KNOWN for his bright purple hair and fetching checked trousers, Humpty was once one of the stars of children’s telly.

And now the iconic doll from Playschool is expected to fetch four figures at an auction in Oxford.

The 53cm-high egg-shaped toy will go under the hammer at Bonhams auction house in Kidlington on Tuesday as lot 27. The auction starts at 2pm.

Humpty is one of a number of original dolls made for the BBC show, which ran for more than 20 years from the mid-sixties.

Bonhams said the doll, valued at £1,200, was “an important member of the Playschool cast, taking part in almost every single episode and even receiving his very own fan mail.”

The show’s presenters, who included Johnny Ball and Floella Benjamin, shared the screen with a regular supporting cast of soft toys including Big Ted, Little Ted, Jemima and Hamble.

Rachel Gotch from Bonhams said: “There’s a lot of interest in him. It has struck a chord. My generation really do remember the Playschool programme.”

  • Our top stories: