While plans are being put in place for the building of a new theatre in Borehamwood, one should never forget that the town was once home to a very popular theatre - that owned by the Muppets!

Okay, so the Muppet Theatre was fictitious and actually stood in Stage D at ATV Centre on Clarendon Road (now BBC Elstree). But it was still a theatre which gave a great deal of entertainment to both young and old - especially in the UK and America.

Lord Lew Grace, the cigar chomping film & TV mogul who sadly died in 1999, agreed a deal with a certain Jim Henson that subsequently saw The Muppet Show being taped at ATV Centre at various times between 1976 and 1981.

Hosted by Kermit the Frog, The Muppet Show featured a cast of mad, zany but ultimately lovable puppets.

And whether you are young or of more mature years, the names of Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Scooter & Statler and Waldolf will be hugely-familiar.

Creator of the Muppets, Jim Henson, knew exactly what appealed to both the young and young at heart. The scripts for The Muppet Show were very funny and devised in such a way that they made the shows relevant to all age groups.

Like a well-crafted pantomime, The Muppet Show offered something for everyone. There were jokes and skits that actually scored deeper laughs with adults in certain cases because they made reference to aspects of life or entertainment that adults knew more about. But, also like a good pantomime, The Muppet Show was never naughty or suggestive. They offered a balanced form of entertainment for all viewers. At no-time was any ever alienated by the content of the The Muppet Show.

This is probably why adults are now buying the DVD box sets as much for themselves as their children!

Poor Kermit has always found his life on both film & TV a stressful one. Why? Well, if he wasn't being heckled by Statler and Waldorf, then he was suffering at the hands of the original diva herself, Miss Piggy.

Of course, Mother Nature long ago dicated that it is not possible - or correct - for a a frog and a pig to have a meaningfuly relationship. Despite this, Kermit and Miss Piggy have some how seemed to manage!

Entertainer Bruce Forsyth recalled in his autobiography how he was one of the few English performers to appear on The Muppet Show.

Recalling that he had great fun working on the show with Kermit and friends, Forsyth, soon to return with a new run of Strictly Come Dancing, remarked how strange it was to see the puppets hanging lifelessly in a workshop at ATV Centre; when minutes before they had seem so full of life in the studio.

When The Muppet Show ended in 1981, due to Henson's desire to pursue new projects and changes at ATV, The Great Muppet Caper film went into production across the road from ATV at Elstree Studios.

Thus continuing The Muppets' connection with Borehamwood.

Mike Quinn worked at Elstree Studios as a puppeteer on several movies between 1980 and about 1988. I was delighted when he contacted me with his recollections of working at Elstree Studios he said: "Your website (Elstree Calling) brought back many happy memories.

"I was remembering the other day my very first Elstree 'shoot'. It was for The Great Muppet Caper and they had dressed up the front entrance of the now sadly demolished admin. block to become the exterior of The Dubonnet Club, when the Muppet's Happiness Hotel bus arrives.

"I saw Stage 6 (dismantled at Elstree in 1991 and later rebuilt at Shepperton) when I was working at Shepperton, I think on Muppet's Treasure island. Of course, that was originally the stage built for George Lucas and that he used for the space ship hangers and Degobah. It was weird to be shopping for Shampoo in Tescos, which now stands on the Stage 6 site, and thinking: this used to be a swamp!"

Today, I believe that Stage D at BBC Elstree, once the home to that famous Muppet Theatre, is now used for filming certain interior scenes for the BBC soap, EastEnders.

But the Muppet story continues. Recently rumours have surfaced in the British press that the Muppets could be destined to grace both our large and small screen again.

The star of the film How I Met Your Mother, Jason Segal, has reportedly written a film script for Kermit and friends. And should the film be made and successful, then this could result in the Muppets returning for a new run of their classic series.

Disney now owns the rights to the Muppets, so ultimately I imagine it will be they who will decide their future.

Sadly, Jim Henson (the creator of the Muppets and the original voice of Kermit the Frog) died 18 years ago. However, you can't keep a good frog down and since then Kermit has been in the capable hands of one Steve Whitmire.

I hope The Muppet Show will return. I can never foresee a time when The Muppets will cease appeal to the British or American public.

But if only Kermit and friends could return to Borehamwood to produce new film or TV work at Elstree Studios! That, for me at least, would really be the icing on the cake!