Emu's All Live Pink Windmill Show
| Emu's TV Series | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's television |
| Created by | Rod Hull |
| Written by | Rod Hull |
| Directed by | Colin Clews (ITV shows) |
| Presented by | Rod Hull |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production company(s) | Central Independent Television, BBC |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV Network (CITV), BBC |
Emu was an anarchic British television puppet of Rod Hull, and after successfully appearing on a number of variety shows, he was given his own television series on the BBC, then on ITV.
Emu's Broadcasting Company (1975–1980) was a children's television series featuring Rod Hull and Emu running their own television station, which parodied many BBC series of the time. Supporting Rod Hull and his emu puppet were Billy Dainty who played a James Bond pastiche called Captain Perceval and Barbara New who played the tea lady.
Rod and Emu soon became staples of early-evening variety entertainment on or around Bank Holidays, and the following one-off specials were made for the BBC:
In 1981, Rod Hull was offered the opportunity to make a series for younger children by the newly-awarded ITV franchise Central Independent Television. This led to the birth of the Pink Windmill in which Rod and Emu lived, the green witch named Grotbags (played by the singer and comedian Carol Lee Scott), and her hopeless assistant Croc. The premise of the show was simple: each week Grotbags attempted to steal Emu so that, once captured, (in Grotbags's own words) she would be able to use its "special powers" to control all the "brats" in the world. Children from the Corona Stage School - referred to collectively as the Pink Windmill Kids - were on hand to offer protection and break into one or two song and dance routines per episode.
One of the best-remembered moments of the show is Rod Hull's chanted catchphrase "There's somebody at the door, oh, there's somebody at the door" every time a visitor rang the doorbell - which 'sneezed' loudly when pressed - of the Pink Windmill.
The success of Emu's World led to the series being expanded in mid-1984 from 20-minute to 42-minute episodes and re-branded as the Pink Windmill Show. The target age range was broadened, and the programme now featured viewer phone calls, a studio audience, games such as one in Grotbags's grotto based on the format of the "take the money or open the box" segment of Take Your Pick!, the Post Office (for viewers to send their letters and pictures), and Boggle's Kingdom - a mini-series featuring Rod's ancestor who is trapped in Tudor times. A subsequent addition was the Twin Schools section, which aimed to pair British schools with similar ones in Australia, Canada, or the US.
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