No Highland home for Postman Pat and Jess

THE creator of Postman Pat has left a Highland village shattered after dispelling the belief that a local mail man inspired his famous character.

Postman PatHEMEDIA

A black and white cat like Postman Pat's Jess

Residents of Arisaig in Inverness-shire long believed that Pat McCarthy was the basis for the hit TV series.

Mr McCarthy, who died in 1994, was a celebrity before Postman Pat first aired in 1981. He starred in a 1968 BBC documentary about life as a rural postman and, like Pat, kept a large black and white cat, called Roguey.

Speculation was fuelled by claims that the long-running show’s creator, John Cunliffe, had visited the West Coast village Whenever he was asked about the connection, Mr McCarthy would smile enigmatically and shrug his shoulders.

Postman Pat was a Scot – not some mythical guy from the Lake District

Gaelic Broad­­cast

A newsletter called Gaelic Broad­­cast linked to a local radio programme wrote in the 80s: “There seems little doubt that Pat was the inspiration for Postman Pat.

“The creator spent several days on holiday in Arisaig, and accompanied Pat around the village and district in his mail van.”

It added that if Mr Cunliffe “would only own up” the area could become “a centre of pilgrimage for thousands of children”.

One of Mr McCarthy’s nephews recently rekindled the legend on social media. Stephen McBride, 54, posted old pictures of his uncle and told friends: “Postman Pat was a Scot – not some mythical guy from the Lake District. Even his cat, Rougey, was copied and became Jess which, curiously, was Pat’s mother’s name.”

But a bemused Mr Cunliffe, who lives in Ilkley, Yorkshire, has denied the claims. He said: “The nearest I came to Scotland when writing Postman Pat was Northumberland and the Lake District.

“It’s lovely when people identify with the series, but there is no connection. There are a lot of postmen called Pat and a lot of black and white cats. I chose the name because it just sounds nice. I got maybe half a dozen people last year saying they were the inspiration.”

However, Mr McBride is unconvinced by the denials. He said: “Maybe John Cunliffe feels that if he admitted anything the family would look for money off him. Nobody would, of course.”

Arisaig Post Office’s current manager, Jane Kerrall, said last night: “When we were young we were told that the series was based on our local postie. The local kids all thought that.”

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