Mr. Squiggle Mr. Squiggle

Mr. Squiggle is a marionette puppet from the Moon with a pencil for a nose who transforms children's submitted 'squiggles'—random line drawings—into completed pictures. The show aired on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) from 1959 to 1999, making it one of the longest-running children's programs in Australian television history.

Mr. Squiggle was created and performed by Australian puppeteer and cartoonist Norman Hetherington, who voiced and operated the marionette for the show's entire 40-year run. Hetherington received the Order of Australia medal in 1990 for his services to children's entertainment.

Mr. Squiggle aired on ABC Television continuously from 1959 to 1999, a remarkable run of approximately 40 years. This made it one of the longest-running children's television programs in the world and a generational touchstone for Australian audiences.

Mr. Squiggle was assisted by human presenters including Miss Pat (Patricia Lovell), Miss Jane (Jane Fennell), and later Roxanne, who helped him read the children's squiggles. The show also featured recurring puppet characters such as Gus the Snail, who had a television for a shell, and Blackboard, a grumpy blackboard character who interacted with Mr. Squiggle.