Emu (puppet)

Emu
The logo for the new series of Emu.
Created by	Rod Hull
Portrayed by	Toby Hull
Information
Species	Emu
Gender	Male

Emu is a puppet emu given to British entertainer Rod Hull in the 1960s while he was presenting a children's breakfast television programme in Australia. Hull adopted the mute puppet for his cabaret act, and took it with him to the United Kingdom when he returned in 1970. The character was given a mischievous and sometimes aggressive onstage persona, attacking celebrity guests (and Hull himself) for comic effect. Hull and Emu also appeared on several episodes of The Hudson Brothers' comedy show in the United States.

During the 1970s, Hull and Emu achieved national fame in the UK with their BBC series Emu's Broadcasting Company. The duo subsequently moved to ITV where a succession of shows were produced in the 1980s centring around their ongoing war with Grotbags, a witch played by Carol Lee Scott.

The first episode of Emu's new series, simply called Emu, was broadcast on October 8, 2007. The plot centres around Emu and his owner, Toby (Toby Hull), a computer games designer as the pair move into a flat. However, there is a problem: Toby has to keep Emu a secret because of Ken Cole, a grumpy security guard with a severe disliking for animals (especially birds) who is always on the prowl. Toby's neighbours, two kids Charlie and Dani, help him to keep Emu a secret. Cole (referred to by Charlie and Dani as "Coley") always carries a little black book with him, and will put you in the book for even the slightest "offence" (such as skipping in the foyer).

Toby's other neighbour, Sophie, is the sole villainess of the show. She is an air hostess who becomes obsessed with making money off of Emu, but her plans always backfire on her. While Toby is oblivious to her true colours, Charlie, Dani, and Emu are fully aware of her evil nature. It seems Sophie's one great weakness is she can't bear to have anything getting stuck in her hair which will usually cause her to cry out, "Not the hair, not the hair!" before flying into a rage. She once tried to film Emu making a fool of himself so she could send the tape in to Animals Do the Stupidest Things, but Emu turned the tables on her, stole the tape, and sent it to People Do The Stupidest Things. Sophie later received a written complaint from her employer about her rude behaviour towards a passenger with a fear of flying, and was given twenty-four hours to turn over a new leaf. Emu learned of this, and after causing Sophie to lose her temper, quickly called her employer; Sophie was reduced to cleaning toilets.