The series follows the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman who works for the Royal Mail postal service in the fictional village of Greendale (inspired by the real valley of Longsleddale near Kendal).

[4] John Cunliffe wrote the original treatment and scripts for the series, which was directed by animator Ivor Wood, who also worked on The Magic Roundabout, The Wombles, Paddington, and The Herbs.

Each episode follows the adventures of Patrick Clifton, a friendly country postman, and his black and white cat Jess, as he delivers the post through the valley of Greendale.

Notable villagers include the postmistress, Mrs. Goggins; farmer couple Alf and Dorothy Thompson; the Reverend Timms; PC Selby, the police constable; Jeff Pringle, the school teacher; Peter Fogg, a farm hand; George Lancaster, a chicken farmer; Sam Waldron, a grocer with a mobile shop; Miss Hubbard, an upper-class woman; Julia Pottage, who runs Greendale Farm, and Ted Glen, the local handyman and inventor.

Postman Pat is set in the fictional village of Greendale and the nearby town of Pencaster, on the border between Cumbria and North Yorkshire.

The gentle pace of life allowed Pat plenty of time to enjoy the countryside as he passed through, or even stop on quiet days to have a picnic.

Running through the centre of the village is the High Street, home to Mrs Goggins's Post Office and shop, an unofficial meeting place for residents.

Situated on the waterfront, Pencaster is a hive of activity, boasting a market square in the centre surrounded by shops, houses, a large railway station, state-of-the-art buildings, and a boat jetty.

It bears some resemblance to Lancaster, the county town of Lancashire, which likewise is a short commute from Longsleddale, the area used as the inspiration for Greendale.

Each episode follows Postman Pat on a Special Delivery mission, from rescuing a runaway cow to delivering a giant ice cube.

Postman Pat now has a newer fleet of vehicles, including a bigger van, gyrocopter, 4x4 Jeep and motorbike, complete with sidecar for Jess.

The story revolves around Pat entering a talent show audition which leads to robots taking over his postal service whilst he is away.

Music for the original 1981 series was by Bryan Daly,[13] who wrote a number of songs including the well-known theme tune.

For the 2003 series, pop writer Simon Woodgate scored the show and wrote new songs, including a new closing theme "Postman Pat (Can You Guess What's In His Bag?)".

The theme tune "Postman Pat & His Black and White Cat" was sung by Ken Barrie for the original series in the 1980s and 1990s.

"Slower-paced" and "faster-paced" episodes of Postman Pat were used in a 2021 research study on the effects of fast-paced television on children's cognitive and problem-solving abilities.

The results of the study suggested that faster-paced television did not negatively impact children's attention spans, problem-solving, or comprehension.