each other and to the Little Weed – "Babap, Ickle Weed!" – to which the Weed would inevitably reply, with tremulous cadence, "Weeeeeeeeeeed!". This language, as with the Teletubbies series in 1997, was criticised for hindering children from learning proper English. Due to the series being made on film and repeated regularly for years following its conclusion, all episodes are believed to survive intact, with none missing from the BBC Archives. Bill and Ben would subsequently make appearances on The Time of Your Life with Noel Edmonds, Six Fifty Five Special and Blue Peter, together with voice Peter Hawkins. Episodes UK VHS and DVD releases Confusion with other characters The programme is unrelated to another set of characters called Bill and Ben, which have been confused with the Flower Pot Men, including in the initial versions of two obituaries of retired headteacher Hilda Brabban, published in The Independent and BBC's in-house magazine Ariel respectively, and also in Bills, a 2004 episode of the BBC panel show QI hosted by Stephen Fry. All three sources later corrected their statements. Brabban sold three stories about a Bill and Ben to the BBC in the 1950's; but other than their names, they bore no resemblance to the Flower Pot Men. Brabban's stories were broadcast on the radio programme Listen with Mother in 1951; the Bill and Ben of the Flower Pot Men were first seen on the television programme Watch with Mother in 1952. Both programmes were produced by Freda Lingstrom. During her later life Brabban suffered a stroke and later maintained she did invent the characters used in the BBC series; this prompted lawyers, acting on behalf of the estate of the show's creator, Freda Lingstrom, to threaten Brabban with litigation if she appeared on television to propagate this claim. Comics The show was the basis for a comic strip of the same name in the children's magazine Robin. References External links Toonhound on the Flowerpot Men Whirligig TV 1950s British children's television series 1952 British television series debuts BBC children's television shows British comedy puppets British preschool education television series British stop-motion animated television series British television series revived after cancellation British television shows featuring puppetry English-language television shows Television shows adapted into comics Television series by BBC Studios