Fanderson convention celebrates 50 years of Captain Scarlet

Fans of Captain Scarlet came together to celebrate 50 years since it was first aired.

The show, which was produced in Slough Trading Estate, was created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson.

A three-day celebration of their work, which includes Thunderbirds, was held at Holiday Inn in Manor Lane, Maidenhead, from Friday to Sunday.

The event was organised by Fanderson, the official appreciation society for work by the couple.

Nick Williams, chairman of the society, which has been running for 36 years, said: “Most of the people here grew up with the shows but there are younger people in their 20s and 30s who are discovering the show.

“We chose Maidenhead because of its proximity to the sets, there are a lot of people living in the area still that worked on the shows.”

Nick Williams, chairman of Fanderson, said the convention was 'a lot of work but so much fun'https://t.co/3T1hlnKgUR pic.twitter.com/UgBVqcaBN0

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As well as a range of stalls and displays of puppets there were question and answer sessions with people involved in the shows.

Puppeteer Mary Turner, 84, worked on Thunderbirds for about 12 years.

“We were conscious that we were breaking new ground,” she told the Advertiser.

About the turn out and strong fandom she added: “I find it amazing that everything is still on the go.”

People travelled to the event from far and wide, including fans from Canada, Australia and Belgium.

Andrew Staton, 60, travelled down for the weekend from Leeds.

He was selling memorabilia he has collected over the past 40 years.

“Gerry Anderson had a skill of bringing all the right people to make fantastic teams that produced incredible shows,” he said.

“The man was very creative.”