Fourways Farm

Fourways Farm was a British children's television series with a science theme, created by Case Television in partnership with Dutch Education Television from the Netherlands. It originally aired on Channel 4 as part of the Channel 4 Schools programming block from 1993 to 1996, and continued to be shown in repeats until around 2007. A Welsh adaptation, titled Fferm Bryn Gwynt, ran on the S4C Ysgolion strand from 1994 to 1997.

The show’s plot revolves around nine talking animals, all voiced by Martin Jarvis, who live together on the fictional Fourways Farm. In each episode, one or more of these anthropomorphised animals stumbles upon an accidental but intriguing scientific discovery. As night falls, the animals typically work out a logical explanation for what they found while getting ready for bed. Three mischievous rats—Uno, Duo, and Trio—often try to steal food from the others, but they occasionally set aside their troublemaking to lend a hand when trouble arises.

The characters include Davenport, an optimistic Border Collie with an excitable, posh voice; Martha, a mellow cow with a West Country accent who reflects on every situation; Godfrey, a pessimistic shire horse who still takes pride in his abilities and speaks with a memorable Yorkshire accent; Ginger, a lazy tabby cat with a posh Edinburgh accent; Dudley, a gluttonous pig who waddles like a penguin and loves turnips, speaking with a West Country accent; Brenda, a bossy duck who enjoys swimming in her pond and speaks loudly with a Scottish accent; Uno, the quick-witted leader of the Rat Pack, a cockney rat who always wears sunglasses and does most of the scheming; Duo, a dim-witted male rat with protruding buck teeth and a deep voice; Trio, a hyperactive female rat with a high-pitched voice; and Voltaire, a gentle, friendly weathercock who narrates from atop the farm’s archway and speaks only in Received Pronunciation.