2003 - Fireman Sam

Fireman Sam is a Welsh animated children's television series about a fireman called Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other townspeople in the fictional Welsh rural town of Pontypandy. The original idea for the show came from two ex-firemen from Kent. They took their idea to artist/writer Rob Lee who developed the concept for them. The finished concept was then presented to S4C who saw the potential in the series and commissioned it. Fireman Sam first appeared in Welsh on S4C in 1985 and later in English on BBC1 in 1987. The original series finished in 1994, but a new series which expanded the character cast commenced in 2008. The series was also shown in Gaelic in Scotland, where it was known as Sam Smalaidh. The series has been sold to over 40 countries, from Australia to Norway and is used across the United Kingdom to promote fire safety. In 1996, a stage production was turned into a feature, Fireman Sam In Action and released on BBC Video. Fireman Sam has recently been adapted into a Live musical theatre show, which began touring the UK in June 2011.