A former Blue Peter colleague of mine, Kate Finburg recently interviwed legendary puppeteer, Gerry Anderson – creative maestro behind British children’s classics such as Thunderbirds, Stingray and Captain Scarlet.

To be honest, other than the awesome flying dropship, Thunderbird 2, I was never a big fan of the Thunderbirds series, but Captain Scarlet on the other hand, rocked. Big time. I’m rarely in favor of re-making a character universe to be more “dark and gritty” (read violent and depressing) but comparing the former to the latter, this is what Anderson did, and it worked. Captain Scarlet had a strong format and stands as a rare example of that golden egg in children’s television – a brand successfully aimed at boys. Anyone creating content in this genre would certainly benefit from watching an episode or two.

And if you get a chance to read Kate’s interview, I’m the “rather excited devotee” who’d kill for five minutes with Gerry Anderson!