‘I cried four times at the finale – as an adult’: your favourite kids’ TV shows | Television

The Clangers

It was just awesome. It was my favourite programme as a kid and like nothing else. The little characters were super cute and it didn’t matter that you couldn’t understand a thing. But that was back when I wanted to marry Bugs Bunny, and didn’t realise that him being a rabbit and a cartoon might be a problem. Vickie J, 53, London

‘I spent half the programme behind the sofa’ … ITV children’s game show Knightmare. Photograph: ITV/Rex Features

Knightmare

I would have loved to have heard the pitch for this. Put a group of kids in a Dungeons & Dragons environment and get a team to guide their hero (who can’t see) through dungeons. It featured such horror that I would spend half the programme behind the sofa. I still have flashbacks to the corridor of blades and the health marker of a human head losing its flesh, then muscle and then the skull itself. It probably inspired a generation of live action role-playing games. Andy, 39, university administrator, Portsmouth

Mabel and Dipper in Gravity Falls.
Mabel and Dipper in Gravity Falls. Photograph: Everett Collection/Alamy

Gravity Falls

It’s an amazing show, very easy to watch and enjoy. The connection between lead characters Dipper and Mabel has probably encouraged siblings around the world to be closer to each other. Lautaro, 19, psychology student, Buenos Aires

Noggin the Nog

Magical. An Oliver Postgate classic. The baddest baddies were defeated by Noggin in all his charming innocence. It began my interest in the dark ages – which continues today. Jim Parry, 69, Crosby

‘Wonderfully stylish animation’ … CBeebies show Hey Duggee.
‘Wonderfully stylish animation’ … CBeebies show Hey Duggee. Photograph: Studio AKA 2018

As father to an autistic child, we either don’t watch a show at all or we watch it into the ground. Hey Duggee is heaven-sent. If the gentle stories of badge-earning get old, the wonderfully stylish animation comes into focus. Plus, there is great genre-hopping music throughout (you will never get Stick Song out of your head). The whole family love Duggee. Gavin, 38, data analyst, London

Hushabye Lullabye

Mesmerising graphics and beautiful singing – a true modern day classic. Perfect for soothing an unwell baby or getting them to sleep – and great for parents to relax to. Simon, Kendal

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Ulysses 31

It was the pinnacle of my after school TV watching. Their strange adventures as they sought to return to Earth was essential viewing on a Thursday afternoon – and the theme music was iconic. It was then discussed in detail in our O-level technical drawing class on a Friday morning. Mark Parrott, 52, commercial director, Hitchin

The cast of the BBC show Rentaghost (from left Edward Brayshaw, Sue Nicholls, Molly Weir and Michael Staniforth) with Nanny the goat, pictured in 1983.
The cast of the BBC show Rentaghost (from left Edward Brayshaw, Sue Nicholls, Molly Weir and Michael Staniforth) with Nanny the goat, pictured in 1983. Photograph: Mirrorpix/Getty Images

Rentaghost

This laugh-out-loud funny programme stands the test of time. The characters were great (opera-singing Ethel Meaker, who tormented the neighbours, Dobbin the pantomime horse et al) and you never knew where the storyline was heading. My mother loved it so much that I would have to record episodes for her if she was at work or on holiday! I recently watched an episode where Christopher Biggins was transformed into a wind-up toy. I loved it as a kid and it still brings me joy. Lee Lloyd, 50s, Oxfordshire

Adventure Time

It’s my all-time favourite show – adult TV included. I could honestly write a book on how phenomenal it is. At first watch, it’s a show about a little boy, his magic stretchy talking dog and their wild adventures in the fantasy land of Ooo. But give it about an hour (each episode is about 11 minutes, so you will have just finished episode five at the hour mark), and you will have, unknowingly, just witnessed an ominous plot device so big that it will, hundreds of episodes down the line, impact the fabric of time and space itself.

I haven’t seen anything else quite like it. Aside from the story, the complex and endearing characters are what bring the show to life and the voice acting is outstanding. I cried four times during the perfect, epic series finale, and again during HBO’s post-finale finale. It was like seeing my good friends after a long time away and saying goodbye all over again. If you can embrace the kid in you for just 11 minutes, I invite you to come along with me and join the adventure. Morgan Robinson, 30, administrative manager, Chicago

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