'Mum invented the Wombles but devastating event was her inspiration'
Underground, overground, The Wombles are once again wombling free.
The furry eco-conscious inhabitants of Wimbledon Common are staging a comeback with a brand-new interactive exhibition that brings their world to life for a new generation.
WOMBLE MANIA opens his weekend in the Peak District and charts The Wombles' journey from book to screen. New episodes featuring the creatures who gather stuff 'every day folk leave behind' are also in the pipeline for later this year.
According to her son, Wombles creator Elisabeth Beresford would have been thrilled that Great Uncle Bulgaria, Tobermory, Madame Cholet and the rest of the gang are once again back in the limelight.
'Mum would have loved the fact they are making a comeback. They hold a special place in British culture after all," says Marcus Robertson, who as a child was the inspiration behind the character of Orinoco.
He believes that the message conveyed by the loveable rubbish collectors, who emerge from their burrows under Wimbledon Common to litter pick, is as crucial today as it was when his mum started to write the books back in the late 1960s.
'The Wombles were really ahead of their time in terms of ideas about caring for the environment, picking up litter and recycling - their motto is 'make good use of bad rubbish' and that says it all.
'But it's more than just about looking after your surroundings and nature. They have values of kindness, mutual respect, generosity, community; there's no violence. These are all the things we should be embracing here in 2025.'
Marcus, 69, who lives in Surrey and has two grown up sons, is adamant his mum never set out to preach to her fans.
'For her, The Wombles were never 'being' green - they just were green. That's how they lived their lives.
'Remember, Mum was 13 when the war started and that's how she was brought up - to never waste a thing.'
Elisabeth Beresford was born in 1926 into a literary household. Her Godparents included the poet Cecil Day-Lewis, while George Bernard Shaw and DH Lawrence were family friends.
It was almost inevitable, then, that she would become a writer and journalist. She married the BBC tennis commentator and broadcaster Max Robertson in 1949 and penned her first children's book in 1957.
But it was an afternoon stroll with her two children on Boxing Day in 1966 which changed the course of her life and gave the world The Wombles.
'She'd written lots of stuff for kids by this time and had been asked by her publisher to come up with an answer to Paddington Bear, which had been hugely successful,' remembers Marcus, who worked in sports marketing and now runs a luxury steam train business.
'As we walked along Wimbledon Common my sister Kate mispronounced 'Wimbledon' as 'Wombledon'. And that was it. By the time we got home Mum had the fundamentals of The Wombles in her head.'
Initially imagined as 'tubby little bats' and later 'teddy bears with claws', many of the characters were based on members of Elisabeth's own family. Her mother - Marcus's grandmother - was Madame Cholet, her brother was Tobermory and Marcus's grandfather Great Uncle Bulgaria.
Marcus himself remains hugely proud to have had the character Orinoco - famed for relishing both his food and naps - modelled on him.
'And yes, he and I do share some traits - my wife would say I haven't changed at all!' he laughs.
'Did I mind being the inspiration behind Orinoco? Not at all. Why should I? It's a lovely thing.'
The first Wombles book appeared in 1968 and many more followed. But it was the arrival on our TV screen of the iconic stop-motion animated series - 35 five-minute episodes produced between 1973 and 1975 - which cemented their place in the childhood folklore of many.
While Elizabeth wrote the scripts, Marcus would help, listening and making suggestions as she read them over the phone to him while he was away at boarding school.
The show's success was cemented by a catchy theme tune written by Mike Batt, The Wombling Song, as well as the narration of Bernard Cribbins, who voiced all the characters.
'Having watched Bernard in The Railway Children, he was one of my heroes. When I met him he was exactly as you might imagine - great fun,' says Marcus.
'He captured my grandfather as Great Uncle Bulgaria to a tee. I see some episodes of the show now and look at how the character talks to Orinoco and I find it quite moving, because that's how my grandfather spoke to me; Bernard totally got him.
'My family members are intertwined with The Womble family and always will be.'
The Wombles were a worldwide smash. Elisabeth penned more than 20 books, which were translated into 40 different languages.
Musically, the band The Wombles, under the guidance of Mike Batt, had eight Top 40 singles including Remember You're a Womble and Wombling Merry Christmas. They appeared on Top of The Pops 17 times in the early 1970s and were even the interval entertainment at the Eurovision Song Contest in1974.
There was a feature length live-action movie too, while further episodes were made in the late 1990s. In 2011 The Wombles performed at Glastonbury and in 2021, were the UK government mascots at Cop26 and supported its #OneStepGreener campaign.
This year, as well as the new visitor attraction at the Heights of Abraham in Derbyshire, The Wombles will return to our screens with a suite of new shows on YouTube.
Appearing in both live action and animated formats, the episodes will all have a sustainability message and explore solutions to environmental problems. They will also feature tips and tricks to reduce food waste and upcycle old clothes.
The Wombles' ethos has also inspired a good cause, The Wombles Community Charity, which aims to harness their green message to encourage community-led environmental action.
It was when Elisabeth received in 1998, however, that the author perhaps understood for herself how far her creations had travelled.
'My mum loved the Monarch and I went to Buckingham Palace with her when she was awarded her MBE," says Marcus.
'The Queen had briefing notes for all those she was receiving - but not for my mum; she just seemed to know a lot about her and The Wombles naturally. We like to think she was a fan.'
Elisabeth and her family moved to the Channel Island of Alderney and lived there until she died in 2010, which now has a Womble trail in her honour.
Her home also inspired the Womble called Alderney, based on Marcus's wife Marianne, who is perhaps the most green of The Wombles thanks to her love of gardening - mirroring Marianne's own passion.
Now the family is preparing for a new generation of fans to meet Bungo, Tomsk and the rest of the crew.
Marcus is certain his mum would have been thrilled to see how her beloved Wombles have evolved and, for him, having grown up with the characters, they remain a huge part of his life.
'It sounds odd but I do like to believe they really are out there somewhere, carrying on their work and cleaning up after us humans.
'I would not be remotely shocked if I met one."
WOMBLE MANIA is now open at The Heights of Abraham Visitor Attraction in the Peak District.
Did you know?
By the end of the final book, Great Uncle Bulgaria was said to be more than 300 years old.
The Wombles has been voted by the British public as one of the top 10 most popular BBC TV children's programmes of all time.
Ivor Wood designed The Wombles for TV with pointed snouts and floppy ears, distinct from the teddy bear-like animals illustrated in the original book.
Throughout her books, the author revealed there were several sub-species of Womble; the Loch Ness Monster is written as part o f a clean of water Wombles while the Yeti of the Himalayas are giant snow-white Wombles.
The highest chart position for TheWombles was Number 2 for Wombling Merry Christmas on 4 January 1975. It was kept off the top spot by Mud's Lonely This Christmas.
In the books, Wombles have a varied diet of plants, fungi, and tree products including moss pie, fir cone souffle and elm bark casserole. They are particularly fond of mushrooms.
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