Royal Mail's children's TV stamps – in pictures

Andy Pandy: Devised by Freda Lingstrom and Maria Bird, Andy Pandy was first screened live in summer 1950 during the BBC’s For the Very Young slot. Subsequent episodes became central to the Watch with Mother segment from 1953. Thirteen new colour programmes were recorded in 1970 as the original episodes had become too damaged to be broadcast Photograph: Royal Mail/PA

Ivor The Engine: Developed for ITV by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin, Ivor the Engine told the story of a small steam train working on a remote line in the 'top left-hand corner of Wales'. The show used charmingly rudimentary techniques to animate illustrations of Ivor and driver Jones the Steam. Between 1959 and 1964, 32 episodes were made, with a further 40 commissioned in colour by the BBC in 1975 Photograph: Royal Mail/PA

The Magic Roundabout: In the early 1960s, French animator Serge Danot created an innovative stop-motion series, Le Manège Enchanté. BBC head of children’s programming Doreen Stephens was charmed by the series, but felt the script needed changes. Eric Thompson wrote and narrated new stories around the visual elements, and The Magic Roundabout debuted on British TV in 1965, with the original character of Pollux renamed Dougal Photograph: Royal Mail/PA

Camberwick Green: Created by Gordon Murray, Camberwick Green featured stories about the folk of a picturesque village in Trumptonshire. First broadcast in 1966, each episode began with a rhyme: 'Here is a box, a musical box, wound up and ready to play. But this box can hide a secret inside. Can you guess what is in it today?' The featured character – perhaps Windy Miller or Mrs Honeyman – would then be revealed Photograph: Royal Mail/PA

Mr Benn: Author and illustrator David McKee used his own street in Putney as the inspiration for Festive Road, the home of Mr Benn. First published in book form in the late 1960s, Mr Benn the TV series followed in 1971. Each episode saw our hero visit a fancy-dress shop, dress in a chosen costume, and end up in an unusual location – a knight’s armour, for example, led to an encounter with a dragon Photograph: Royal Mail/PA

The Wombles: Created by Elisabeth Beresford in a series of books starting in 1968, the Wombles are conical-faced creatures that live in a burrow under Wimbledon Common and spend their days collecting and recycling rubbish. Great Uncle Bulgaria and company arrived in a series of 60 short instalments first airing in 1973, and ‘The Wombling Song’, the show’s theme tune, gave rise to The Wombles pop group Photograph: Royal Mail/PA

Bagpuss: Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2014, Bagpuss is another unique creation from Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin. The series was set in a lost-and-found shop where Bagpuss, a 'saggy old cloth cat', would come to life on delivery of broken item from young girl Emily. He and his friends would then weave songs and stories around the object while it was repaired Photograph: Royal Mail/PA

Paddington Bear: A Bear Called Paddington, written by Michael Bond, was first published in 1958. In 1975, the TV series directed by Ivor Wood and narrated by Michael Hordern was a mix of stop-motion puppet animation for Paddington and 2D illustration for all the other characters and backgrounds. In the first episode, Mr and Mrs Brown meet the marmalade-loving bear from Darkest Peru and take him home, naming him after the London railway station where he was found Photograph: Royal Mail/PA

Postman Pat: Ivor Wood collaborated with writer John Cunliffe to bring his Postman Pat stories to our screens in 1981, and it became the longest-running animated series on the BBC. In each stop-frame episode, Pat makes his deliveries in the idyllic village of Greendale, with his trusty sidekick Jess the Black and White Cat. Pat’s famous red postal van was joined by a fleet of new vehicles in 2008 when his route was extended to include the bustling town of Pencaster Photograph: Royal Mail/PA

Bob The Builder: Making his debut in 1998, Bob the Builder was the brainchild of former Muppets designer Keith Chapman. Bob’s ability to take on any project promotes a positive attitude and the benefits of working together, as sung in his theme tune, Can We Fix It?, which topped the UK Christmas charts in 2000 Photograph: Royal Mail/PA

Peppa Pig: Peppa is a cheeky little pig who lives with her little brother George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig. After Lily Snowden-Fine and Cecily Bloom, Harley Bird was the third person to provide Peppa’s vocals, and in 2011 she won best performer at the Bafta Children’s Awards. The show celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2014 Photograph: Royal Mail/PA

Shaun the Sheep: First appearing in Nick Park’s Oscar-winning 1995 Wallace and Gromit film A Close Shave, Shaun the Sheep graduated to his own TV series in 2007. Shaun leads his flock into all sorts of scrapes, running rings around their poor sheepdog Bitzer. A Shaun the Sheep movie is in production Photograph: Royal Mail/PA