The Basil Brush Show

The Basil Brush Show is a 2002-present remake of the 1960s-1980s comedy show starring Basil Brush, the famous glove puppet fox.

A new comic foil was introduced for the first 4 seasons called Mr Stephen who was played by Christopher Pizzey. Georgina Leonidas and Michael Hayes also appear on the show. No-one is directly credited as playing Basil on this show, although it is almost certainly Michael Winsor, who is credited as either Basil's fitness instructor, or his personal assistant.

The show came back in 2002 as a remake to the old series and is set in the present. When the show returned, it opened up showing the main characters such as Stephen, Molly, Dave, Anil and of course Basil and many more. Stephen is an actor and a rubbish one at that and the cast make jokes about him all the time. Jokes that are normally used against Steven is that they call him Wide Face. Dave is a young entrepreneur who makes business deals.

Anil owns a cafe where he makes disgusting and vile food that poisons people. In the first episode, Stephen dressed up as a hedgehog and was going to a school to teach kids about road safety but only to come back looking beaten up. A flashback shows that the kids attacked him.

In the series, Basil and the cast always seem to be breaking the fourth wall. They do this by making fun of the writers and crew amongst other things.

Basil and Stephen live in a flat owned by Stephen. At the end of most episodes from series 1-4, it would end with Stephen and Basil in their room going to bed and talking about the show. Sometimes Stephen would be in a bad mood at Basil because of his day. The show doesn't always end with them in their room. The scene at the end when they are in their room isn't shown in the fifth series when Liam joins and Stephen leaves. The show normally ends with Liam and Basil sitting at the table having what seems to be hot chocolate. This would be something they have before they go to bed.

The show is currently in its sixth series.

Major characters

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. It is never mentioned how he was chosen to be their guardian, or what his exact relationship with the children is. He is often the main subject of Basil or another character's jokes, much to his annoyance.

In the fifth series, Mr Stephen left the show (it is as yet unknown whether or not he will return later on, but it appears that he will not, as he has "officially left the show":

"Now, time for some Breaking Brush News! Thought I should bring you up to speed on developments in the new series of The Basil Brush Show, and I have to make a sad announcement: my faithful sidekick Stephen ... is no longer with us. No, not like that, he's still very much alive, but Stephen has officially left the show."

He was revealed in the first episode to have been employed by "Hollywood", which turned out to in fact be a mobile snack bar named "Hollywood". This is a reference to his eagerness to be recognised as a brilliant actor in the first four series and be accepted into Hollywood, an endeavour that almost invariably flopped. (2002-2006) He also tries (and fails) to impress beautiful women, going so far as to be turned into an Elvis Presley like character by a travelling witch. He was played by Christopher Pizzey.

Dave

Dave is another of the new characters that feature 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, imported stolen goods and even started his own TV show, Big Bother (a play on the actual television programme Big Brother.) (2002-present) He is portrayed 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. Molly is one of the most popular characters on the show. She is very clever and very witty. In Series 5, Molly appears in only a few episodes, with Lucy partially replacing her character-type. (2002-Present) She is portrayed by Georgina Leonidas, who guest starred on Holby City on the 20th of March 2007. Her disappearance in Series 6 is referenced when it's mentioned that Molly is out getting milk, Madison then turns to the camera and says "I know, it's taking forever!" She has only been seen in the series opener of series 6 so far. Molly never seems to make much appearances in the show as she used to.

Anil

Appearing in every season of the comeback so far, Anil is the owner of Basil's local hangout, Anil's Cafe. 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. He is played by Ajay Chabra (2002-Present) who, coincidentally, guest starred on Holby City alongside Leonidas on the 20th of March 2007. He also guest starred in the charity special of Casualty.

Lucy

Lucy is Anil's niece and currently lives in Basil's flat. Lucy was Anil's "slave" but was "rescued" by Madison. In the sixth series, Lucy is played by a different actress. (2006-Present)

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 hasn't been "seen" since Series 4. (2002-Present)

Cousin Mortimer

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 it didn't seem to work. 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 when he did something wrong that was unknown.

He appeared in the 2005 and 2006 Christmas specials. His full name is Mortimer Trouble Brush (2002-Present)

Madison

An American who was introduced as 'Madison Square-Gardens', a fashion student living in the flat upstairs. 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-zill. (2004-Present)

Liam

Liam is a distant cousin of Stephen's and is Basil's new sidekick. (2006-Present)

Minor characters

Bingo Brush

Basil's playful and hyperactive nephew fox cub. Often says "Bing bing!". (2003-Present). He is voiced by Don Austen, (also voices Cousin Mortimer).

Bungo Brush

Only seen once, Bungo is Bingo's twin brother. Described by Basil as "like Bingo, but much, much worse..." (2003)

Ella and Amanda

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

Amanda is Stephen's first love interest. In the first episode she had a date with Stephen in Anil's cafe. At the end of the series Amanda betrayed the gang by working for Cousin Mortimer and was never seen again. (2002)

Dame Rosie Future

Seen only once, she was a gypsy fortune teller who had just moved into a flat above Basil and Stephen's. She cast a spell on Stephen to make him attractive to every woman he met (with disastrous results). (2002)

India

India Beau is the pop-singing waitress at Anil's, played by India de Beaufort, credited as India Beau. She is a very good singer and is the second most popular on the show. (2003-2005)

Mr Rossiter

Mr Rossiter is Basil's landlord and often demands for rent. In one episode he shut Basil and Steven in the bathroom but Basil and Stephen escaped through the air conditioning system via a "handely placed grill" on the ceiling. In another episode, he dressed up as a devil and in one of the others the boys attacked him, thinking he was a thief. He returns in the twelfth episode of Series 6.(2003-present)

Roxy

Roxy is Basil's new girlfriend, but unlike the other foxes in the show (Bingo & Mortimer) she's an Arctic fox. She has so far only been seen in four episodes, including the 2006 Christmas Special. (2006-Present)

Places

• Stephen's Flat (2002-Present): This is the place where the gang live, and spend most of their time at. It is made up of a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and three bedrooms. The bathroom is seen in many occasions, and Basil & 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 Two, and Dave's room is only seen in an episode from Series 4.

• Anil's Café (2002-Present): 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 in Ella's first episode, this is the place where Stephen and Basil end up after falling through an air vent.

• Madison's Flat (2004-Present): This is the place where Madison lives. It is exceptionally smaller than both Ella's and Stephen's flat.

See also

• List of BBC children's television programmes

External links

• The Basil Brush Show at IMDb
• The Basil Brush Show at BBC Online Comedy Guide