Fat Cat, an Adelaide nightly institution, dropped after tribunal rules it confusing and unsuitable for children
Fat Cat and Friends, developed originally by SAS Channel 10 in Adelaide, became a national children's programme.
Fat Cat, a television character nurtured at Channel 10 in Adelaide, became a city institution in the 1970s with a 7.30pm segment telling childen when it was time to go to bed.
Fat Cat and Friends was a children's television show developed at Channel 10 in Adelaide from 1972, with spinoffs such as its resident musician Patsy Biscoe recording many children’s albums with national success and hostess Lynn Weston going on to front national educational children’s show The Book Place.
The show closed in 1991 after the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal ruled it wasn’t educational enough and sent confusing messages and, according to some sources, “encouraging of bestial adoration”.
Fat Cat has its origins in Western Australia where actor/writer Max Bartlett moved and developed The Underground Video Show, after The Magic Circle Club he had worked on was shut down.
Fat Cat and Friends was produced in the SAS10 studios of Network 10 Adelaide and it survived the 1987 frequency switch of channels 10 and 7 in Adelaide. It was written, directed and produced by Murray George for 13 years with John Oster, Jane Reilly and Lynn Weston having turns as presenters.
Fat Cat was originally played by Reg Whiteman then Ralf Hadzic and Melanie George (198-85). Robert Fordham played Fat Cat from 1994 and performed on three of the Fat Cat Storytime videos. The character was later played off screen by Patsy Biscoe’s friend Damien.
The Seven Network cancelled Fat Cat and Friends in 1991 after the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal said the program was not educational enough and was “not clearly defined and might confuse the young”. Confusion stemmed from Fat Cat’s lack of gender and being mute – ignoring the Humphrey B. Bear precedent.
During the 1990s, Fat Cat often appeared on celebrity versions of the then Adelaide-produced Wheel of Fortune. Fat Cat was usually paired up with Channel 7's resident puppet Agro who was the mouthpiece for the duo.
