Over 30 years ago, Mike Young, born in Barry in 1956, was an advertising copywriter who had recently married, and gained a stepson in the process.
One night, when his stepson was having trouble sleeping; Young told him a story about a magical bear with superpowers. This fighter of evil was called SuperTed, and so began the legend of one of the most famous cartoon characters that originated from Wales.
Spurred on by positive feedback to his stories, Young started writing books about SuperTed, and over 100 of them were published, many of which can still be found in perfect condition on eBay.
Although SuperTed was in fact Barry born, the character has a
strong association with Cardiff. S4C, the fledgling (and
first ever) Welsh language channel, approached Mike Young and
his new wife Liz with a proposal to create a SuperTed animated
show. The Youngs joined forces with producer Robin Lyons,
and animation artist Dave Edwards, to create Siriol (meaning
Cheerful) Animation, which was based in Pentyrch. So
SuperTed was in a way, made in Cardiff.
S4C started broadcasting on 1st November 1982, and SuperTed (also in Welsh) was aired for the first time. In 1984, the BBC acquired the rights to broadcast SuperTed. The characters needed to be redubbed for a primarily English speaking audience, so popular children's presenter Derek Griffiths came on board to provide the voice of SuperTed, whilst ex Doctor Who star Jon Pertwee voiced Spotty, SuperTed's alien friend.
Every episode started with the tale of how SuperTed started as a defective bear in a toy factory. Thrown into an old storage room, the bear was found by Spotty and brought to life by the use of 'cosmic dust'. He was then taken to Mother Nature and given special magical powers, accessed by saying his 'secret magic word'. These powers were usually used to fight Texas Pete and his gang.
The adventures would take place all over the world, and even in Space, but many were based in Wales. Also in 1984, SuperTed became the first British cartoon series to be aired on The Disney Channel in the United States. Three series of SuperTed were made by Siriol, along with a special film made specifically for the Welsh Office. Supersafe With Superted was a public information film featuring SuperTed, Spotty and his sister Blotch, created to help teach children about road safety. It included scenes of Cardiff Castle, Castle Street and the Arms Park Stadium. All 36 episodes were released on VHS tape soon after and in 1989 the series won a BAFTA for best animation.
A new series, The Further Adventures of SuperTed, was produced for American television in the same year. Derek Griffiths did not return to voice SuperTed, and although the animation was enhanced, it only lasted one season. The original series of SuperTed was released on DVD in the UK in June 2008.
