About this season
Let's Pretend was a 1980s children's television series aimed at preschool ages. It was shown across the ITV Network at 12.10 on Tuesdays, then later Mondays, replacing the popular Pipkins which had been cancelled at the end of 1981. Like its predecessor, each edition was fifteen minutes long, and the programme was produced using many of Pipkins' personnel such as puppeteer Nigel Plaskitt and producer Michael Jeans. Each week the presenters would find a number of ordinary household items and contrive to produce a short story featuring them all. The first programme, "The Story Of The Broken Puppet", was shown on Tuesday 5 January 1982 by Central Television. The show aired weekly until 1988. The show's original opening titles featured items moving along a conveyor belt into the mouth of a large plastic whale, and later a puppet caterpillar moving along the screen.
Episodes (35)
1. The Hippo, the Peacock and the Giraffe
Aired 26 September 1983
2. The Travelling Musician and the Missing Notes
Aired 3 October 1983
3. The Cat Who Wanted to Be a Lion
Aired 10 October 1983
4. The Oil Can
Aired 17 October 1983
5. The Roundabout Ostrich
Aired 24 October 1983
6. The Witch and Lazy Jack
Aired 31 October 1983
7. The Camel Who Got the Hump
Aired 7 November 1983
8. The Queen and the Tailor
Aired 14 November 1983
9. The Penguin and the Pig
Aired 21 November 1983
10. The Wind Finds Some Friends
Aired 28 November 1983
11. The Cock Who Crowed Too Much
Aired 5 December 1983
12. Granny in Space
Aired 12 December 1983
13. The Reindeer and the Rhinoceros
Aired 19 December 1983
14. The Naughty Reflection
Aired 9 January 1984
15. The Octopus Came Out of the Sea
Aired 16 January 1984
16. The Neglected Piano
Aired 23 January 1984
17. The Moving Bus Stop
Aired 30 January 1984
18. The Dirty Clean... Dirty Clean Sweep
Aired 6 February 1984
19. The Unneighbourly Neighbour
Aired 13 February 1984
20. The Sandwich Which Had a Quarrel
Aired 20 February 1984
21. The Messy Man
Aired 27 February 1984
22. The Adventures of a Jelly
Aired 5 March 1984
23. Bath Toys
Aired 11 March 1984
24. The Day Fred Lost His Glasses
Aired 19 March 1984
25. The Road Roller
Aired 26 March 1984
26. The Runaway Shoe
Aired 2 April 1984
27. The Invisible Friend
Aired 9 April 1984
28. The King Who Loved Sausages
Aired 16 April 1984
29. The Bee and the Bear
Aired 30 April 1984
30. The Television Set
Aired 14 May 1984
31. The Empty Egg Cup
Aired 21 May 1984
32. The Sun Who Forgot to Set
Aired 4 June 1984
33. The Lion and the Leopard
Aired 11 June 1984
34. The Seaside Special
Aired 18 June 1984
35. What Father Christmas Does in the Summer
Aired 25 June 1984