Published: 16 February, 2012
ADVERTISING FEATURE

In 1954 Jim Henson created a puppet made from a green coat and two ping pong ball halves, his name was Kermit. Now the most famous Muppet and the leader of The Muppets, Kermit the Frog first appeared in 1955 on an American television programme called "Sam and Friends", however it wasn't until the creation of children's television programme "Sesame Street" that Kermit really stepped into the spotlight. Although he was originally supposed to be removed from the programme after one series, Kermit returned in the third series to much acclaim. Kermit was performed by Jim Henson himself until his death in 1990, after which Kermit has been performed by Steve Whitmire, a veteran Muppet performer who originally performed Rizzo the Rat, Lips from Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem Band as well as a number of Fraggles from "Fraggle Rock" another Henson Muppet masterpiece.

After the runaway success of "Sesame Street", 1976 saw the first episode of "The Muppet Show" and The Muppets earned a permanent place in the television entertainment halls of fame. "The Muppet Show" played for fives series, with a total of 120 episodes. The premise of the show was an insight into the backstage life at the Muppet Theatre, and all its madness! Kermit is the star of the show as the long suffering stage manager of the theatre with Jim Henson often likened Kermit's role to his own.

The star of the show within "The Muppet Show" was Miss Piggy, a glamorous pig, who knew she was destined for Hollywood and, it was rumoured, had a romantic interest in Kermit. Known for her beauty and her karate chop, Miss Piggy recently appeared on the XFactor singing alongside Olly Murs with Fozzie, Animal, and Statler and Wardorf.

"The Muppet Show" was such a success that a series of different spin off movies and television series' were developed including "A Muppet Christmas Carol", "The Muppets Go to Hollywood", "Of Muppets and Men" and the original "The Muppet Movie" from 1979.

The Muppets also have also had cameo roles in a number of movies, including Rocky III as well as appearing in a number of American television shows such as "The Tonight Show" as well as UK television such as "An Audience with Kylie Minogue" where Kylie and Kermit sang the duet "Especially for You"

The newest instalment of Muppet entertainment is "The Muppets" a brand new Muppets movie produced by Muppet Studios and Disney. In the present day the Muppets are spread all over the world and Muppet Theatre is falling into disrepair; however there is still one loyal fan, Walter. When he discovers a plot by an Oil company to destroy the Muppet theatre, Walter and Kermit join forces to bring the Muppets back together and to raise the $10million needed to save the Muppet Theatre from destruction.

"The Muppets" is released in UK cinemas on 10th February 2011.