The Basil Brush Show | |
---|---|
Genre | Children's sitcom |
Written by | Ged Allen Danny Robins |
Directed by | David McKay |
Starring |
Michael Byers Christopher Pizzey Michael Hayes Georgina Leonidas Laura Evans Ajay Chabra Janine Vieira |
Voices of |
Don Austen Basil Soper |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 6 |
No. of episodes | 79 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Running time | 24 minutes |
Production company(s) | The Foundation (RDF Media) |
Release | |
Original network | CBBC (2002-2011) |
Picture format | 16:9 |
Original release | 4 October 2002 – 21 December 2007 |
Chronology | |
Preceded by | The Basil Brush Show |
Followed by | Basil's Swap Shop |
External links | |
Website | |
Production website |
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.
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 café under the name of 'Anil's', where the main characters would frequently be seen dining. 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.
Notably, the series takes a laissez-faire attitude towards the show's atmosphere, and the fourth wall is frequently broken; characters often reference the fact that they are on a studio set, and several episodes feature scenes and segments where the show's cameramen and crew become involved in the storyline.
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 (Janine Vieira) 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.
Basil Brush is a red fox, rendered as both a glove puppet and an animated character.
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. 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 is usually referred to by Basil as "Mr. Steven".