Romper Room: Mr Do-Bee plate

This Romper Room promotional plate is a nostalgic piece of 1980s children’s television merchandising. It depicts Mr Do-Bee, a buzzy puppet that assisted Miss Helena on the show and who left a lasting impression on generations of young viewers. But take a closer look – something’s off. Mr Do-Bee’s face is orange, his body leans red, and he's faded to a pale shade of yellow. It’s a wildly off-model rendition that likely puzzled young fans and suggests some serious creative licence was taken in production.

Of course, nothing could match the wonder of Romper Room’s closing segment, when Miss Helena peered through her 'magic mirror' and called out names of children she could 'see' in TV land (it helped to have a common name like John, Julie, Jimmy, Kelly or Tommy). If your name was called, it felt like your lucky day. It was a clever, low-budget way to connect with the audience, but not something this plate could ever replicate. Instead, it stands as a quirky reminder of a much earlier time in Australian kids’ TV.