The Basil Brush Show

The Basil Brush Show is a British children's television sitcom series, starring the glove puppet fox Basil Brush. It was produced for six series by The Foundation, airing on CBBC from 4 October 2002 to 21 December 2007. The show is a spin-off from the original 1960s–1970s BBC television series, but without any of the original cast.^[1]

Overview

The series is set in a colourful modern penthouse flat, which is jointly owned by Basil and his sidekick, Stephen (Christopher Pizzey). Living with them are Stephen's nephew and niece, Molly (Georgina Leonidas), and Dave (Michael Hayes). They are left under the care of Stephen so that Molly & Dave's parents can go on a round the world trip.

Other characters include Anil (Ajay Chabra), the owner of a greasy-spoon cafe under the name of 'Anil's', where the main characters would frequently be seen dining in. Ella (Tisha Martin), is Basil & Stephen's neighbour who loves to sing. She is later replaced by Maddison (Laura Evans), an American fashion designer. Basil Soper also appeared in several episodes, playing a different character every time.

As the show was re-vamped in later years, two other characters were introduced. Liam (Michael Byers) replaces Stephen as Basil's new sidekick, with Lucy (Madeline Castrey) debuting as Anil's niece.

The following is a list of the characters featured in The Basil Brush Show which began airing in 2002 on CBBC.

Key characters

Basil Brush

Basil Brush is a red fox, rendered as both a glove puppet and an animated character.

Liam

Liam is a distant cousin of Stephen's and is Basil's new sidekick. He took the place of Stephen in the fifth series of the show and was part of the show from 2006–07. Liam is just trying to get a hand of these exciting things which are yet to happen to him but all of it is a mystery. While Liam is still dumb in some aspects, he is quite a smart person; several episodes revolve around some of his near-impossible inventions like a time machine and a shrink ray; he is also good at chemistry. A recurring joke is he will make mention to some odd or absurd night class he has been to, with the line "I knew those (whatever is relevant to the story) night classes would come in handy." In the episode "Ballroom Basil", it is stated that his surname is O'Dingleberry. He is played by Michael Byers.

Stephen

Stephen is the uncle to Dave and Molly, and is left in charge of them when their parents go on a round-the-world tour. He was on the show from 2002–06. It is stated in 2003 that his relationship with the children is that he is their uncle. He is often the main subject of Basil's or another character's jokes, much to his annoyance. He was also not very clever as he did not seem to know a very simple sum (as established in the episode "Bing Trouble", when Molly told him that 2 + 2 = 4 to which he said "Does it?"). He was played by Christopher Pizzey and left at the end of series 4. He appeared briefly in series 5 when Basil mentioned that he has been snapped up by Hollywood. But this later reveals he is working at a Hollywood burger van. His cousin Liam arrives shortly after to take his place. He appeared back in the episode "Bungo Brush". He is usually referred to by Basil as "Mr. Steven".

Dave

Dave is one of the original characters that features in the comeback. He is regularly shown to have a flair for business, and has, throughout the course of the series, set up a media empire which was later destroyed by Basil and Liam, imported stolen goods and even started his own TV show; he is usually addressed as a 14-year-old multi-billionaire entrepreneur. He is acted by Michael Hayes.

Molly

Molly is Dave's older sister and Stephen's niece. She is portrayed as the sensible character, trying to reason with the characters whenever they make a bad decision and can sometimes be very violent. Molly is one of the most popular characters on the show. She is very clever and very witty. From Series 5, Molly appears in only a few episodes as a recurring character, with Lucy partially replacing her character-type. Molly only appears in two episodes in the final season, in Ballroom Basil where she says she is going to get some milk and she may be gone for some time, and in Basil Christmas Dinners where she returns and explains there was a worldwide milk shortage and she had to go all the way to Timbuktu which is why she was so long. She is portrayed by Georgina Leonidas.

Madison

An American who was introduced as 'Madison Square-Gardens', a fashion student living in the flat upstairs. She was on the show from 2004–07. The character of Madison is played by Laura Evans, a singer/songwriter from Aberdare in South Wales. Her initial designs were thrown out by Basil, having mistaken them for rubbish. Madison is Stephen's third love interest in the Basil Brush Show. She pronounces Basil's name in the southern US way, as Bay-zull. When things start going wrong, she often protests that the only reason she is still in the UK is because she has lost her passport. Her name comes from Madison Square Garden.

Anil

Appearing in every season of the comeback so far, Anil is the owner of Basil's local hangout, Anil's Caff. Like Mr Stephen, he is shown to have a less than average intelligence, and a running joke through the series is the terrible quality of his food. It is revealed that he is sexist in 'Bend it like Basil'. He is played by Ajay Chabra.

Lucy

Lucy is Anil's niece and currently lives in Basil's flat. Lucy was Anil's "slave" but was "rescued" by Madison. She can be quite stubborn at times but loves hanging out in the flat with Basil and the rest of the gang. She hates cousin Mortimers pranks and Dave's cons! Lucy replaces Molly after she left the show after series 4, and aired on the show from 2006–07. The character of Lucy is played by Janine Vieira

Ella

Ella is Stephen's second love interest and she only appears in the second series (2003–04). She is also good friends with Molly.

Semi-regular and recurring characters

The Voice Over Man

The Voice Over Man is an unseen character who often voices over at times when he annoys the gang but occasionally he undoes some mistakes that Basil and his friends make. He was part of the show from 2002–05 and has not been "seen" since Series 4. He is credited as Basil Soper.

Mortimer Brush

Mortimer is Basil's cousin and recurring antagonist. His first appearance was in the episode called 'Cousin Mortimer' and then he last appeared in the movie called 'Mortimer's Revenge'.

In the first series finale, he arrived and pretended to be kind and helpful to the local people but secretly he was stealing things and getting Basil into trouble. In the second series, he was released from prison and he was still causing havoc. His catchphrase is "Bang! Bang!", followed by the sound of two projectile ricochets.

In the third series he and Basil had to get along for 24 hours without fighting and arguing but they over-wound the wind-up clock and they fought one minute too early . He also appeared at Basil's wedding when he was marrying evil Kelly Foxwell but in the end, Kelly liked Mortimer more than Basil. He returned in the Christmas special. He appeared in the fourth series in prison. He is voiced by Don Austen. He did appear in series 10 but only in two episodes.

He appeared in the 2005 and 2006 Christmas specials.

In the first series finale, his full name is revealed to be Mortimer Trouble Brush.

Bingo Brush

Basil's playful and hyperactive nephew fox cub. Often says "Bing bing!". Bingo has a twin brother called Bungo whom Basil says is "much, much worse". Bungo only appeared on the show a few times in 2003. Bingo is voiced by Don Austen.

Roxy

Roxy is Basil's girlfriend, but unlike the other foxes in the show she is an Arctic fox. She has so far only been seen in four episodes (2006–07), including the 2006 Christmas Special. She pronounces Basil's name as Ba-Zeal.

Veera

Veera is the daughter of Anil (owner of Basil's local hangout). She is like her father shown to have a less than average intelligence appearing occasionally in the series in efforts to make Basil her pet. Veera only appears for a brief portion of the final season (2006–07). It is revealed that she is a soccer prodigy in 'Bend it like Basil'. She is played by Sugandi Doratiyawa.

Episodes

Locations

• Stephen's Flat (2002–07): This is the place where the gang live and spend most of their time. It is made up of a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and three bedrooms. The bathroom is seen on many occasions, and Basil and Stephen's bedroom is seen at the end of every episode from Series 1-4. Molly's room is only seen in one episode in Series One, and Dave's room is only seen in an episode from Series 4. Liam moves into the flat for Series 5 and 6.
• Anil's Café (2002–07): The gang spend most of their time here, although it apparently serves bad food (the reason for this is given by Basil, when asked by Anil once, as "it's the only other set we've got", to which Anil responds "good point"). This is the place where the group meet Amanda (1.1), India (Series 2), and Lucy (5.1). We also see Anil's Kitchen in one episode from Series 2. It is later refurbished in Series 3. In Series 6, it is seen again.
• Ella's Flat (2003): Only featured twice in the 2003 series. The first appearance in "Ella" after Stephen and Basil end up falling through an air vent and a second time in "Molly in Love", when Molly visits and tells Ella about her crush. It is seen as mostly light brown and beige in colour.
• Madison's Flat (2004–07): This is the place where Madison lives. It is exceptionally smaller than both Ella's and Stephen's flat.

Spin-Offs

Basil's Swap Shop/Basil's Game Show

Basil's Swap Shop is a remake of the cult-classic children's Saturday morning show, Multicoloured Swap Shop. The show was presented by Basil Brush and Barney Harwood and was produced for three series by The Foundation (the same production company that produced The Basil Brush Show) and aired live from 5 January 2008 to 25 September 2010 on BBC Two and the CBBC Channel. Basil's Game Show was the cut-down version of the show that featured just the games, as well as some of the comedy segments.

Media Releases

• Basil Brush - Unleashed (VHS & DVD) – 2003
• Basil Brush - Extravaganza (DVD) – 2008
• Basil Brush - Sports Spectacular (DVD) – 2009
• Basil Brush - Crazy Christmas (DVD) – 2009

See also

• List of BBC children's television programmes

References

External links

• The Basil Brush Show at BBC Programmes
• The Basil Brush Show (2002) at the Internet Movie Database
• The Basil Brush Show at TV.com
• The Basil Brush Show at BBC Online Comedy Guide