The puppeteer Ronnie Le Drew, who has died aged 78, will be remembered for his long association with the irascible glove-puppet Zippy on ITV’s hit preschool series Rainbow. Rainbow launched in 1972 as ITV’s answer to Sesame Street, and the following year Ronnie was asked to take over operating Zippy. When Ronnie was 14, a friend from the Guild took him to see a show at the Little Angel puppet theatre in Islington – a formative experience that would launch him on his puppetry career. View image in fullscreen Le Drew at The Little Angel theatre in Islington, London, 2015. Ronnie maintained his close relationship with the Little Angel, where he performed across all seven decades of his career.