EC doll from Lift Off

Love it or hate it, this faceless doll known as EC is ingrained in the memories of Australians who grew up in the early 1990s. Short for Every Child, the genderless ragdoll puppet represented the collective imagination of childhood. EC was one of the weird and wonderful cast of characters in children’s television program Lift Off, alongside Lotis, the Backsacks, Mr Fish and sundry patrons of the Wakadoo Café.     

Series development began in 1988 when the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF), led by Dr Patricia Edgar, saw the need for an educational program aimed at children aged three to eight. Edgar’s papers, held at the NFSA, reveal the high level of planning and consultation that the ACTF underook with early childhood specialists during the series’ development. Each episode was framed around Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences and encompassed a mix of live action, animation and puppetry. 

Lift Off won a swag of awards including Best Children’s Television Drama at the 1992 AFI Awards. It inspired education and outreach programs, live performances, magazines and a range of merchandise including this EC doll from 1992.