FLOCK & ROLL STAR

SHAUN THE SHEEP IS 30 THIS CHRISTMAS. MARION MCMULLEN CELEBRATES

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A SUPER-cute little woolly jumper stole everyone's hearts 30 years ago.

Shaun the Sheep made his TV debut on Christmas Eve 1995 when he joined in the latest Wallace and Gromit animated adventure.

A Close Shave saw the inventor and his beloved pooch running a thriving window cleaning service called Wash ‘n’ Go.

Romance was also in the air, with Wallace smitten with local wool shop owner Wendolene Ramsbottom.

She had to limit sales of wool to customers because sheep were being rustled and wool was in short supply. Her dog Preston was on the prowl, but it was Gromit who ended up behind bars after being framed for sheep rustling... and Shaun had to draft in his fellow sheep to help the innocent Gromit escape from prison.

Creator and director Nick Park made headlines around the world when he left the figures of Wallace and Gromit in the back of a New York cab during a promotion tour for A Close Shave.

He issued a plea for their return and the cab driver saw the story in the New York Post and found the figures in his boot. Wallace and Gromit were returned within 36 hours and the cab driver refused the $500 reward.

Preston-born Nick once recalled: “Plasticine was available when I was a teenager and started doing animation.