Feel Good Festival 2019: Mr Bloom

Date published: 10 August 2019

Children’s favourite Mr Bloom and his ‘compostarium’ band opened the main stage with something for everyone at this summer’s Rochdale Feel Good Festival on Saturday (10 August).

The popular CBeebies star, portrayed by Ben Faulks, who performed three sold-out shows back in March at Rochdale Food & Drink Festival, was joined by his four-piece band for an interactive free lunchtime show.

Led by Mr Bloom's trademark humour, the band performed all the musical hits from his television shows, as well as numerous cheeky covers and parodies to those who braved the weather.

A special guest appearance was made by 'Peggy the Dancing Bean' in a special ABBA parody.

Mr Bloom’s appearance is the first time a children’s act has played the main stage at Rochdale Feel Good Festival, which also saw the return of the event’s hugely popular fun and interactive Family Zone.

Speaking after his performance, Mr Bloom said: “It was great. We had a lot of fun with some really good banter. It was nice to come back to Rochdale with a different show and set up.

“The audiences were lovely and engaging, and it was brilliant to be the first children’s act performing at the Feel Good Festival. It’s a family event with something for everyone, so it was great to also be first up on stage.

“It has been lovely to be back in Rochdale, where there is always really positive shows.”

Gardener Mr Bloom is the star of the educational Mr Bloom’s Nursery television show, which combines live action and puppets to show how young children can learn from the experience of nurturing plants and vegetables.

Set in a colourful, fertile allotment run by the green-fingered Mr Bloom, in each episode, a team of young helpers, or 'tiddlers', come to the allotment to help Mr Bloom tend his plants and produce.

The show is based on an original theatre show of Ben’s from 2006, which he successfully pitched in 2009, and was one of the first shows to be filmed at MediaCityUK following the BBC’s relocation.  

Photos by SKW Events, Joe Jones and Mark Pollitt.