Ronnie Le Drew, pictured in 2024, was the voice and puppeteer behind Rainbow’s Zippy (Li/Picture Capital/Alamy)Zippy puppeteer Ronnie Le Drew has died aged 78 following a “short illness”. Le Drew was best known for voicing the yellow zip-mouthed character on the ITV children’s TV show Rainbow for two decades. His death was announced in a heartfelt Instagram post shared on Monday by the British Puppet Guild – of which Le Drew was president for 10 years. The statement read: “We are saddened to announce the death of our President and friend Ronnie Le Drew, following a short illness. The series aired until 1992 with Le Drew controlling the puppet Zippy from 1973 before going on to voice the character as well.