by 
Brian Cant has gone to look through the Pearly Gate-shaped window.
Cant, with his friends Big Ted, Hamble and Humpty, was a staple of children’s programming and he had a voice that even today makes millions want to close the door, sit quietly, and listen to a story.
He appeared on Playschool, Play Away, Jackanory and many others over a period of twenty years, and for a large proportion of the population personified an era when children’s television featured more than overmuscled cartoon robots punching one another.
He also voiced Trumpton, where his roll call of the fire brigade instilled an ambition to fight fires in untold small children – which considering the events of the last few days was time well spent.
Small children everywhere will miss him – even the very grown up ones who are trying not to cry. But we’re sure he wouldn’t mind if you do.
An eternity, with a door.
What’s today? It’s forever.
