Bunty

Bunty was a British comic for girls published by D. C. Thomson & Co. from 1958 to 2001. It consisted of a collection of many small strips, the stories typically being three to five pages long. In contrast to earlier and contemporary comics, it was aimed primarily at working-class readers under the age of 14, and contained mostly fictional stories. Well-known regular strips from Bunty include The Four Marys, Bunty — A Girl Like You, Moira Kent, Lorna Drake, Luv, Lisa, The Comp, and Penny's Place.

Publication history

Bunty debuted with the 18 January 1958 issue. Over the course of its history, Bunty absorbed three other DC Thomson girls' comics: Suzy, Nikki for Girls, and Mandy & Judy .
With the issue of 28 March 1992, Bunty covers switched from illustrated comics-style imagery to a photograph of a teen model, becoming more evocative of a fashion magazine than a comic book. Bunty went monthly in 2000 before ceasing publication after a further 5 months; altogether the magazine published 2,249 issues.
As well as the weekly comic, Christmas and summer annuals were published. After the weekly comic ended its publication in 2001, the Christmas annuals continued to be published until 2008. Due to a lack of new comic strips to be included, the annuals post-2001 focused more on typical girls' magazine features, like horoscope quizzes and celebrity facts. The annuals ceased their regular publication with the 2009 issue, although several one-off books featuring reprints of the classic Bunty comics have since been released.

Layout and features

The average issue of Bunty contained several short comic-strip stories, broken up by letters pages, competitions, featured readers, puzzle pages, promotions, next-week previews or advertisements. The back page initially featured a cut-out doll and paper clothes, which eventually gave way to a wall poster.

Regular stories

''The Four Marys''

The Four Marys was the longest story the comic ran—drawn by artist Barrie Mitchell, it appeared from its creation in 1958 to its end in 2001. When the strip started, public boarding schools like St. Elmo's, the girls' boarding school, were common, but as time went on, they became less accessible to Bunty general audience. It centred on four young teenagers who lived in a girls-only boarding school in Elmbury, and often had problems with studying, being bored, or helping the other girls or teachers within the school. Of the four main characters, two were middle class, one was the aristocratic daughter of an Earl, and one was a working-class girl, attending the school on a scholarship. This representation of the working class was a reflection of changing class experiences in the 1950s.

''Bunty — A Girl Like You''

A one-page feature included a short comic strip about the comic's namesake, a blonde girl called Bunty, and her friends Haya and Payal. The strip was so short it usually could not convey more than a quick joke — mostly about normal teenage girl subjects like boys, family, or school.

''Moira Kent'' and ''Lorna Drake''

The Dancing Life of Moira Kent, the story of an aspiring ballerina, appeared in the first issue of Bunty, and Moira Kent was a regular feature for many years, the character eventually achieving international stardom. When the Moira Kent storyline was discontinued, it was replaced with Lorna Drake, also about a ballet dancer who attended the Thelma Mayne Dancing School. This accident was caused by Lorna's father, also a ballet dancer, who was going blind when he let Thelma Mayne fall during a performance, thus crippling her. However, Moira still appeared in the annuals, where she had opened her own ballet school.

''Luv, Lisa''

This story was written out as a diary, with pictures to accompany it. The pictures took the form of photographs, being the only regular comic to do so. Regularly her stories would consist of her writing about people, boyfriends, and situations she was in with her friends — although sometimes she would have a story set about her, with an adventure such as finding good Christmas cards. Her friends' names changed from issue to issue, the only regular characters being her brother and her mother.

''The Comp''

A comic drawn very much in the same way as The Four Marys, this was set in a mixed-sex comprehensive school. The Comp was originally published in Nikki, and moved to Bunty in 1989 after that comic folded. The Comp finished a short time before Bunty end, the story being that Redvale Comprehensive closed down and the pupils were sent to different schools.

''Penny's Place''

A comic drawn in much the same way as The Comp and The Four Marys, Penny's Place began in the comic M&J, but was taken up by Bunty in 1997 when M&J ended. The story centered on Penny, whose parents owned a cafe called Penny's Place, and her three best friends, who all lived in the same town and attended the same school. Penny's best friend Donna was from a lower-class family and had several brothers and sisters, and these siblings were often involved in storylines.
The story came to an end in the late 1990s, but due to popular demand Bunty began to publish the story again from the beginning. During this time, both Bunty and Mandy published Penny's Place in their Christmas annuals.

Other strips

A Bed Called Fred: A girl is pushing a four-poster bed named Fred all the way from John O'Groats to Land's End.
A Brother for Barbara - When friends of twelve-year-old Barbara Carter’s father are killed, their ten-year-old son, Steve, comes to live with the Carters. Barbara has always wanted a brother — but now she's not too sure.
A Cure For Scaredy-Cat Pat! – Pat Watkins is terrified of all animals and her father has an idea to cure her. He sends her to stay with her Great Aunt Sophie who runs an animal sanctuary.
A Date for Donna – Donna Hill is unaware that her best friend, Denise Ripley, is jealous of her and is out to wreck any date that she makes.
A Doll Called Dinkydou – The story of a doll with a defect searching for a home, told from the doll's point of view.
A New Life for Lilly – In Victorian times, Polly Bond leaves her sister Lilly on a doorstep to be taken in by a wealthy family. Returning to the household as a servant some years later, Polly is horrified to see her sweet sister is now selfish and spoilt.
A Pet For Peggy – Peggy North would love to have a dog of her own and her friend enters her into a competition where she wins a puppy, but the new housing manager is strict on the no pets policy.
A Pony Called Punch – The adventures of Punch, a sturdy little Welsh mountain pony owned by the kindly Mike Watson.
A Racehorse of Her Own: Shirley Wilson raises Hope, a young racehorse abandoned at birth by her wealthy father. She has to pay for all the expenses as her father believes in working hard for money, so she takes a job with a rag-and-bone man. When Dad demands Hope back later on, she refuses. He agrees to let her keep Hope on condition she still pay for expenses, which are even more costly now.
A School for Sophie - Sophie Masters is school mistress at Oxley village in 1840. The school is maintained by a special trust, but there have to be at least three pupils on the roll or it will be closed. Elsa Bradley, the squire’s daughter, pretends to be Sophie’s friend but is plotting against her.
A School Of Her Own – Rona Starr has been expelled from many schools, so to make sure she gets an education her father buys Pinehurst School, where Rona will be the only pupil.
A Tale From the Toy Museum – Tamsin Treco goes to stay with her grandmother who runs a toy museum in a Cornish fishing village. In each strip, Tamsin hears the stories behind many of the toys on show.
A Twin for Toni – Orphan Toni Downs is happily settled with her foster family when it is discovered she has a twin sister, Tammy. The Morrows foster Tammy as well and Toni is delighted at first, but then things start to go wrong as she finds herself forever blamed for Tammy's mishaps.
Abracadabra Academy: Jamara Jones comes from a line of witches. She wants to be an ordinary girl – not least of which because her spells keep going wrong, with hilarious results. But Jamara's mother wants Jamara to follow the family tradition and sends her to Abracadabra Academy, a school for witchcraft.
Abracadabra! – Stacy Green's father is a very good stage magician, but when his wife is injured in a trick which went wrong, he stops performing. Stacy and her mother want him to return to the stage and to try to encourage him, Stacy puts together an act herself.
Acting Up! – Joanne Cowley and Fay Dawson try out the youth theatre. But is it to do with acting or boys?
Alison Of Appletree Farm – Alison Jones is manager of Appletree farm until the young owner Jenny Carr is old enough to take over. Jenny's aunt Myra farms nearby and is determined to get control of Appletree Farm.
All about Anna: Julie thinks her new neighbour Anna is a nice, quiet, shy girl until she and her best friend Megan catch a glimpse of her diary. They decide she needs to be kept an eye on.
All Change!: Toni Day thinks she does not get enough attention, especially from her sisters and brother. She is determined to change this and get people to notice her more. But so far her attention-seeking tactics are not working out.
Amazing Grace, Gymnast of the Future – Circus girl Grace Connor has her heart set on being a gymnast, but her father keeps pushing her into being a trapeze artist, believing that a gymnastics career will not make her money. Can she change his mind?
Amber All-Alone: Amber Taylor is all alone after her best friend moves away. Then her classmates mistakenly think her family has won the pools when they move to a bigger house, which is in fact due to Dad's promotion. Amber finds herself the centre of attention and is taking advantage of it.
Annie's Orphans – In the wake of the Great Fire of London, Annie Besson rescues seven orphans. They go to live on a barge where Annie is trying to teach them to read and write. They are joined by a mudlark, Jonno, who steals whatever he needs. Annie is trying to cure him of stealing, but Jonno eventually ends up in court.
An Athlete She Must Be! – Ellen Perkins tries to turn her guzzling sister into an athlete.
And Granny Came Too...: Morag McDonald lives on an island in the Hebrides with her grandmother. She wants to be a gymnast and has had to teach herself from a library book as there are no gymnastics facilities available. When Morag returns a valuable wallet to its owner, he rewards her with a place at his gymnastics school where he is principal. But granny insists on coming too, and this is causing problems at Morag's new school.
Anna, the Animals' Friend – Anna Martin loves her job with the Animals' Protection Society. The town where Anna lives are having their biggest argument for years. The River Board has suggested some of the swans on the river should be shot and there has been a storm of protest following the decision.
Anne All-Alone – Anne Pryor's happiness is shattered when her parents are killed in a car accident. She begins to settle in an orphanage, when a misunderstanding with the other girls causes them to think she told tales on a girl.
Anne Proctor Animal Doctor – Anne Proctor works as an assistant veterinary surgeon to Stamford's circus.
Aunt Hard Heart – Cassie Martin is pleased when her aunt, Hazel Grey, a well known children's writer, offers her a home after the sudden death of her parents. But Cassie soon starts to wonder if her aunt is really sincere in her concern for her – or if she actually likes children at all!
Baby, Baby!: Kelly hadn't been keen when her mother was expecting a baby, but changes her mind when the baby arrives. However, Kelly is becoming too obsessed with the baby; she just can't stop talking about him and this is aggravating her classmates.
Backstreet Ballerina: Barbara Taylor runs ballet lessons in the East End of London in a converted stable. She takes in Jessie Tandy, a problem girl on the brink of being sent to approved school, in the hope that ballet will tame her as ballet is one thing that Jessie loves. But the girls are not friendly to Jessie because their parents have forbidden it, and this is making Jessie aggressive again.
Backstreet Hospital – When Nurse Mary Travers returns from the Crimean War, she sets up her own hospital for needy children, helped by Liza Parkin.
Ballerina On A String – When Jenny Lane realises she is not wanted by her aunt and uncle, she runs away and gets a job in a marionette theatre as Sugar Plum, the ballerina puppet. Someone guesses Jenny's secret and wants to help her continue her ballet training, but she can only guess at her mystery friend's identity.
Balloon of Doom – Katherine Williams is not happy when her younger sister Sarah brings home a sinister looking balloon. She suspects that the balloon also has something to do with the violent weather and destruction that has been happening in the town.
Barbara's Baby Elephant – Barbara Wallace has an unusual pet, a baby elephant, Busker.
Base-Line Barbie – After injuring her leg in an accident, Barbie Mason is told she will never play tennis again. But Barbie is determined too become a tennis champion despite her damaged leg.
Beggar's Academy – Orphan Sarah Blane is sure she has found her long lost sister, Martha, working for a mysterious woman called 'The Duchess' who runs a school for beggars. Sarah wis determined to win the girls confidence and affection, so that they could be reunited and live together with Sarah's guardians, so she joins the academy in the hopes of getting close to 'Martha'.
Bella the Bookworm – A comic strip about a girl who loves books.
Belle of the Ball – Belle Brown owned a ball that developed strange powers after being treated by some space travellers from the planet Orbis. They used the ball to learn about Earth.
Bess And Her Pup – A humour strip about Bess and her pup Pooch. Often they end up in some sort of trouble.
Betrayed!: Michelle and Sharon are best friends. But the girls fall out when Michelle sees Sharon with her boyfriend Greg and feels betrayed.
Bighead – Tina Patterson has never made many friends because she is quiet and shy. Then her good-looking but big-headed cousin Joe arrives and suddenly everyone wants to be friends with her! Tina knows they just want to get to Joe, but she doesn't care because she is being noticed at last.
Bike Rider – Sandy Clark's uncle, an inventor, builds her an unusual bike – a computerised super bike that can talk and even fly. But only Sandy and her uncle know about its unusual powers, everyone else wonders who the mysterious rider is.
Billy Basset – A story narrated by a pup named Billy. While his owner Sally prepares him for shows, her mother's dog Stan, an Afghan, is not happy to see Billy getting attention.
Bimbo And Her Baby – A girl finds a baby in the park and decides to look after it.
Bird Girl: Lynn Fairfax and her artist father move to the Italian village of Torricelli. Lynn encounters a mysterious girl who has a strange way with birds. She soon finds the mysterious girl is trying to save the birds from trappers and decides to lend a hand. But Lynn has to win the girl's confidence as the girl seems to be afraid of her.
Bonnie and Claude – Bonnie and Claude Plank are a pair of ballroom dancers who always seem to find trouble – luckily they are helped out by their young friend, Laura Balmain.
Bonny and Clydesdale – Bonny and Cly, a Clydsdale horse, are cursed by Whirlin the Wizard, and are banished until they find the Golden Gooseberry. As part of the spell, Bonny can understand Cly.
Born to Dance – Catherine Collins is a born ballerina but her grandmother has forbidden her to dance. Gran is afraid that Catherine will have a fatal accident like her late mother.
Botany Belle: The scheming governess Miss Fallon switches Lady Merrilee Manners, the ward of Sir Anthony Manners and heiress to Roxham Hall, with Belle Thorn, a thief. As a result, Lady Merrilee gets five years in Botany Bay for theft while Miss Fallon passes off Belle as Merrilee.
Boy Blue the Rockin' Robot: Johnny Freeman, a student scientist, creates a humanoid robot called Boy Blue. By chance, Johnny's sister Janet discovers Boy Blue can sing and sets about turning him into a pop star.
Boyfriend from Blupo – A girl who wants a boyfriend finds one in Morgan, an alien from the planet Blupo.
Brassribs - When Cindy Roberts is marooned on a Pacific island, she has Brassribs, a robot butler invented by her dad, to look after her.
Break-Up!: When a girl in Paula's class is dumped by her boyfriend, everyone talks about her. So when Paula gets dumped, she is determined not to let anyone find out.
Bringing up the Barkers – Walter the Dalmatian disapproves of his new owners' coarse ways and is trying to teach them more genteel habits.
Broncho Buttercup: A cow believes it is a show jumper.
Captain Carol – Carol gets her best friend, Fiona, expelled so she can take her place as school captain. However, Carol reckons without Fiona's determination to prove her innocence.
Captain Kate – Kate Smith is thrilled to be made Captain of Tenbury School – but she has an unfriendly rival in Vice Captain Daphne Ferrier.
Captain Shirley – Shirley Smith is school Captain at Tenbury School. She is supported by her best friend, who helps her especially against any tricks by jealous vice-captain Daphne.
Carey's Chickens – Red Indian raiders kill Carey Lane's parents and destroy their farm, so she travels to the Rocky Mountains to find her brother Crispin. Her only companions are a horse, a dog and two dozen chickens.
Carla the King's Protector – Carla Gale, a young chimney sweep, overhears General Krill plotting to kill the young King, Simon the sixth, so she hides the boy in her cottage. Then Carlaa discovers that General Krill has employed a boy to take the King's place – and he is an exact double of King Simon. Now Carla must expose the General and keep the real king safe.
Carol Of The Cowslip Express – Carol Cripps has been given the job of making the railway line the Cowslip, profitable again.
Carrie's Choice: Carrie's parents are always arguing over nothing. To solve the problem they divide the family home, with Dad and oldest daughter Sheila living downstairs and Mum and younger sister Sarah upstairs. Carrie refuses to take sides, so she moves to the landing room, which is halfway between the two floors.
Carrie's Magic Cookbook – A girl discovers a magical cookbook, which takes her back in time to when a recipe was first made every time she uses that particular recipe.
Carrie's Quest – In 1850, Carrie Kenworth goes into service for the wealthy James Goodwin. When she learns that her employer's granddaughter, Olive had run away five years ago, Carrie offers to go search for her.
Catch the Cat – Marie Bonnet is hated for being friendly with Nazi soldiers in a French town during the WW2 occupation. But this is really a cover for Marie's double life as a costumed resister known as "the Cat."
Cathy and Her Camera – Cathy Shaw finds her camera is very useful in many situations.
Chalk and Cheese – Cindy Seers and Sarah Jameson are very different but they both love horses and riding.
Changes: Maxine and Deanne have been school rebels. Then Deanne moves away and Maxine calms down. But then Deanne returns, as rebellious as ever. She expects Maxine to be the same, which is causing problems for Maxine.
Changing Places – At her new school, Lady Anne Bannerman is tricked by another new girl Anne Brown into changing names and identities and is now being blackmailed by her.
Cheerful Cherry Martin – The young Cherry Martin works as under Matron at Larks Hall Prep School for boys.
Cherry's Challenge – Fourteen-year-old Cherry Smith helps her parents run their small farm. Her best friend is a colt named Fancy that she helps break in. Cherry is trying to form a team to enter gymkhana events.
Children of Misery – Rosemary Wilson has been taken prisoner by the Arkans, a strange people who never smile. Some of the families are now trying to escape, with Rosemary as their leader. Rosemary is puzzled as to why the Arkans do not seem to be pursuing them. Could it have a connection with the mysterious illness that is now striking the fugitives?
Children of the Night: The evil Aunt Mabel runs an orphanage for homeless children where she shuts out sunlight on them, making them blind by day but able to navigate in the dark. This is so she can send them out to steal at night. When justice catches up with Aunt Mabel, the children are taken in by the generous and wealthy Mrs Rigby, who is given one month to reform them.
Chloe's Choice: Chloe Morris likes her new stepfather, but finds she has to choose between him and Mum all the time.
Christie's Children – Christie Dove, who has been brought up in Ecclesfield Poorhouse, discovers that she is really Lady Christabel Deverel, heiress to a great fortune. Although she is taken to begin a new life at Deverel Hall with her Aunt Edith, she is determined to help the poor children she left behind, even if it meani doing it in secret.
Cinderella of the Orphanage – Cindy Winters has grown up in Oldbank Orphanage When she is old enough, she is given the letter and a photograph that her mother left with her as a baby. The photo is of 4 young girls in costumes and this is the starting point for Cindy to try to track down her mother.
Circus Susie – After the sudden death of her father, Susie Nelson takes over the running of Nelson's Super Circus. The young girl is in danger from Ferro, the strongman, who has always wanted to own the circus and plans to get rid of her. Luckily Susie also has a friend looking out for her, Carlo the clown.
Clare- The Children's Champion – After a cholera epidemic, Sir Frederick Winton, a wealthy man decides to help orphan children taking them into his home. Clare Gaston is the first orphan he rescues and she becomes responsible for supervising the other children.
Claremount College – Clara Lawson inherits Claremount College and decides to teach any lesson her students want.
Click-Click Clara: Clara Jones acquires an instant camera that can take photographs that show a prediction about the subject being photographed. Clara finds she can change the future, but doing so either works out well or it doesn't.
Cobweb Castle – The Carters are left a dilapidated castle by Mr. Carter's old commanding officer after he dies. They open the castle to the public to help pay for the repairs.
Codey – Amy inherits her Great Uncle Harry's ventriloquist dummy, which surprises her as she didn't know him that well. What surprises her more though is when Codey starts talking to her. He gets her in trouble when people think she is throwing her voice, saying nasty things. He wants to make it big, but Amy tries to refuse. He threatens her family, so she has to go along with things.
Come Home, Kathleen – In 1930s Ireland, Kathleen O'Connell lives happily with her family, even though they don't have much money. Then her mother's sister Therese arrives over from England with her daughter Emma, and they propose to relieve the O'Connell's burden a bit by adopting Kathleen as a companion for Emma. But the Laceys are actually struggling to keep their usual lifestyle and they expect Kathleen to work as a servant in return for taking her in. Kathy is very homesick but is unable to afford her fare back to Ireland, so she has to think of some way to get home. The trouble increases when Britain goes to war, Kathy and Emma are evacuated to stay with a cruel woman named Miss Jardine, and Emma's mother is killed in a bombing.
Cora The Cookery Kid – Cora Rochester is very keen on cooking and wins a trip to Paris to study French cooking.
Cotton Jenny – Belle Merrimac and her slave girl Jenny are travelling North during the American Civil War, to find Belle's father and Jenny's brother who are prisoners.
Cousin Carrie: When Melanie's cousin Carrie comes to stay, she upsets Melanie's friends with her arrogance and rudeness.
Daisy Bell – A wordless humour strip, featuring a young girl.
Dancing for Joy: Joy Layton has always wanted to be a ballerina, but her parents cannot afford ballet lessons. Madame Camille offers Joy free tuition, but Joy's rough background is causing problems, from both the snobby pupils and the kids at her school, who think ballet is for snobs. When Madame Camille enters Joy and another pupil, Fiona Smethshurst, for a scholarship, Fiona is out to make sure she is the one who gets the scholarship.
Danger Doll – One evening when Jemma Johnson is babysitting a young girl named Caroline, they receive an unexpected visitor – a doll! Later there is a mysterious fire and Caroline and the doll disappear. At first Jemma is blamed but when other children go missing, Jemma is asked to help solve the mystery. Does the doll have anything to do with it?
Danger Girl – Danger Girl, codenamed "Z", is the prettiest and toughest agent in Britain's Secret Service.
Danny Boy: Donna is crazy about new boy Danny. But he is not taking any notice of her. Donna's friends try to get them together, but are not having much luck.
Dark Days for Dolly – Orphaned Dolly stands to inherit a fortune from her dying foster mother, whose relatives scheme to force Dolly out of the house and claim her inheritance.
Darke Days: The Darke family change house, and strange things begin to happen. Melissa Darke, who is superstitious, senses bad vibes, and they seem to be focused on the pendant she wears. The family starts arguing for no reason, noises are heard in the night, and an apparition appears among other spooky things.
Dear Dave: Friends Gina Wood and Wendy Hall both fancy Dave Bell. When Dave asks Wendy out, Gina is pleased for her friend, but Dave’s nasty sister, Marsha, gets hold of some letters Gina wrote, but never sent, saying how much she likes Dave, and uses them to blackmail Gina.
Debbie's Debt – Jealous Paula interferes with Debbie's bike. When an accident ensues, it is Paula who finds the injured Debbie. Paula proceeds to exploit her family's indebtedness and wealth.
Debbie's Diary: When Debbie King's family move house, she forgets to take her diary. Debbie is anxious to get her diary back as it contains some compromising entries about pretend dates. Debbie makes friends with Melanie Ward, who has moved into her house, hoping Melanie will help her get her diary back. But when Melanie finds out what Debbie wants, she starts blackmailing her.
Destiny Calls Rosita – gypsy girl Rosita is determined to become a ballerina, but the ballet mistress dislikes her and is trying to get rid of her.
Detestable Della – During World War II the Japanese invade Malaya and the children of a mission school are captured. Della Mornay pretends to work for the Japanese while secretly helping the prisoners, who think she is a traitor.
Dina Must Dance! – Dina Lee, a gypsy girl, is given a free place at the Linden house Ballet School and she isn't too pleased to give up her carefree life. Then she receives a gypsy warning that she is in danger and she suspects jealous snob Paula may be out to hurt her.
Distant Cousin – Jenny Clayton goes to Larchwood Boarding School, where her cousin Claire is a pupil. But Jenny discovers that the girl claiming to be her cousin Claire is not.
Doctor Fido – Thirteen-year-old Sally Downes lives at Bridge House Children's Home where she likes helping out with the younger children. When an injured dog wanders into the grounds, Sally takes care of him, and he becomes a firm favourite with the children, who name him Doctor Fido.
Dolwyn's Dolls – In one of the narrow cobbled streets of Northwich is the doll shop owned by Megan Dolwyn. She tells customers stories about the dolls.
Don't Cry For Me! – In Britain, in the year 1940, after her father is lost at sea, Nancy Nelson goes to live at Morvel Mansion, along with several evacuees. The manor house is really an old people's home and there is often trouble between the young and the old. Later Nancy becomes convinced her father is actually alive. She is proven right but it appears her father is working for the Germans. Despite the evidence, Nancy refuses to believe her father is a traitor.
Don't Date Damon!: When Chris dumps Tricia in a rather badly handled manner, she expects her friend Kirsty to dump Damon in sympathy as he is a friend of Chris. But Kirsty cannot bring herself to do it, so she is trying to date Damon in secret from Tricia.
Don't Speak to Me, Mum! – Shirley Weston lives at Bunbury Castle where her mother was cook to Sir Charles Merrywill. When Shirley wins a scholarship to Rossdene, a private boarding school, she finds most of the girls were from wealthy families. When Shirley's friends mistake her for Sir Charle's niece, she doesn't deny it, but problems arise when Shirley's mother takes a job as a cook at the school.
Donna's Donkeys – After a trip to the seaside, Donna Williams returns with an old donkey which had been cruelly treated. Her parents are dismayed and put her story to the local newspaper in the hope of finding the donkey a new home. Instead Donna is left a hundred donkeys by an old woman who ran a donkey sanctuary and read the newspaper article before she died.
Donna's Double Life – Grange and Forden schools are bitter enemies. When Forden pupil Donna Wade suddenly transfers to Grange, she leads a double life to keep her friends at both schools from finding out.
Donna's Double – Sophie Benson and Donna West are best friends. When Donna moves away, she loses touch with Sophie with no explanation. Then Sophie and her family move. At her new school, Sophie encounters Wendy Smith, whom she soon realises is really Donna. But Donna is acting very strangely – she is behaving in a timid, frightened manner and does not acknowledge Sophie. When Sophie tackles Donna, she admits she is Donna but begs Sophie to keep calling her Wendy. Sophie agrees, but is determined to find out what is going on.
Dopey Dora – the Hope of the School: Dora Spoone is the dimmest pupil at Eversford School, and is also the school klutz – everything she does goes wrong. Yet the school computer picks her as the most brilliant scholar, so she is entered along with five other clever pupils in the School of the Year Contest. Ironically, it is Dora's blundering that is pulling the team through to success. All the same, her teammates want to get rid of her.
Dorinda from the Deep: Kelly Mann, a sculptor, takes on a commission of the ballerina, Dorinda, for the new ballet theatre. She is unsure of her ability, is having trouble finding the purest white stone required, and there is a strange storm. She finds on a beach a stone, starts work, and finds that the statue is beginning to take shape on its own.
Double Trouble!: When old Mrs Perkins wrongly accuses Julie Bates of breaking a street light, she puts a curse on her. The curse causes an evil double, Shadow, to appear whenever Julie is in the dark or dim light, and Julie keeps getting the blame for the trouble Shadow causes.
Down with St Desmond's! – Carol-Anne Brabazon is out to ruin a school because she believes her mother was unjustly expelled.
Dream Boy: Kerry Simpson is obsessed with the new pop group, Dream Boyz. Her obsession has caused her to lose friends and her boyfriend, and it is even getting her into trouble at school. Claire Thomas has stood by Kerry, but even that friendship is put under stress when Kerry tries to blackmail Claire into babysitting her Dream Boyz collection after her parents order her to get rid of it.
Duel of the Dolls – Wendy Taylor and her parents return to Britain after two years in South America. But her father has made an enemy who puts an evil spell on Bobby, one of Wendy's dolls. In attempt to counteract the spell, a friend of the family uses 'good' magic to enable the other doll, Betty, to protect Wendy from harm.
Electra of the Evil Eye – Electra, an orphan, comes to live with Gina Soames and her mother. Mrs Soames thinks Electra is the best foster child she has ever cared for, but Gina doesn't trust the girl, as she feel there is something sinister about her. Some strange occurrences happen like sudden fires and Gina believes Electra is involved.
Ernie's Girl – The Police Chief's computer, Electronic Random Name Indicator Extraordinary, selects dizzy W.P.C. Dora Wiggins as the person most likely to succeed. Dora doesn't agree with this – but the chief believes his computer couldn't be wrong, and to her dismay he promotes her anyway.
Eve All Alone: When Gemma Halliday's parents are unable to take her to Hong Kong, she is sent to spend the summer with Great Aunt Lyn in the country. Aunt Lyn is very nice, but Gemma still wishes to be with her parents and is very bored with nothing to do. In the attic, however, she comes across an old diary, written during World War Two by an evacuee named Eve, and learns that Eve had to endure much worse things during her evacuation.
Fairweather Friend: Jenny Cooper's mother makes up with her sister after a falling out years before, and she and Jenny go to stay with the aunt while Mr Cooper goes abroad. But the cousin, Rachel Fairweather, is going astray and getting in with a rough crowd, and Jenny is getting the blame for the trouble she causes. But Mum is anxious to keep the peace, having only just made up with her sister, and this is making it more difficult for Jenny to speak out.
Falling Star: Kim Weller finds becoming a pop star isn't all great as she begins to lose all her old friends.
False Friend – Sneaky Karen pretends to be friends with wealthy Natalie in order to take advantage of her.
Five Dads For Diana – When Diana Parsons widowed father dies, he appoints five of his friends as her legal guardians. Four of the men are professors and one is an expert in physical training, so Diana is home schooled, which she finds to be a lonely life.
Flight to Freedom – Eileen Masters, one of a team of British gymnasts, is left behind in Lobovia to look after the team's baggage. In one of the equipment baskets she finds Valerie Dimitric the star gymnast of Lobovia. The authorities refuse Valerie permission to leave the country, so with Eileen's help, Valerie tries to escape.
Flower Power – Donna Mason helps her disorganised parents run Seaview Hotel. Things get really interesting when the new maid, Blossom, arrives – she is from another planet. As her name suggests, she is really a flower species.
Follow the Dragon – Five Edgecombe Girls' School pupils are stranded in the African jungle after a plane crash. Their tough teacher Miss Hardiman, known as "The Dragon" is determined to lead them to safety.
For Sam's Sake: Anna Thorpe and her brother Sam are being fostered out to the Sanders family while their mother is in hospital. Anna was not keen on living in the Sanders household because the daughter, Carla, is a spiteful, snobby, spoiled girl who always picks on her. But Anna decides to do so for the sake of Sam, who does want to stay. But Carla is trying to get rid of them, so Anna has to constantly watch out for her tricks.
Forbidden Island – Jenny Weston goes to live with her uncle and aunt. On an island, she discovers two more relatives living in a run-down house. They have to live there for three months to fulfil the conditions of a will. To make things worse, they have fallen out with the aunt and uncle. Jenny is determined to bridge the gap.
Forbidden to Ride – Amnesic Anne West tries to find out what caused her to lose her memory.
Forever Friends? - Jodie wins a place at a stage and screen school. She wants to keep her friends from her old school as well as make friends at the new one, but she's finding it difficult being pulled in two directions.
Framed! – Carly Bell's mother is an artist and writer of picture stories for a Bunty-esque comic named "Jenni". She discusses her new idea with Carly – a family called the Swifts begin to have falling outs after winning the pools. Carly thinks the characters aren't realistic, they are too good to begin with to suddenly have fights over money, so her mother decides to scrap the entire idea. Unfortunately for Carly, the Swifts come to life and are furious that their series was scrapped, so they decide to teach her a lesson. Each of the Swifts take a turn at playing tricks on her, including the dog.
Fran's Foxes – Fran Graham lives in the middle of the city. When she finds three orphaned fox cubs in the basement of a derelict building, she starts to look after them secretly.
Freckles and her Frog – Freckles Wilson, an orphan, lived with her relatives on their farm on the edge of the Florida Swamps. They treat her cruelly and Freckles' only friend is a pet frog she calls Ferdy.
Friend or Foe?: Karen Fielding's parents make her change schools because she got mixed up with a bad crowd. At her new school, Karen finds herself in the same class as a group of girls the bad crowd hates. For this reason Karen secretly causes trouble for them while pretending to be friendly. Then Karen comes to her senses and stops her campaign. But when the bad crowd find out about Karen's change of heart, they swear vengeance.
Friendly Frances – Frances Thornton works for the "Can We Help U Agency", and gets sent on a variety of assignments.
Gelda- The Girl From The Glacier – Gelda had been frozen in a glacier years ago. When an unexpected thaw frees her she discovers that warmth from fire or the sun could kill her. She can only venture out of her ice cave at night or on overcast days.
Georgie and Griff – Georgie Mair comes to Camelot to attend Camelot Ladies' College and stay with Professor Hyslop, her uncle. Georgie has brought with her Griff, her invisible pet griffin.
Ghost Train: When Nikki Turner and her parents move into a converted railway station, a ghost train starts haunting them. When Nikki investigates, she finds herself travelling back in time as various passengers on the train.
Ghosthunters: Jilly, Sue and Natalie decide to go ghost hunting, and their hunt takes an unexpected turn.
Gilly of the Flower Garden – The adventures of a girl who works at a garden centre.
Gita Guitar – Gita Jones is determined to play her guitar and earn her fare to America in the hopes of finding her father.
Give Us a Clue!: Sherryl Holmes gets ideas about being a detective – to the consternation of her friend Lisa Watts.
Glenda the Gimmick Girl – Advertisement agency worker Glenda is excellent at coming up with ideas for various things.
Gold Medal Girl – Gail Gordon's ambition is to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games. But the problem is whether she should concentrate on running or swimming. Gail prefers athletics, but she can't escape from Martha Moor, her ruthless swimming coach. Jim Cook, Gail's athletic coach, is trying to rescue her from Martha's evil clutches.
Goode Neighbours: Twins Jo and Jill Davie are intrigued when the Goode family move in next door. But they soon find there is something very odd about the Goodes. For one thing, they seem to possess super strength and don't show emotion. They also seem to be out to take things over with the expression "Whatever I'll do, it'll be for your own good. I will look after you."
Good Move? - Gemma is staying with her trendy night while her mum is in hospital. Gemma has been looking forward to living with her aunt, but things aren’t working out like she hoped.
Grow Up, Granny! – Polly's irresponsible grandmother must learn to behave respectably in order to be approved as Polly's legal guardian.
Haggis – A short humour strip that follows a Scotty dog.
Handy Mandy – A humour strip about a young woman, Mandy who does odd jobs, that rarely go right.
Hanna's Hopeless- But She Keeps Trying! – Hanna Brent is injured in an accident and ends her dreams of becoming a dancer like the rest of her family. She sees an opportunity to become a different dancer when she sees synchronised swimming club.
Hannah in the House of Dolls – Disguised as a disabled waif, Hannah Weston takes a job in a strange doll shop called "The House of Dolls" so she can investigate the shop and secretly help the young children who are made to work in the shop. She soon learns that Mrs. Scradget, the owner of the shop, is using the dolls to commit robberies – by transferring the life energy of waifs into the dolls, she is able to bring the dolls to life, and when they are bought by rich parents for their child, they rob the houses of the rich people in the middle of the night and take all their ill-gotten gains back to Mrs. Scradget.
Hannah of Horse Haven – 13-year-old Hannah Stanway starts up a horse haven for old and unwanted ponies at her parents farm.
Happy Hannah – When Hannah Perkins and her siblings are orphaned, they are sent to live with their Uncle who runs an eating house. Uncle Ernest only agrees to keep the children out of the workhouse if Hannah sings to entertain his customers.
Harriet's Chariot – Harriet Jones has an unusual holiday job. She is employed as a crime-buster by millionaire, Mandy Maxon. Harriet is assisted by a robot car and its robot chauffeur, Robert.
Hateful Harriet – Peg Roberts has to keep Harriet Marlowe out of trouble in school, or else her widowed mother will be fired by middle manager, Mr. Carrick. The troublesome lying Harriet has been expelled from many schools, and is sent to live with the Roberts as well. Of course, Harriet causes Peg all sorts of trouble, and has the teachers fooled that she is a sweet girl.
Haunted Hotel – Kirsty and her family run a hotel that is also occupied by ghosts, who let out rooms to fellow ghosts as well! Only Kirsty can see them, though they can appear to other people if they choose. Kirsty becomes friends with the ghost of her age, Grisly.
Haven of Hope – In the year 1880, the Honourable Hilary Lacey loses both her parents. Hilary decides to use her wealth by providing a home for waifs and strays from the workhouse. But the Beadle Mr. Higgins is plotting against Hilary with a young accomplice – a boy named Jack.
Heartbreak House – When Penny Wellman moves into Corbie House, spooky and frightening things keep happening to her.
Help... – Leon, a computer whizz, has gone missing. While everyone believes he ran off due to school pressure, his brother Rick thinks that something has happened to him. He confides in Kim of his theory and after finding a message from Leon on a striped disk, she believes him. Unfortunately, the message disappears by the time they try to show it to others, and now they must find the other disks.
Her From Up There – Mirra is from the Planet Santos and comes to Earth to convince people to visit her planet on their summer holidays.
Her Guardian Angel – When a new charlady comes to work at the home of Charlotte Colwell, the girl becomes strangely drawn to the woman. Unable to accept the friendship between Charlotte and the servant, her parents send her away to a strict school, but the charlady gets a job at the school and helps Charlotte out whenever she can.
Her Hideaway Highness – Pat Fraser is acting as groom for her sister, Brenda, an international show-jumper, while she is on tour in Tarlania. During the tour, the dethroned King asks Pat to smuggle his daughter out of the country. Although disguised as another groom called Sara, snooty Princess Saria does no work to help Pat.
Heroines Of History – The stories of famous females from history.
Hetty of Harriman's Hotel – Hetty Cuthbert goes to Harriman's Hotel looking for a job but is mistaken for the owner's niece, Helen. Meanwhile, the manager Felix and his secretary Beryl have plans to take over the hotel.
Holiday Romance!: Katie Simpson meets Clive on a holiday in Spain and wants to keep up with the romance after the holiday. But she is encountering difficulties in doing so, and things get even more complicated when a new boy next door asks Katie out.
Home Alone!: Gina Gordon and Gabby Andrews are fostered by Mr and Mrs Wood. Unfortunately the girls hate each other and each starts playing tricks to get rid of the other. The inevitable result is that both girls are sent back to the Children's Home in disgrace. Gabby and Gina now realise their folly, but need to come up with a way to convince the Woods of this.
Hope Street – In 1898, Caroline Osborne, the daughter of Dr Benjamin Osborne, has a difficult time with her chosen profession after her father dies. Her mother and uncle do not support her, and she doesn't have any better luck outside her family either, being rejected by all the jobs she applies for. When one of the maids points out there is plenty of work at a poorer end of town, even if they can't pay much, Caroline buys a warehouse on Hope Street to set up a clinic.
Hot Gossip!: Everyone thinks the Mount Comp school magazine is boring. Then the ALTERNATIVE school mag appears, and it is filled with gossip and poison pen lies about staff and pupils. Its venom is particularly aimed at one pupil named Ali. Nobody knows who is producing it, and it keeps appearing despite the head's warnings. Ali's brother and friends start detective work to track down the culprit.
Humpy Dumpy: Hilarious adventures with Flora MacVicar and her pet – the Loch Ness Monster!
I Don't Like Dogs!: Mrs Kemp has terrible cynophobia and this fear passes on to her daughter Helen. After Mrs Kemp dies, Dad finds a new girlfriend, Rowena, but when Helen sees she has a golden retriever, Benji, her cynophobia starts causing problems with the new relationship.
I Want to Dance! – In the year 2082, Denny McCae is disconnected with life in a hard-working world where music and dancing are banned. Her closest friend is a robot, Miki. After finding a tape recording of Swan Lake, Denny won't be happy until she learns to dance. She gets sent to a school where there is a secret ballet class that takes place in the basement at night time. It is run by the mysterious Alana and everyone has to hide their identity.
I Want to Go Home! – When Kate and Kim Parker's parents divorced, Kate decided to stay with their Mum, while Kim chose to stay with their Dad. For the first time in 6 months, Kim was to come stay with her mum and sister for the holidays. It is quite a change for her, as since Dad got a promotion Kim has been used to living in style in a large country house. Even though mum and Kate make an effort to make things nice and fun, she wants to