BBC children's classic The Magic Roundabout was being reinvented for a new generation.The stories of Zebedee, Dougal the dog, Florence, Brian the snail, Ermintrude the cow, Dylan the rabbit and Mr McHenry the gardener, hold a fond place in the hearts of many people who grew up with the beloved stories.But did you know that Dougal was never meant to be a main character? And that the series was originally created by one of the painters of the Eiffel Tower?READ NEXT: Seven things you didn't know about BBC Newsround – Co-star romances to live TV shockersAs The Magic Roundabout celebrates its 57th birthday, Daily Star takes a closer look at some behind the scenes facts about the show.While The Magic Roundabout is considered one of the most famous British children's TV series, it was in fact based on a French programme called Le Manège Enchanté.It was created by Serge Danot, a former decorator who was already famous, as he had helped to paint the iconic landmark The Eiffel Tower.The Guardian reports the despite the programme being full of colour, there is one notable absence - the colour green.The reason? Because Serge was supposedly not a fan of the colour green.Le Manège Enchanté was an instant success when it first aired in 1964, with the series broadcasting more than 700 episodes.One year later, it was adapted and reinvented for British audiences by the father of a future Hollywood film icon in the mid-sixties - and the rest as they say is history.In the mid sixties, The Magic Roundabout was brought to British audiences with a little help from the brilliant mind of Eric Thompson - the father of Harry Potter and Love Actually star Emma Thompson.However, despite using the animations from the French series, the stories were
