strong cultural appeal, distinctive characters with core values that translate and resonate globally.“It is a rich content opportunity, and with rights now aligned plus a clear development pipeline in place, the property is ideally positioned for expansion across multiple platforms and categories. We see significant potential to build The Wombles into a multi-platform international franchise for a new generation of audiences.”The renewed push will also place greater emphasis on The Wombles Community Charity, which organises litter-picking, recycling and educational projects across the UK through more than 250 community groups and 50,000 registered volunteers.Its campaign for 2026, “Be More Womble”, will encourage people to support their communities. The charity has also partnered with NHS hospitals in Sussex to recycle non-infectious clinical waste into training equipment, a scheme that is due to be expanded to other hospitals.The idea for The Wombles originated during a Boxing Day walk on Wimbledon Common, when Beresford’s daughter repeatedly mispronounced the location as “Wombledon Common”. The author went on to create a cast of characters inspired by members of her family.Great Uncle Bulgaria was modelled on her father-in-law, Tobermory on her inventor brother, Orinoco on her son, and Madame Cholet on her mother.Although the stories centred on the inhabitants of a burrow beneath Wimbledon Common, Beresford imagined Wombles living all over the world. In her first book, she described them as looking “a bit like teddy bears” but with “real claws”.Over the following decade, Beresford wrote moreWombles books that were translated into more than 40 languages. She also penned a stage adaptation, one version of which ran in the West End.