THUNDERBIRDS - ANDERSON: 'I HATE PUPPETS'

ANDERSON: 'I HATE PUPPETS'

THUNDERBIRDS creator GERRY ANDERSON hated making puppet films - despite becoming one of the world's most renowned programme-makers in the genre. The British producer attempted to wow TV bosses with his puppet skills - but only as a stepping stone to live-action work. And Anderson admits the plan backfired - as directors were overwhelmed by his aptitude for puppet shows and encouraged him to continue his skillful career. He says, "(The biggest misconception about me is) that I liked making puppet films. I never wanted to work with puppets and in an effort to get out of it, I tried to make them better and better so that the directors would say, 'Why is this man wasting his talent with puppets? We should give him some live action to do.' "But what they actually said was, 'Isn't he good at these puppet shows?' So I ended up doing more."