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 (31)
1. The Cuckoo Who Wanted to Sing Like the Sparrow
Aired 15 October 1984
2. Mr Woof the Guard Dog
Aired 22 October 1984
3. The Milk Float and the Racing Car
Aired 29 October 1984
4. Tortoise and Hare Make Friends
Aired 5 November 1984
5. The Garden Wall
Aired 12 November 1984
6. The Ghost Makes a Friend
Aired 19 November 1984
7. The Giants Who Came Down from the Beanstalk
Aired 26 November 1984
8. The Broom and the Vacuum Cleaner
Aired 3 December 1984
9. The Dragon Who Couldn't Help Breathing Fire
Aired 10 December 1984
10. The Soldier With Two Left Feet
Aired 17 December 1984
11. Dancing Daisy
Aired 7 January 1985
12. Little Red Riding Hood and the Pirate
Aired 14 January 1985
13. The Story of the Dirty Shirt
Aired 21 January 1985
14. The Fed Up Telephone
Aired 28 January 1985
15. The Friendly Tree
Aired 4 February 1985
16. The Man Who Was Always Late
Aired 11 February 1985
17. The Dancing Crab
Aired 18 February 1985
18. The Piano Movers
Aired 25 February 1985
19. The Mouse on the Moon
Aired 4 March 1985
20. Muddled Michael
Aired 11 March 1985
21. The Twin Sisters
Aired 18 March 1985
22. The Chicken and the Duck
Aired 25 March 1985
23. Cinderfella
Aired 1 April 1985
24. Old MacDonald's Farm
Aired 15 April 1985
25. The Elephant and the Weighing Machine
Aired 22 April 1985
26. The Disappearing Milk
Aired 29 April 1985
27. The Crane Who Couldn't Lift
Aired 13 May 1985
28. Helpful Harry
Aired 20 May 1985
29. The Train Spotter and the Train
Aired 3 June 1985
30. The Man Who Likes Surprises
Aired 10 June 1985
31. The Shopkeeper Who Didn't Want to Sell His Pets
Aired 17 June 1985