How did you get into making programmes using puppets?

It wasn't my fault, guv. I started a film company. I had letterheads and an office and filing cabinets and I just assumed the phone would ring and someone would say, 'We'd like two feature films, three documentaries and a couple of ads please.' Well, the phone didn't ring for six months. I was just about to shut up shop when someone asked me if I'd like to do fifty two 15 minute pictures. I said yes - of course I said yes! Then they said they had to be made with puppets. I was so ashamed to be working with puppets I made the programmes as well as I could so at least people would say there were the best puppet programmes they'd ever seen. And I hoped that someone would see how well I'd made them and offer me a feature film. But all they offered me was more puppets.

Do you resent being regarded as the Puppet Man?

The puppets have brought me fame and a great deal of satisfaction so at this stage in my life I can't say I really mind. But if you'd asked at some other stage in my life I would have given you a very different answer - I used to resent it very much.

Most of your projects have been science fiction - why is that?

At the start I was able to get the puppets to do most things reasonably well but I couldn't get them to walk. I came up with the idea of Supercar - this way I could have lots of action but because I fitted the puppets into cars they didn't need to walk. Then people said to me, 'I see you're into sci-fi.' Now, if I go to meetings and say I want to make a film dealing with the monetary problems of Russia their eyes glaze over. I say it's about a journey to Mars and their eyes light up.

How does the pod get back into Thunderbird 2? [Matthew, age 6, from Reading]

The pod gets back into Thunderbird 2 with great difficulty! We've got away with many situations over the years because we use puppets and haven't had to explain ourselves. So I haven't thought about this before. On the spot, now, I'd say Thunderbird 2 would land very carefully over the pod then lower itself, lock on and take off.

What's your favourite of all the series you've made?

At the moment, without a doubt, it's Lavender Castle. But of the programmes that have been on air it would have to be Thunderbirds. Kids love to watch death and destruction on screen, sadly, and Thunderbirds had that but it was saving not destroying life, there was a family element, a love element - and it was an hour long not half an hour so I was able to develop the characters.

Do you think you've been treated well or badly by the TV industry?

With the exception of the treatment I received from Lew Grade I think I've been treated badly. I produced films for Lew Grade for many years and they were very successful. I thought TV companies might have approached me directly to do other things but that never happened.