The puppeteer Ronnie Le Drew, who has died aged 78, will be remembered for his long association with the irascible glove-puppet Zippy on ITV’s hit preschool series Rainbow. But to many in the British puppetry community, he was also an inspiring teacher, mentor and a generous on-stage colleague, as well as one of the country’s foremost marionettists.
Rainbow launched in 1972 as ITV’s answer to Sesame Street, and the following year Ronnie was asked to take over operating Zippy. Working with the voice actor Roy Skelton (also known as the voice of the Daleks and Cybermen in Doctor Who), Ronnie helped turn Zippy into the show’s unlikely star. Zippy was a moody, garrulous creature – his exact species was never defined, although Ronnie referred to him as “a unique” – who could only be silenced by forcibly zipping his mouth shut.
