Count Duckula

Forgotten TV & Film · 1988

Published 6 August 2026

Count Duckula was a British animated comedy made by Cosgrove Hall Productions for Thames Television. First broadcast on ITV on 6 September 1988, it followed a good-natured vegetarian vampire travelling with Igor and Nanny in a castle that could teleport around the world.

Why It Mattered

By turning Gothic horror into an eccentric children’s adventure, the series gave its Danger Mouse spin-off a distinctive identity and became closely associated with Cosgrove Hall’s inventive British animation of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

A Vegetarian Vampire

- Ketchup replaced blood during the resurrection ceremony, producing a harmless vegetarian Count Duckula.
- Duckula preferred broccoli, travel and fame to the bloodthirsty life Igor expected.
- The contradiction supplied the programme’s central Gothic joke.

Igor, Nanny and the Teleporting Castle

- David Jason voiced Count Duckula, Jack May voiced Igor and Brian Trueman voiced Nanny.
- Castle Duckula could teleport to new locations, allowing stories to move beyond Transylvania.
- The series developed from an earlier villainous Count Duckula in *Danger Mouse*.
- Episodes ran for approximately 22 minutes.

Four Series and Surviving Artwork

- The original run comprised four series and 65 episodes broadcast between 6 September 1988 and 16 February 1993.
- The Cosgrove Hall Films Archive preserves material associated with the studio.
- The Science Museum Group catalogues a Count Duckula animation cel and background made between 1988 and 1992.
- The programme survives through archive collections, home-media releases and streaming catalogues.

Associated With

Cosgrove Hall Productions; produced for Thames Television - creator or production company

Defining Feature

An animated Gothic comedy about a harmless vegetarian vampire, Igor, Nanny and a teleporting castle

Status

Discontinued - The original four-series run ended in 1993; episodes and production artwork survive

Primary Records

- **Cosgrove Hall Films Archive — History of Cosgrove Hall Films**
- **Science Museum Group — Count Duckula Animation Cel and Background**
- **ITVX — Count Duckula Programme and Episode Catalogue**
- **ITV News Granada — Cosgrove Hall Animated Treasures Preserved in Sale**
- **ITV — CITV’s Old Skool Weekend**

Image Sources

- Image 1 source not verified — editorial review required.
- Image 2 source not verified — editorial review required.
- Image 3 source not verified — editorial review required.
- Image 4 source not verified — editorial review required.
- Image 5 source not verified — editorial review required.

Rights Notice

Images are included for historical and archival reference.

Rights holders may contact Forgotten Archive through the publishing account to request a credit correction or removal.

Gallery

Count Duckula shrugs above the large red Duckula title on a dark blue background. — Source
Credit
Count Duckula title artwork: Cosgrove Hall Productions / Thames Television; reproduced via Cosgrove Hall Wiki / Fandom.
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
Count Duckula's title pairs the familiar vampire pose with a cartoon duck, signalling the comic reversal at the heart of the series.

Ornate cartoon pipe organ decorated with skulls, gargoyles and a horned monster face. — Source
Credit
Count Duckula programme still: Cosgrove Hall Productions / Thames Television
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
The elaborate organ sequence leans into gothic spectacle, giving Count Duckula a dramatic setting that the programme repeatedly undercuts with humour.

Count Duckula gestures between Igor and Nanny in a colourful cartoon scene. — Source
Credit
Count Duckula character artwork: Cosgrove Hall Productions / Thames Television
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
Duckula, Igor and Nanny bring incompatible expectations to the same household, with the vegetarian count's ambitions clashing with his companions' attachment to vampire tradition.

Count Duckula's tall, crooked gothic castle standing among jagged mountains beneath a cloudy sky. — Source
Credit
Count Duckula programme still: Cosgrove Hall Productions / Thames Television
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
Castle Duckula's ability to travel turns the gothic home into a vehicle for adventures, letting the series move beyond its apparently fixed Transylvanian setting.