ROLF Harris took his commission to create a Christmas card for charity seriously. In fact the 74-year-old presenter even flew to Lapland for research, as we'll see in the Rolf On Art Christmas Special on BBC One on Sunday.

''We needed to go somewhere we were guaranteed snow, so Lapland it was,'' explains Rolf. ''We were there four months ago so the weather was a gamble which luckily paid off.''

Rolf and the crew spent four days soaking up the action from their log cabin which, pleasingly, was surrounded by local kids whizzing about on their sledges and playing in the snow.

The traditional scene ended up being the main image on Rolf's card, which is currently on sale in branches of WH Smith's and BBC shops, with all proceeds going to Children In Need.

The special episode follows Rolf's creative process from beginning to end. A trip to the Victoria & Albert museum uncovers the first ever Christmas card.

''It was an idea of Sir Henry Cole's who was a friend of Prince Albert's,'' says Rolf. ''He had so many people he wanted to send Christmas greetings to, and was such a busy man, that he got someone to draw a little picture on a card, had a load printed, signed them and sent them out. That started the whole genre of Christmas cards.''

Designing the Christmas card for Children In Need wasn't a first for Rolf, who creates home-made cards every year.

''Every year I make my own and plan to send them, but I always forget. We never remember. It gets to Christmas and my wife and I can never believe it's that time already. So most of the cards are cartoon ones about Santa missing the deadline and things.

''Christmas in Australia is completely different to here. I remember the temperatures where I come from in Perth were 104 in the shade. I'm very happy with it being cold at Christmas. It always struck me as strange when I was a kid and singing Jingle Bells and talking about snow when it was so hot.

''By the time my mum had cooked Christmas dinner it was so hot in the house we had to sit out and eat under the trees,'' he reminisces.

''Mum used to say, 'Don't go in the river till at least an hour after you've eaten'. We'd say, 'Yes, Mum', then off down to the river we'd go and splosh, we'd be straight in,'' he says in a Rolf-like fashion.

Having settled permanently in the UK in 1962, he lives in Maidenhead with his British wife of 46 years Alwen. The couple met at art college and have one daughter, Bindi who's 40. The Harrises are a creative bunch.

''Bindi's a fantastic painter and Alwen's an artist in her own right. She sculpts animal heads - mainly horses. At the moment she's making stained-glass lampshades. Our house is like a blimmin' museum with stuff everywhere.''

Although Rolf's fronted many TV shows over the decades, such as Pet Rescue and Animal Hospital, it's Rolf's Cartoon Club and his early instant art on TV variety shows that he's famous for. That's all thanks to the catchphrase 'Can you tell what it is yet?'.

As well as his TV work, he's recorded singles, written books and recently had sell-out exhibitions of his paintings. But Rolf has no favourites on his CV.

''I try not to say I'm a singer or a painter or a presenter. The nice thing is that I've been fiercely lucky in being able to combine all the bits and pieces. I try and be a presenter who involves every other facet I can into it. If I can do some painting or singing or play the piano or the didgeridoo while I'm presenting then that's wonderful,'' says Rolf, with a trademark chuckle. ''When Rolf's Cartoon Club was axed I was heartbroken. At that time (1993) the new controller of ITV children's time said the show had its day and was no longer creative. That really hurt me because it was the most creative programme I've ever worked on. We were constantly thinking of new ideas.

''But it couldn't come back now, I think the day has gone. And I've moved on since then. If it hadn't ended I wouldn't have been free to do Animal Hospital. A whole new thing started as a result of me having plenty of free time.''

Rolf never worried that his art wasn't going to be taken seriously by the public given his mantle as cartooning TV presenter.

''I never thought about that, I just got on and did it. I wasn't thinking of end results, just the pleasure of doing it.

''Since the Rolf on Art programmes started I've had an incredible resurgence of interest in my paintings. I've had a studio built in the house as a result of that and because of my excitement of getting back in to painting after all my years in the doldrums. To have people keen to buy my work was quite amazing at first.

''I've got an exhibition on at the moment in London and they've sold 20 out of the 24 paintings. I'm also doing some limited edition prints, I've just finished signing 18,000 of those, which are all pre-sold.

''My first exhibition was three years ago in Birmingham. They sold 19 out of 24 on the first day. I'm thrilled that people know who I am and what I do.''

* The Rolf On Art Christmas Special is on BBC1 on Sunday at 6.15pm

Published: ??/??/2004