Editing Roobarb (section)

{{Short description|Animated children's television series}}
{{for|the plant|Rhubarb}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = Roobirdman.jpg
| image_size           = 200
| genre                = [[Animation]]<br>[[Children's television series|Children's]]
| creator              = [[Grange Calveley]]
| voices               = [[Richard Briers]]
| theme_music_composer = [[Johnny Hawksworth]] (1974 series)<br>Jon Atkinson (2005 series)
| country              = United Kingdom<br>Ireland (2005 series)
| language             = English
| num_seasons          = 2
| num_episodes         = 30 (1974 series)<br>39 (2005 series)
| director             = [[Bob Godfrey]] <small>(1974 series)</small><br>[[Jason Tammemagi]] <small>(2005 series)</small>
| camera               = [[Single camera setup|Single-camera]]
| runtime              = 5 minutes (1974 series)<br>7 minutes (2005 series)
| company              = {{Plainlist|
* Roobarb Enterprises, Ltd. (1974 series)
* A&B TV (2005 series)
* Monster Animation & Design (2005 series)
}}
| network              = {{Plainlist|
* [[BBC One|BBC1]] (1974 series)
* [[Channel 5 (UK)|Five]] (2005 series)
}}
| first_aired          = {{Start date|1974|10|21|df=y}}
| last_aired           = {{End date|1974|12|24|df=y}}
}}
'''''Roobarb''''' (also known as ''Roobarb and Custard'') is an [[animation|animated]] children's television series, created by [[Grange Calveley]] and originally shown on [[BBC One|BBC1]] just before the evening news.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sheridan |first1=Simon |title=The A-Z of Classic Children's Television: From Alberto Frog to Zebedee |date=2004 |publisher=Reynolds & Hearn Ltd |isbn=1903111277 |pages=221–224}}</ref> Each cartoon of the original series, written by Calveley and directed by [[Bob Godfrey]], was about five minutes long. Thirty episodes were made, and it was first shown on 21 October 1974.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Crump |first1=William D. |title=Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film |date=2019 |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=9781476672939 |page=258}}</ref> The theme is that of the friendly rivalry between Roobarb, a seven-year-old green dog with an overactive imagination, and Custard, the mischievous eight-year-old pink cat from next door.

The series later spawned a revival in 2005, which aired on [[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]]'s Milkshake block. The narration of both series was provided by the actor [[Richard Briers]]. On 17 February 2013, Briers died, followed four days later by animator Godfrey.<ref name=bbc-briers-obit>{{cite news|title=Richard Briers, The Good Life star, dies aged 79|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21498077|access-date=22 February 2013|publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref name=guardian-godfrey-obit>{{cite news|title=Bob Godfrey obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/feb/22/bob-godfrey1|access-date=14 October 2013|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>