Editing Flower Pot Men (section)

==Production==
According to her adopted daughter Alison Gassier, [[Freda Lingstrom]] got the idea for the show after spending time in her woodshed with a flowerpot.<ref>{{cite episode |title=The 1950s |series=Children’s TV on Trial}}</ref> She assembled the production crew, which consisted mainly of those who had worked on her previous show ''[[Andy Pandy]]'': her associate [[Maria Bird]], puppeteers [[Audrey Atterbury]] and Molly Gibson, and opera singer Gladys Whitred.{{efn|There has been no confirmation of Maria and Gladys's roles within the series. [[Radio Times]] listings feature Maria as the narrator, with Gladys singing the songs (including Little Weed's "Was It Bill Or Was it Ben?"); however when Bill and Ben appeared on ''Six Fifty-Five Special'' and ''The Time of Your Life'', Gladys said she narrated, as well as voicing Weed. In ''Children's TV on Trial'' Julia Whitaker (nee Williams), claimed to have voiced Weed uncredited, while obituaries for [[Denise Bryer]] claimed that she voiced her.}} The only new member was [[Peter Hawkins]], who voiced both Bill and Ben, inventing their gibberish language, named Oddle-Poddle. He based the language on select words such as "Slogalog" (Slowcoach the Tortoise) and "Haddap" (Hello).<ref name="special">{{cite web
|url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XrBzOvlNEs4&pp=ygUWc2l4IGZpZnR5IGZpdmUgc3BlY2lhbA%3D%3D
|title=''Six Fifty-Five Special'' - Puppets|website=[[YouTube]] }}</ref>

The puppets were made to look as if they were made from flowerpots. Cupcake holders were used for their hats, which sometimes caught onto their strings.<ref name="special" /> Peter particularly praised Audrey's puppetry for being very precise.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://twitter.com/Radiojottings/status/1604503000776572932?cxt=HHwWiICwpc2-q8QsAAAA
|title=Andy Walmsley (18th December 2022) "70 years ago today BBC tv airs the first showing of Bill and Ben 'The Flower Pot Men'. Actor Peter Hawkins and puppeteer Audrey Atterbury talk to Jane Markham in 1989" - Twitter}}</ref> The scripts were written in English, with Peter translating them into Oddle-Poddle.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9aEkfGZVzdw&pp=ygUPVHJ1bXB0b24gUmlvdHMg
|title=''Trumpton Riots'' - Pugwash, Windy and Barney McGrew|website=[[YouTube]] |date=February 2014 }}</ref>