Greenclaws
Greenclaws is a children's television series aired on the BBC between 3 January 1989 and 6 February 1990. It starred Nick Mercer and Stella Goodier, was written by Ursula Jones, directed by Adrian Mills, and produced by Christine Hewitt.
Content
Greenclaws, played by Nick Mercer, was a big green monster who lived in a greenhouse. Every week, Iris would visit Greenclaws. They would put one of Greenclaws' fabulous seeds in a plant pot, put the plant pot inside a secret growing place in the Riddle Tree, wait for Owlma to alert them that the plant was ready, answer three riddles/questions correctly from Owlma, then open the tree to find the plant had grown into something bearing unusual fruit. Each episode featured a song filmed on location, most of which were written by . There would also be a story told featuring relatives of Greenclaws while the plant was growing, accompanied by illustrations.Broadcast
Only one series of Greenclaws was produced – reportedly due to the fact that some young pre-schoolers at which the series was aimed, were frightened by Greenclaws's appearance, regardless of his gentle-natured persona. Despite this, the series was repeated several times, including in a later-afternoon Children's BBC slot, where a slightly older demographic audience less likely to be intimidated by Greenclaws' appearance would be watching.Theme
In the greenhouse, Greenclaws' greenhouse,
Greenclaws grows them amazing plants.
They're surprising, mystifying,
Greenclaws grows them crazy plants!