The animal stars of Olga da Polga
Meet Olga da Polga, the guinea pig sensation with a great imagination!
The classic book series by Paddington creator Michael Bond comes to CBeebies and iPlayer in a live action series.
Michael Bond kept guinea pigs his whole life. He loved how they chatter away to whoever will listen, telling stories about who knows what! And that’s why he created Olga da Polga – ‘a guinea pig who’s going places!’
Olga is a loveable and highly imaginative guinea pig. She lives with Karen and the rest of Sawdust Family, along with a collection of backyard animal friends.
Tortoise Graham and hedgehog Fangio are Olga’s devoted fan-club.
Noel the house cat is a playful antagonist for Olga.
The animals play a huge part in the show and so, during filming, they were treated like VIPs (Very Important Pets). When on set all the animals had special handlers that are trained to look after the needs of each animal.
The animals were filmed in their natural surroundings just being themselves. In fact, they didn’t have to do any acting at all! The production team spent lots of time filming each animal and used their natural reactions and behaviours in the episodes.
The star of the show, Olga da Polga is a beautiful guinea pig. Guinea pigs are very social pets needing lots of attention, even though in these first stories of Olga da Polga she is the only guinea pig, she does have lots of friends for company. And we will let you into a secret – In the show there are actually four guinea pigs that play Olga da Polga. These guinea pigs live in pairs with their owners.
If the show inspires you and your children to want guinea pigs as pets, here are some helpful resources for you to look at before you make that decision:
RSPCAÌý-ÌýGuinea pig fact fileÌý
SSPCAÌý-ÌýWhat to consider before adopting or buying a guinea pigÌý
Thinking about getting a family pet?
Teaching kids to care for animals
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