Mary Turner Interview Mary Turner the Co-Creator & Director of Cloppa Castle kindly gave us an interview, giving us further details of the show and some behind the scenes pictures. Note: This interview took place before any DVDs had been released. We hope you enjoy it.   Interview Q: How long did it take to make an episode of Cloppa Castle John Jelly making the set of Cloppa Castle A: The episodes were not made singly, they were done on a breakdown. For the first 26 we spent 3 months making puppets and scenery, 16 weeks filming, and about 16 weeks editing.   Q: What was the Castle / Puppets etc made out of (I noticed you could walk around on the upper tier of the castle). A: The Castle was carved out of polystyrene, textured with sand & glue, and painted. Puppets were mainly fibreglass heads & bodies, and rubber hands.   Q: How tall were the Castle / Puppets?  A: I don't know the Castle height exactly.   Q: How long did it take to make them and who did it? A: Puppets designed by me & made by me, Judith, Ann, & Sue. John helped with lip-synch mechanics.   Q: Was it easy to film with a two tier castle?   A: Only one tier would be on the set at a time.   Q: What other shows have you worked on since? A: Meet the Munch Bunch, Adverts connected with Thunderbirds & Capt. Scarlet.   Q: Who came up with the names of the characters, as they seem to be quite humorous.  A: John Read & me.   Q: Was it a stressful time doing the shows. A: It was hard work but we enjoyed it. We did not think about stress in those days.   Q: Which TV programme did you like working on the most and why? A: Cloppa, because it was our own idea.   Q: Where did you film Cloppa Castle, and did you film all of your shows there?  A: An old church hall in Bermondsey. Rupert was filmed in an artist's studio in Chiswick.   Q: There was a dragon in the story, that had to be made lifesize. Can you tell me about that, and why it had to be life size? A: The dragon needed to look very big to the puppets.   Q: They were very successful at the time, were you surprised about that? A: No.   Q: Because they were successful, are you surprised that with the flood of nostalgia that Cloppa Castle seems to have sank without trace? A: Yes.   Q: Do you still own the rights to the show, if not who does?  A: John and I own the rights to the characters, but the films already made belong to Carlton.   Q: What difficulties did you have while filming the show? A: Limitation of money.   Q: Do you have any episode breakdowns (descriptions of each episode)? A: I haven't come across any, but will let you know if I do.   Q: Will Cloppa Castle fans ever get to see it again on Video / DVD??  A: If anyone can persuade Carlton to market it.   Q: Am I missing anymore details on the Site? A: Cloppa was also exhibited at Chichester District Museum in 1984. There was some merchandising; Blue Bird confectionary, a painting set, jigsaw, a set of small figures, an Annual. We did not write the words to the song, and "sitting down to tea" does not really happen. I think it was just to make the rhyme! John Jelly making the set of Cloppa Castle John Jelly making the set of Cloppa Castle Mary Turner makes some adjustments Mary Turner makes some adjustments on Cloppa Castle Ann Brandon and John Reid setting up the next shot Ann Brandon and John Reid setting up the next shot on Cloppa Castle Paul Marwaha filming Paul Marwaha filming on Cloppa Castle The Crew from Cloppa Castle The Crew from Cloppa Castle Bogus Machnik, Ann Brandon, Judith Shutt, John Jelly and Paul Marwaha watch Mary Turner from above Bogus Machnik, Ann Brandon, Judith Shutt, John Jelly and Paul Marwaha watch Mary Turner from above on Cloppa Castle Mary Turner Interview - Cloppa Castle
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