Sad truth behind iconic Come Outside dog Pippin as people get nostalgic over show
Topics: Dog, TV And Film
Rhiannon Ingle
Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: Dog, TV And Film
Anyone who was a little one during the 90s to the early 2000s will know all about BBC's absolutely adored Come Outside.
The British TV series, which aired from 23 September, 1993 to 18 March, 1997, starred Lynda Baron as Auntie Mabel alongside her four-legged friend named 'Pippin'.
Spanning three seasons, the educational children's show aim was to teach kids about the world around them.
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The starting point for each episode is something with which kids may already be familiar including; wood, paper, boots, spiders, buses, soap and lampposts.
The duo would then share facts about the topic of choice while travelling on a pretty peculiar mode of transport - a tiny airplane complete totally covered in a smattering of multi-coloured polka dots.
As a self-professed 90s kid, I can confirm it was a truly gripping concept at the time.
However, the star of the show was - by a mile - little Pippin.
She was a mixed-breed - half Tibetan Terrier and half Bearded Collie - and came from a rather talented family indeed.
Not many people actually know that Pippin changed after the first series aired in 1993.
This is because she was a pretty old dog so she would perform the slower and complex moves while her biological grandson, Mr Higgins, would take all of the physically demanding work.
Adorable.
At the end of the first series, Mr Higgins took over Pippin's role entirely instead of keep changing the dogs and he continued to play his part for the following two seasons.
Tragically the original Pippin, who was owned and trained by award-winning animal trainer Ann Head, passed away in the late 90s, and Mr Higgins also sadly passed years later in 2008.
Lynda has since passed in March 2022 at the age of 82.
Now, despite the fact the show first hit our screens over three decades ago,
people still remember Pippin and talk about her on social media.
An account with the handle @childhoodncstalgia took to Instagram to share throwback clips of Come Outside and, needless to say, it sent thousands on a trip down memory lane.
One Instagram user penned: "I used to love this so much, RIP Auntie Mabel and Pippin."
"The way I'd be excited when school used to bring the tele out on the trolley to watch this, goosebumps," gushed a second.
A third chimed in: "This used to be my favourite show!"
"This always used to make me cry as a child cos it was so lovely," admitted a fourth, while a fifth wrote: "My childhood… RIP Aunty Mabel and Pippin. I’m so glad they still aired it when I was young!"
And a final Instagram user echoed: "Brings back memories and it’s sad that Aunt Mabel passed away. What a show."
Indeed.