Michael Bentine's Bumblies, by JD

In the early days of television (1954/1955) Michael Bentine devised and wrote a thirteen part children's series about three friendly little aliens from outer space, cheerful ambassadors from the Planet Bumble, who landed in their flying saucer in the garden of an absent-minded professor of astronomy, with the express purpose of getting to know the children of Earth, and learning how to play their games.

The Bumblies had numbers rather than names. Bumbly One was their leader and the most intelligent one. Bumbly Two was the fattest and most jovial of the trio, and Bumbly Three was the dim one, who always got things wrong (and was similar to the Eccles character which Spike Milligan had made famous in The Goons).

The Bumblies slept on the ceiling and at the start of the every programme 'Professor' Bentine would order: "Bumbly One, come on down; Bumbly Two, come on down; Bumbly Three, come on down".

As far as I know this short clip is the only remaining film reminder of the series and featured Bumbly Three driving a racing-car round a table fitted out with a race-track, pit-stops, and a spectators stand where Bumbly Two gave a sports commentary on the event.

See also a further link:

http://www.turnipnet.com/whirligig/tv/children/bumblies/bumblies.htm

His programmes Potty Time and Square World ought to be repeated, everything else seems to be repeated endlessly.

He is/was a fascinating character. He taught the SAS his pistol shooting technique and was at the liberation of Bergen-Belsen which he describes vividly in one of his books. He wrote three autobiographies: The Long Banana Skin, The Door Marked Summer (which deals with his psychic experiences including his son's death in an air crash) and The Reluctant Jester.