Follyfoot

Follyfoot is a children's television series co-produced by the majority-partner British television company Yorkshire Television and the independent West German company TV Munich. It aired in the United Kingdom between 1971 and 1973, repeated for two years after that and again in the late 1980s. The series starred Gillian Blake in the lead role. Notable people connected with the series were actors Desmond Llewelyn and Arthur English and directors Jack Cardiff, Stephen Frears, Michael Apted and David Hemmings. It was originally inspired by Monica Dickens' 1963 novel Cobbler's Dream; she later wrote four further books in conjunction with the series—Follyfoot in 1971, Dora at Follyfoot in 1972, The Horses of Follyfoot in 1975, and Stranger at Follyfoot in 1976.

Genre: Family, Drama,

Actor:

Creator: Monica Dickens,

Country:

Type: tv

Season: 3

Episode: N/A

Duration: 30 minutes

Release: 1971-06-28

Rating: 5.5

Season 1 - Follyfoot
1971-06-28
Dora comes to stay with her Uncle, the Colonel, who owns Follyfoot farm. While out riding she sees some thugs terrorising the horses of a neighbouring farm. Steve, a young man working on the farm tries to stop them. Two of the horses are injured and must be shot. Despite Dora's testimony, Steve is under suspicion as being one of the thugs.
1971-07-05
Steve is hiding out at Follyfoot. The neighbouring farm is on the lookout for a missing horse. Steve and Dora find the horse and try to rescue it as it is lame and know it will be shot. They are caught with the horse and Steve is blamed. He is fired from his job, but the Colonel steps in and takes him on at Follyfoot.
1971-07-12
A gypsy who has just been released from prison comes to collect his horse. Two local farmers capture his horse and threaten to shoot him if he comes onto their land again. Steve steps in to help, but gets caught and locked up by the farmers. Posing as a gypsy he threatens to curse them and they let him and the horse go.
1971-07-19
Dora agrees to take on a show-jumping horse that needs training. As she makes progress, co-worker Ron takes the horse to run in a local race. He aims to make a lot of money by betting on it, but the horse is not ready and refuses to jump, landing Ron in trouble with the bookmakers - and Dora.
1971-07-26
Thug Hammond is riding a lame horse. In disguise, Dora manages to trick her way into his stables and rescues the horse. Meanwhile, an old miner tracks down Follyfoot to visit his 30-year-old horse, Charley.
1971-08-02
A local rag and bone man has died. The son endeavours to keep the business going but the horse is killed in an accident. His plight is reported in the local newspaper and another horse is bought for the family. It turns out that the horse is unable for the job and they take it to Follyfoot. However as the youngest son, Gip is devastated at losing the horse, the family decide to keep it.
1971-08-09
Gip continues to look after their horse but as Steve becomes involved, he is worried that the family don't know how to properly care for it. The older brother wants rid of the horse so Gip runs away with it. Steve finds them and persuades him to give up the horse to Follyfoot where it can be properly looked after.
1971-08-16
Local girl Callie is upset at the treatment of one of the horses while at the Circus. Appealing to the Colonel, she tries to get help, but to no avail. Undeterred, she steals the horse and with the help of Steve, hides it away. As the Police investigate, the horse is discovered, but by then the Colonel has agreed to buy the horse from the Circus.
1971-08-23
Ron takes a horse back to Follyfoot after its owner hs fallen ill. Unknown to them, the boy Gip had agreed to look after it, but the horse runs away. In attempting to catch it, Dora falls off her horse and is injured. The horse returns to the man's house and Gip agrees to take care of it until its owner is well again.
1971-08-30
A mysterious old man arrives at Follyfoot and sits silently with one of the horses. Ron taunts the old man into getting him to leave but the Colonel is angered by Ron's behaviour and sacks him. The old man has recently lost his wife and the horse used to be his. To make amends, Ron's father agrees to pay for a stable to be built at the man's house for the horse.
1971-09-06
The Night riders are back to their old tricks and upset a horse ridden by a crippled girl. Steve warns them off, but they come back later and kill the horse. Dora trains one of her horses to accommodate the girl as a present. Her father, although angry at the situation, agrees to let her ride again.
1971-09-13
Ron and Steve argue over who gets to host Dora's birthday. Unable to come to an agreement, they enter a jousting contest. When neither of them wins, Slugger tells them that he and the Colonel already have a party planned.
1971-09-20
In search of his mother, Steve visits his grandmother. While there, he is told of a badly injured horse and he takes it back to Follyfoot. The horse is so ill it has to be shot. Steve leaves Follyfoot to continue searching for his mother, much to Dora's distress. She collapses against the lightning tree and is dragged away sobbing by Slugger.

Season 2 - Follyfoot
1972-05-28
There is always someone somewhere who cares - or so Steve, searching for his mother in Liverpool, and Dora, searching for the owner of a horse, believe. They could both be wrong.
1972-06-04
Dora thought Arthur Wimble was a nice old man, and he is, in spite of the problem he creates. Steve has an even greater problem to face - and a debt to pay.
1972-06-11
Cleo, a friend from Dora's school, was the best rider in their school and was the envy of all the other girls for her skills at Show Jumping. Now she arrives at Follyfoot and is terrified of horses, saying she will never ride again, much to Dora is puzzlement.
1972-06-18
Steve rescues a thoroughbred horse from behind a blazing cottage, which he takes it to Follyfoot and starts a string of events including being accused of theft by the police.
1972-06-25
When Dora is told that miners at the local coal pit are on strike and that they have left their pit ponies below, she decides to interfere despite being warned not to intensify a delicate situation, but Dora can't stand by and do nothing.
1972-07-02
Tim Shaw's the son of a traveling fair owner tells Dora his horse is special - "It won the Grand national and you can't be more special than that" he tells her. No one believes him, and Follyfoot can't look after the horse, so will it end up getting shot by Tim's father.
1972-07-09
The collection of horses is growing at Follyfoot, much to Steve's concern. Therefore the Colonel decides to sell one of the horses, but he runs into violent opposition from Dora, who thinks the problem is a simple one to solve, but is she mistaken?
1972-07-16
Steve is understandably eager to give riding lessons to the lovely, but when Dora seems unhappy he assumes it is because of Kalinka's eye trouble, as he keeps saying, "she's interested only in the horses".
1972-07-23
When Dora is told to collect a horse from mysterious Derwent House, she is told to "Make sure that you use the left-handed gate or there'll be terrible trouble". Dora soon finds out why
1972-07-30
The Colonel tells Dora she is to leave Copper at Carne Manor, the home of an old friend of his. Steve tries to persuade Dora she has nothing to worry about, but will events prove him wrong.
1972-08-06
Callie wants somewhere to stable her horse Magic, any old shed will do, but the Colonel refuses. Dora and Steve go with Callie to see Magic, when they discover a neighbor's horse, Ladybird, who is in such poor condition that Dora is appalled and horrified by what she sees. Steve tries to help but nearly comes to blows with the owner.
1972-08-27
The Colonel is seriously ill and Dora's parents return from Brazil to take her away to their London home. Is her stay at Follyfoot is coming to an end.

Season 3 - Follyfoot
1973-06-23
The Colonel makes Dora the "mistress of Follyfoot", but she soon finds that running Follyfoot is quite different to just living and working there. Steve seems unwilling to help, and when the milk-horse Tansy refuses to eat, her problems are only just beginning.
1973-06-30
Dora tries to make a deal with Clem Barrett to exchange Domino with Hercules, but he asks for ten pounds in compensation. Slugger is about to give Dora the money when Steve sticks his oar in.
1973-07-07
The Buckley's buy their daughter a horse but they haven't a clue about horses and Barney turns out to be untrained. They gladly allow Dora to take Barney off their hands and tame him, however once he's been tamed they want him back.
1973-07-14
Dora agrees to hide Bobby for a few days, but it results in unexpected repercussions for both her and the family she's hiding the horse from.
1973-07-21
Some horses that have been stolen from Lockwood's' stables by men on motorbikes and Dora and Steve hunt for them, then Dora overhears a threat from Mr. Lockwood to get back at those responsible.
1973-07-28
The unscrupulous Sam Lockwood challenges Dora to a cross-country race, but he has assumed that all the horses at Follyfoot are old crocks. When he finds that they're not he tries to prevent her from winning.
1973-08-04
Dora has never had a love letter before, but the one from Chip is much more than that - for in it lays that fate of a man.
1973-08-11
Hidden deep in the woods, four gypsy horses lay dying. How can Dora help if no-one will tell her where they are.
1973-08-18
When two young children, who go to Follyfoot for riding lessons, are orphaned their only surviving relative is their Uncle Joe. Dora and Steve track down Uncle Joe but Dora is very attracted to him, much to Steve's annoyance.
1973-08-25
Dora's is annoyed when Phyllis Wetherby is sent to help her run Follyfoot by the Colonel. Steve seems pleased, but he's the only one.
1973-09-01
It pours with rain all day and tempers run high. In the heat of the moment Dora, Steve and Ron all say things best left unsaid, because some of them are true.
1973-09-08
A delinquent child smashes the windows of an expensive car, but can the brutal attack on Copper be connected?
1973-09-15
Dora becomes restless and disillusioned and looks to her future, but she also has the futures of those who depend upon her to worry about. It's not only a decision on if she should leave Follyfoot, it's also a question of if she can.