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Sarah & Duck
Sarah & Duck.png
Sarah (left) and Duck (right)
Genre Children's television series
Created by Sarah Gomes Harris
Tim O'Sullivan
Written by Sarah Gomes Harris
Benjamin Cook
Tim O'Sullivan
Ilana Darrant
John Randolph Davies
Alex Howley
Eddie Robson
Matilda Tristram
Directed by Tim O'Sullivan (Series)
Tim Fehrenbach (Animation, S1)
Martyn Jones (Animation, S2)
Alastair Park (Animation, S3)
Voices of Tasha Lawrence
Lesley Nicol
Andy Nyman
Pete Gallagher
David Carling
Tim O'Sullivan
Narrated by Roger Allam
Composer(s) Tanera Dawkins & Tim O'Sullivan
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 3
No. of episodes 120 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Chris White
Alison Stewart
Producer(s) Jamie Badminton
Editor(s) Graham Silcock (series 1)
Sophie Weller (Assistant Editor, series 1)
Mark Edwards (series 2)
Florence Kennard (Assistant Editor, series 2)
Michele Chiappa (series 3)
Running time 7 minutes
Production company(s) Karrot Entertainment
Distributor BBC Worldwide
Release
Original network CBeebies
First shown in United Kingdom
Original release 18 February 2013 (2013-02-18) – 15 December 2017 (2017-12-15)

Sarah & Duck is a British animated children's television series created by Sarah Gomes Harris and Tim O'Sullivan (aka "Duck"), and produced by Karrot Animation for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Though designed as a story-driven animation primarily targeted at 4- to 6-year-old children since premiering at the MIPCOM trade show in 2012, the series now has somewhat of an adult following.

Sarah & Duck was first broadcast on the UK channel CBeebies on 18 February 2013. A total of 120 episodes have been commissioned, with 40 each for Series 1, 2, and 3. The 3rd series started in October 2016.

Premise

The series follows the adventures of Sarah, a very kind and polite seven-year-old girl with big eyes, rosy cheeks and a green hat, and her best friend Duck, a mallard. The central theme is the relationship between these two characters and the adventures they have together. CBeebies states that the show has two learning themes: 'Friendship and imagination' and 'Problem Solving'.

Episodes

List of Sarah & Duck episodes

Cast and characters

Main

Name Voice cast About
Sarah Tasha Lawrence She is a very kind, polite and somewhat eccentric seven-year-old girl. She is best friends with Duck. She plays the tuba, likes sea cows (manatees), and drinks "lemon water".
Duck N/A He is Sarah's quacky, flappy best friend. Duck wants to be a penguin and has a toy robot. He turns two years old in series 1.
Narrator Roger Allam He talks to Sarah & Duck, asks them questions and gives them suggestions. There is a possibility that the Narrator is Sarah's father, given the reference made in 'Old Toys'.
Scarf Lady Lesley Nicol She is a forgetful old lady who loves knitting. She lives in a house full of woollen items. She has a talking knitting bag and a pet donkey.
Bag Andy Nyman He is Scarf Lady's knitting bag. He corrects Scarf Lady when she gets confused.
Donkey N/A He is Scarf Lady's pet. He looks sad but isn't really.

Others

  • John is Sarah's Japanese friend voiced by Luca Pilkington Massey.
  • Flamingo is John's pet voiced by Tim O'Sullivan.
  • The Shallots are planted by Sarah & Duck in the first episode. There are three similar-sized and one tiny one. The three repeat the same phrase when spoken to while the tiny one says a variation thereof. They live in Sarah's front garden by the door, and are voiced by Tim O'Sullivan and Tony Clarke.
  • Rainbow makes friends with Sarah & Duck after a rain shower. He is very tickly, and voiced by David Carling.
  • Moon first meets Sarah & Duck at the Big Shop when he is heading to work at night. He is voiced by Pete Gallagher.
  • Venus is a good friend of Moon and normally Sarah only sees her at night.
  • Mars, a bruff Sergeant Major type character, joins Moon & Venus from time to time.
  • Hat Lady (or Hattie) is Scarf Lady's old sporting rival and runs the local hat museum. Like her arch-nemesis Scarf Lady, she is voiced by Lesley Nicol.
  • Umbrella is scared of the rain and voiced by Jamie Oram.
  • Bug is a large ladybird that lives in Sarah & Duck's house plant and collects buttons.
  • The Cloud Captain is a French engineer who operates the weather system from Sarah's local park, voiced by Derek Griffiths.
  • The Ribbon Sisters are Sarah & Duck's quiet next-door neighbours wearing differently-coloured large sunglasses. They like to play with ribbons and are voiced by Kiki Brooks.
  • Scooter Boy has a scooter and wears a helmet. He has been seen riding his scooter only once, and walks it everywhere he goes. He is voiced by Dylan Issberner.
  • Plate Girl carries a plate with her at most times and is voiced by Yaeli Miller.
  • Cake helps bake and is voiced by Andy Nyman.
  • Bread Man runs the local bakery, which Sarah and especially Duck like to visit.
  • Tortoise is slow and easily scared. His shell has windows so that he can look out. He doesn't speak.
  • Leftover Wool sits patiently in Scarf Lady's wool room, and is voiced by Andy Nyman.
  • Poetry Pete is first featured on one of Scarf Lady's LPs and is voiced by Simon Callow.

Production

The series is produced using computer-assisted animation techniques and the Adobe After Effects and CelAction2D packages.

A second series began airing on 11 August 2014.

On 17 June 2015 it was renewed for a third series which aired starting the 18 October 2016 on CBeebies.

Broadcast

BBC Worldwide have secured global distribution and merchandising rights for the new show and airs it to BBC Worldwide's network of channels. On 19 August 2013, Sarah & Duck was first broadcast in the U.S. on Sprout. The first series of Sarah & Duck was also broadcast in Japan (NHK), Norway (NRK), Sweden (SVT), Denmark (DR), Finland (YLE), Germany (KiKa), Portugal (RTP), Iceland (RUV), the Netherlands (NPO) and Israel (HOP). In Canada it is broadcast on the Family Jr. channel. In Australia, it is also broadcast on ABC Kids. On 12 February 2016 Sarah & Duck was made available in the U.S. on Netflix, but left Netflix August 12, 2018 without ever airing episodes made in 2017–2018.

DVD Releases

Release No. Release Name Episodes Number and duration R2 release date
1 Lots of Shallots and other stories Lots of Shallots, Sarah Duck & the Penguin, Cheer Up Donkey, Cake Bake, Scarf Lady's House, Robot Juice, Bouncy Ball, Rainbow Lemon, Sit Shop, Kite Flight 70 mins 17 February 2014
2 Doubles and other stories Doubles, Umbrella and the Rain, Big Shop, Woollen Music, Fairground, Sarah Gets a Cold, Ribbon Sisters, Stargazing, Coloured Light, Strawberry Souffle 70 mins 8 September 2014
3 Balloon Race and other stories Balloon Race, Camera, Tapping Shoes, Fireworks Dance, Fancy Park, Pipe Conductor, Slow Quest, World Bread Day, Pond Princess, Puncture Pump 70 mins 16 February 2015
4 Petal Light Picking and other stories Petal Light Picking, Bobsleigh, Plate Fog, Scared of Stairs, Moon Paint, The Play, Bread Bike, Bug's Button Bank, No More Wool, Octogon Club 70 mins 19 October 2015
5 Cloud Tower and other stories Cloud Tower, Outside Outside, Umbrella Bubbles, Sound Jumble, The Mouse's Birthday, Tortoise Snooze, Fast Slow Bungalow, Bags of Bags, Ribbon Fall, Garden Gaming 70 mins 15 February 2016
6 Duck Hotel and other stories Duck Hotel, Origami Overload, Shallot Circus, Toy Tidy, Plate Escape, The Big Sleepover, Paisley Sea, Duck's Quack, Rainbow's Niece, Decorating Donkey 70 mins 16 May 2016
7 Beach Break and other stories Beach Break, Parasol Show, Extra Bounce, Cake Relocate, Lost Librarian, Scooter Stand Still, Music Fixer, Wool on Wheels, Lemon Cafe, Star Renovation 70 mins 25 July 2016
8 Duck Flies and other stories Duck Flies, Seacow Snowtrail, Woolly Memories, Bubble Bumbling, Toggle Tangle, Tummy Talk, Moon's Exhibition, Pond Prose, The Art of Pink, Bug Bop 70 mins 17 October 2016
9 Train Fudge and other stories Train Fudge, Picture Planes, Hat Fuss, Dewy Morning, Sticker Swap, Magic Panic, Birthday Buoy, Alarm Clock, Twang Ball, Auto Cat 70 mins 20 February 2017
10 Constable Quack and other stories Constable Quack, Fluff Bread, Moonbow, Bench Blocked, Planetarium Aquarium, Shallot Boat, Cake Decorate, Balloon Barnacles, Basking Shark, Old Toys 70 mins 2 October 2017
11 Brolly Bus and other stories Brolly Bus, Rainbow Race, Hair Cut, Arcade Dance Off, Mars as Moon, Donkey Jump, Castle Scribbling, Haber Dasher, Cloud Jam, Pillow Fill 70 mins 12 February 2018
12 Snowball Skate and other stories Snowball Skate, Mountain Mints, Comet's Coming, Perimeter Pals, Hedge Opera, Boo Night, Park Trimming, Whatsathingy, Cinema Scoot, Ribbon Alvida 73 mins 8 October 2018

Stage version

A live stage production called "Sarah and Duck's Big Top Birthday" was performed by Millenium Entertainment International beginning May 2018 and ending in 2019.