| Olive | our heroine, clever, brave and true . . . and a tad clumsy |
| Mrs Groves | our headmistress, befuddled and bonkers |
| Pig McKenzie | our villain, a Pig of Evil Intent |
| The Ringmaster | our circus trainer, dashing and blithe |
| The Inspector of Schools | an astonishingly unfortunate man |
| The Narrator | our talented wordsmith, witty and wise |
The talking animals
| Wordsworth the grey rat | lover of words |
| Blimp the white rat | large of appetite and bottom |
| Chester the brown rat | button enthusiast and thief |
| Fumble the short-sighted moose | gentle and shy |
| Glenda the goose | muddled of intellect and frayed of nerves |
| Reuben the rabbit | fluff-ball of magic and whimsy |
| Scruffy the dog | mischievous mutt |
| Valerie the owl | studious, white of wing and tail |
| Elizabeth-Jane the giraffe | vain and long of neck |
| Wally the wombat | origami expert |
| Ginger the cat | Mrs Groves’ pet |
The circus performers
| Anastasia, Eduardo and Alfonzo | acrobats, skilful of limb and daring of heart |
| Bozo | clown of good cheer |
| Boffo | clown of despair |
| Bullet Barnes | human cannonball of battered brain |
| Jabber | knife thrower of dangerous mistakes |
| Sparky Burns | juggler of flames and breather of fire |
| Splash Gordon | fearless diver and chronic misser |
| Diana | tamer of lions, tigers and pussycats |
The naughty boys
| Frank | compulsive liar |
| Tiny Tim | putrid of sock and small of size |
| Carlos | explosives expert |
| Reginald | butter spreader |
| Hamish | booby trap engineer |
| Peter | graffiti artist |
| Tommy | nose picker and nostril packer |
| Doug | hole digger |
| Pewy Hughie | fruit guzzler |
| Ivan | fruit hater |
| Linus | shoelace knotter |