Episode 9 - The Wombles with Simon Quinn.
Hello and Welcome to The Square Window Podcast, your weekly dose of nostalgic insight into the classic Kids TV of yester-year.
Joining me for this episode is Simon Quinn. Simon is a multi-award-winning producer and line producer who's been working in the Film and Television industry for over 37 years. His crdit-list is extensive (See his full Bio below) but I first met him when I worked as a VFX Artist on "Fireman Sam" in 2002.
Simon's choice of show to talk about for this episods is the classic "The Wombles".
Before recycling bins, climate pledges, and eco-warriors, there were the Wombles, those shy, furry, ever-so-helpful creatures who lived quietly beneath Wimbledon Common. Created by Elisabeth Beresford, the Wombles weren’t just children’s characters; they were early ambassadors of environmental kindness, tidying up the world one forgotten item at a time.
I really enjoyed putting this episode together as this is anothr show I loved as a kid (there's a pattern forming). I found Simon a really engaging interview-ee and his insightful knowldge of the animation industry comes from extensive experience.
So settle in, dust off your childhood memories and let’s head back to Wimbledon Common, where the Wombles are still making good use of the things that everyday folk leave behind.
Simon's BIO:
"Simon Quinn is a multi-award-winning producer and line producer that has been working in the Film and Television industry for over 37 years. He produced three series of the BAA, Annie and double Day Time Emmy Award winning animation series The Adventures of Paddington for StudioCanal and Heyday Fims which airs on Nickelodeon. Starting his career at Spitting Image as a puppet maker in 1988, he discovered stop-motion animation whilst working at Film Fair in 1990, on classics such as The Wombles. He later formed a model making company The Puppet Factory in 1994 providing puppets and models to the animation industry. In 2002 he re-booted and line-produced the new series of Fireman Sam (CBBC) and two series of Hanna’s Helpline (Ch5 Milkshake) Then Line Produced Wes Anderson’s critically acclaimed, Academy nominated Fantastic Mr. Fox 2009 (20th Century Fox). After which he was Line Producer on Tim Burton’s stop-frame feature Frankenweenie 2012 (Disney) Seeking fresh challenges he switched from long format productions to producing over sixteen commercials in 3D, CGI and 2D with multi-award winning Passion Pictures. In 2013 he co-created and produced with Simon Rolph Wussywat the Clumsy Cat a 52 x 5 minutes preschool series for CBeebies working with Baby Cow Animation & Smiley Guy Studios Canada. At the end of 2015 He went on to become the Animation Producer for Wes Anderson’s Academy nominated Feature Film Isle of Dogs released March 2018. He is also a consultant producer for Magic Light Pictures recently working on The Scarecrows Wedding which will be shown Christmas day BBC 1 in 2025 as well as their previous multi award winning specials The Snail & The Whale, Zog & the Flying Doctors, Superworm, The Smeds and the Smoos, Tabby McTat and Tiddler.He was also the Animation Producer on a 43 minute Live action / Animation Hybrid film ‘The Velveteen Rabbit’ produced by Magic Light Pictures for Apple TV+ shown on Thanksgiving 2023 which was nominated for six Children and Family Emmys, winning in two categories March 2025."
The Square Window Podcast Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/793642936324551/]
CREDITS
All original music by Matt Loveridge and Jim Cornick
Produced and Edited by Gareth Cavanagh
