The character of Metal Mickey first appeared on British television in the ITV children's magazine show "The Saturday Banana," produced by Southern Television in 1978. Humphrey Barclay saw Mickey on Jimmy Savile's 'Jim'll Fix It' television show. Seeing the children chatting in the marketplace with the friendly robot, this led to the creation of the "Metal Mickey" television show. Within a month the pilot had been video-taped and shortly after this the series went live with its first six episodes. 41 episodes were made in total, broadcast over three separate series between September 1980 and January 1983. The show attracted viewing figures of around 12 million at its peak. Micky Dolenz, formerly of The Monkees pop group, was brought in to produce and direct the series along with Nic Phillips and David Crossman.