Last year it was Doctor Who, this year the Royal Mail has chosen to honor twelve classic British stars of children’s TV on a set of stamps.

It’s a mixture designed to create the same hot flush of nostalgia in children of all ages, whether thrilling to the adventures of Mr Benn,  watching Windy Miller wander in and out of his Camberwick Green windmill, or picking up litter with Great Uncle Bulgaria and The Wombles in the early ’70s…

Or rocking out with Bob the Builder and Aardman Animations’ Shaun the Sheep, or jumping in muddy puddles with Peppa Pig.

There are internationally famous characters, such as Paddington (soon to be the star of his own movie), Bagpuss and Postman Pat…

…as well as British household names, such as Dougal from The Magic Roundabout, Ivor The Engine, and (for the great-grandparents) Andy Pandy.

It’s a special year for Bagpuss and The Magic Roundabout in particular, as the former celebrates a 40th anniversary, and the latter has been around for 50.

If you’ve not come across it before, there’s a whole separate blog post to be written on The Magic Roundabout alone, it being a French animation given an entirely new story and set of characters by Emma Thompson’s dad Eric, but that’s for another time.

The Children’s TV Classics stamp collection is released on January 7.

See more:
Five Great British Children’s Filmmakers
Is Paddington Bear The UK’s Best Animated Character?
Now The Clangers Are Making A Comeback