Illustrator and TV presenter Tony Hart was loved by millions of children and inspired generations of budding artists over his 50 years on our screens.
But what was it like growing up with Britain's favourite art teacher? On what would have been his 100th birthday, his daughter Carolyn Ross has helped launch an exhibition of his work and paid tribute to "probably the nicest man in the world".
Born in Maidstone in 1925, Mr Hart received his own art training at the Maidstone College of Art in St Faith's Street. He is best remembered for his role with the BBC as a television artist on a variety of programmes, including Vision On, Smart Hart and Hart Beat, along with his famous sidekick Morph. He designed the logo for the Blue Peter series and created the puppet characters Titch and Quackers.
In 1984 Take Hart, won a BAFTA and he received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.
Carolyn said: "Some might think growing up with the legend that was the mainstay of Vision On, Take Hart and Hart Beat could have had its drawbacks, but my dad was my hero. The face he presented on TV was no different from his off-screen persona. He was intelligent, charming, amusing and, as has been said before, probably the nicest man in the world."
His advice to her included "only lose your temper when absolutely necessary". She recalls one incident when he demonstrated this, in the multi-storey car park at BBC Television Centre in Shepherd's Bush.
"He and my mother had arrived to attend a celebrity event," she explained. "My mother was driving and making a hash of parking the car in a tight space.
"A woman waiting to come past grew impatient and leaned on her horn. Now, under some circumstances the response to this might have been some shouted swearing and possibly the raising of one or two fingers. Not my dad. He got out of the car and went over to the woman with a polite smile and said gently 'I'm afraid you're not helping'. She looked at him for an instant then buried her head in her hands, blurting 'I'm sorry!'."
One drawback of being the daughter of such an icon is that people didn't believe her when she told them who her dad was.
She said: "My only difficulty as a schoolgirl came when we were asked in class what our fathers did for a living, and my announcement that my dad was Tony Hart the TV artist was met with total disbelief.
"Thoroughly upset that my classmates appeared to think I was some kind of Walter Mitty, I appealed to my dad, and he was quick to come and pick me up from school, signing autographs and drawing cartoons for everyone who asked."
The illustrator and TV presenter passed away peacefully in his sleep in 2009. He was 83. In 2021, a mural was unveiled at Maidstone bus station celebrating the artist and his sidekick, Morph.
As time passes, Carolyn admits "the name Tony Hart doesn't mean much to many under 35s" but she is thankful when someone remembers him.
She said: "His style was quiet, peaceful and entrancing, and I couldn't have been more delighted when a friend of my son's told me that he shows his children my father's programmes on YouTube.
"With the passing of time, the name Tony Hart doesn't mean much to many under 35s. Indeed, a friend recently introduced me to a young colleague, adding "You'll never guess who her father is!" and, not surprisingly, she had no idea who Tony Hart was. Of course, she was too young, but I told her, 'ask your mum and dad if they remember him'. When I saw her the next day, she bounced up to me and said 'they went absolutely bonkers! Your dad is a legend!'."
Carolyn added: "Growing up with the legend that was Tony Hart was full of laughter and love.
"There were the Sindy doll outfits that were quietly placed under my bed while I was asleep when he came home late at night from recording Tich and Quackers in Manchester.
"There was the stone mosaic we made together for Vision On when he had put his back out and couldn't lift the larger pieces of stone.
"There was the moment outside the church before I got married when he said 'Are you quite sure? We can turn around if you want' (we didn't).
"And so many more moments that illustrate what a lovely man he was than can't possibly be listed here.
"There were disasters too - the time he spent three days making a stop-frame 2D animation only to find at the end he had forgotten to put any film in the camera; and the day he ran the lawn mower over his foot and was convinced he'd cut his toe off - upon inspection he had merely sliced away the top section of his wellington boot."
To celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday, an exhibition of some of his artwork is on display at the Creative Maidstone Community Arts Hub until November 8. The collection has been carefully selected by Carolyn herself.
Some of the original artworks that he created for his book Paint & Draw with Tony Hart feature in the exhibition. These range from modern art in the style of Jackson Pollock to his original design of the Blue Peter Ship - and fans should look for an appearance from Morph too.
Speaking at a preview of the exhibiion, Carolyn said: "It's so lovely to be able to get them out and show people not just what pa was famous for, because everyone knows his cartoons, the way of making pictures using any old rubbish or bits of food or whatever, but also, he was a very talented artist and portrait painter in his own right.
"Most of them [the artworks] live on my walls at home, and the others are tucked away in a cupboard, so it is just lovely to get them out and give them an airing, and let people see them, because it does seem to bring such joy to so many people. And what's always interesting is that the younger folk don't know who my father is, they just do know who that little character might be."
"But he would be so thrilled, so proud [of the exhibition]. And I think so pleased that it's here in Maidstone where he grew up."
Speaking about the art hub, she said: "It's so great to come here and find that it's a place where budding artists can come, they can hire a studio, they can work, then they can talk to each other, exchange ideas, and a real launching pad for them, which is just so great and something that we should support wholeheartedly."
Cllr Clive English (Lib Dem), deputy leader of Maidstone Borough Council, said: "This whole artistic hub, which is a major venture for the council, is an important asset and feature for us, but it's appropriate we start off our exhibitions in this creative arts hub with a famous local artist of the stature of Tony Hart.
"Tony Hart means a lot to the people of Maidstone. He was very special to us."
Cllr Stephen Thompson, cabinet member for communities, was also at the launch. He said: "Tony Hart is not just an alumnus of Maidstone College of Art, his legacy is shared across the country and across the generations.
"From my age when I turned on the television set to find people showing us how it is that you could make art out of everyday materials that were available, not because recycling and reuse and all those sorts of green values that are important now were important then, but simply because art materials were very expensive.
"You had to make do and mend and that was really, I think, the thing that Tony Hart made his unique selling point in children's television.
"I'm hugely proud that we're able to boast and celebrate Tony Hart's contribution to arts and culture in Maidstone. This is fantastic and to be able to see his accomplished professional art here on the walls in our gallery for the next few weeks is brilliant, and we look forward to people coming in and enjoying it."