Inside an alien spacecraft and offering Matt Hutchinson a hand (quite literally) as he operates a scientist who discovers bizarre alien life forms!
Spitting Image
Having worked one day on series 1 of the reboot of Spitting Image for BritBox in 2020, I was lucky enough to be asked back to assist and operate occasional characters on a more regular (ad hoc) basis for series 2, in 2021.
Left to right (Me), Mark Jefferis (Boris Johnson), Neil Sterenberg (Michael Gove) and Sheila Clark
Sheila and I get to grips with German supermodel Heidi Klum (and her incredibly annoying high-pitched voice!)
Here's what it looks like underneath the puppets as Beyoncé (centre) sings a Christmas song, accompanied by Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Elton John, Billy Eilish and Adele (I'm somewhere at the back, offering another hand for Billy Eilish).
The first series of Spitting Image (2020) was filmed at Warple Studios, Acton, London, UK and the second series (2021) was filmed at The Perfume Works, Perivale, London, UK.
The puppets are made by the Spitting Image workshop.
In 2018, Netflix and the Jim Henson Company joined forces to create the prequel to the 1982 Jim Henson film, The Dark Crystal.
This ten part Netflix original series was the biggest and most expensive puppet production ever made.
I spent five months working on the series as an assistant/background puppeteer and consider myself extremely lucky to have been part of such an epic production. Turning up for work and finding myself in the middle of a magic wood, a castle or an underground cave is a pretty awesome way to spend the day. It was quite an emotional time for me too as, some of the puppeteers I worked alongside I hadn’t seen for over twenty years, so I got to revisit old friendships and form some amazing new ones.
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
Me (right of centre) operating a background Gelfling (Paladin Guard) - with lead puppeteers, Victor Yerrid and Warrick Brownlow-Pike.
Dark Crystal...Dark Glasses! Protective eye wear for UV lighting - with Claire Roi Harvey, Victor Yerrid, Alice Dinnean, (me), Warrick Brownlow-Pike, Katherine Pettit, Louise Gold, Sheila Clark and Neil Sterenberg.
All in green - in the Green Room (which isn't green at all!)
The puppets were made by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.
The cast and crew on the set of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance at Langley Film Studios, Berkshire, UK.
Warrick Brownlow-Pike comes face to face with his Skeksis - The Chamberlain.
Director Louis Leterrier films the three Gelfling sisters, Seladon (Helena Clarke Smee), Tavra (Neil Sterenberg) and Brea (Alice Dinnean) and does final checks with brutal Skeksis - The General (Kevin Clash).
Virgin TV: Kids -Tiddlers TV
Red, the puppet, was originally created to be the mascot for the relaunch of Virgin1 - back in 2009. A cross between a knitted bear and a naughty devil, Red featured in Virgin1’s on-screen promotional content and became part of the Virgin1 brand.
I operated Red in 2013 & 2014 for Tiddlers TV - a pre-school channel that was part of the Virgin Media TV service. While children were selecting what to watch, Red appeared within the channel guide to entertain the little ones with his guitar-playing, fancy dress and silly antics.
The way I ended up operating Red was not through the conventional puppeteering route. I had been working as a Video Editor and Promo Producer and one of my former Promo Producer colleagues (Iain Farnsworth), who was now Directing the shoot, knew about my puppet career and offered me the job.
We filmed on green screen at the Hospital Club TV Studios - now known as the h Club in London, UK. Red was built by Paul Jomain.
This twelve-part series for ITV included guest appearances from June Whitfield, Leslie Grantham, Phil Cornwell and Arabella Weir and featured major historical figures as diverse as Shakespeare, Elvis Presley, Florence Nightingale and John Logie Baird.
Arabella Weir as Kronos - the Grand High Mistress of Time and Richard Waites as Julius Caesar.
Timekeepers of the Millennium
In 1999, the countdown to the millennium was on and the clock was ticking for two puppet characters - Coggs and Sprinx - to take a journey through time, track down twelve crystals from great historical figures and restore order to the universe before the stroke of midnight upon the year 2000.
Don Austen (Coggs) and me (Sprinx), balancing on a chandelier that's about to come crashing down onto Mozart's piano.
Timekeepers of the Millennium was made by The Foundation TV Productions and in association with NMEC (New Millennium Experience Company) and was part of a celebration of the launch of the financially troubled Millennium Dome in London (now known as The O2 Arena). Inside the Dome there were many attractions, including an interactive play area featuring Coggs and Sprinx.
Our Director Graham C Williams surrounded by Coggs and Sprinx plush toys.
Actress Georgia Allen is transported to the 18th century home of Mozart while Sheila Clark and I remain firmly in the 20th century.
Coggs and Sprinx continue to mess with time as Shakespeare (played by Phil Cornwell) finds himself taking a 1950's Cadillac out for a spin.
Morwenna Banks plays a crazy version of the 'lady with the lamp' - Florence Nightingale.
Timekeepers of the Millennium was filmed at the Maidstone Studios in Kent, UK (formerly known as TVS and The Family Channel). In 1999, when the show was made, the studios were owned by Flextech Television. The show was also filmed on location around Kent, UK.
Coggs and Sprinx were designed by Cosgrove Hall Films and built by Darryl Worbey.
Sunnyside Up!
Sunnyside Up! was a preschool series about a dog, Sunny, who lived in a magical treehouse. I operated and provided the voice for this excitable shaggy dog in this ITV show which ran for one series in 1998.
Sunny was also joined by three children - Sarah (Caroline Ward), Annie (Jenny Cachero) and Jack (Kye Lawrence Hughes).
Molly the Zookeeper (Michelle Durler) would drop by each week with a new animal and Bob the Job (Cal McCrystal) would sing a song and regularly show off his new inventions which never quite worked the way they were expected.
Sunnyside Up! was filmed at The Maidstone Studios in Kent, UK, (formerly known as TVS and The Family Channel). In 1998, when the show was made, the studios were owned by Flextech Television.
Sunny the dog was designed and built by Darryl Worbey.
Beachcomber Bay
Salty Dog liked to think he was in charge of his fellow shipmates, Bertha the Cat and Sam the Seagull, but most of the time his orders didn't extend much beyond asking Bertha (his "wife") to cook him sausages.
I also operated and provided the voices for Colin the Cod - a wig-wearing northern comic who specialised in second rate jokes and the unbelievably stupid Mr Sludge - a sub-aqua creature who lurked in the bilges with his wife (the even more dim), Mrs Sludge.
Beachcomber Bay was filmed in a small studio at SSVC - Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, UK. The studio facilities were later owned by Kingston TLI and are now owned by Arquiva.
The show was presented by Casey-Lee Jolleys who played the part of Jenny.
In 1998, Channel 5 commissioned a puppet based show for its children's output on Milkshake - an early morning slot for preschoolers. Set aboard a boat called the Beachcomber, I puppeteered and provided the voice for Salty Dog for two series between 1998 & 99.
The Beachcomber Bay Puppets were designed and built by Neil Sterenberg.
Havakazoo
In 1996, I started work on a children's show to be aired on the UK's fifth terrestrial TV station, Channel 5, which was launched on 30th March 1997.
I operated and provided the (distorted) voice for Messy - a cobbled together robot (part washing machine, part telephone) who never stopped asking questions. Not sure what happened to him...perhaps he asked one too many questions?
Presented by artist - Gabrielle Bradshaw, musician - Vo Fletcher and street performer - Jason Maverick, Havakazoo started off mainly improvised. We spent long hours in rehearsal deciding how each show would develop, but having no script in the studio proved quite chaotic and so scripts were inevitable.
When Messy was operated via remote control, I would sit on my own in a dark corner of the studio, moving the mouth (syncing it in time with my voice) and controlling the movement of his arms. The floor manager (Roddy) would then operate a second remote control to move him forwards and backwards around the studio.
There were two versions of Messy...a remote controlled version and a hand operated version.
The hand operated version was used during the first series for "make and dos" and anything where Messy had to appear at the same height as the presenters.
Havakazoo ran from 1996-2000 and the programme changed over the course of its lifespan as new puppet characters and presenters were introduced alongside Messy the robot. The show was filmed at Meridian TV studios in Southampton and the last series (2000) was filmed at the ITV studios in Bristol (formerly known as HTV).
Messy the robot was designed and built by Phil Eason.
Professor Bubble
"He lives on Cloud 9 and he's watching all the time..." Okay, so the opening title music for this series for GMTV/ITV may have been a little weird, but that was nothing compared to the characters on the show, which included a six foot pink mouse and a talking quill.
Even the character that I voiced and operated called Beamer (a teddy bear), had a slightly maniacal quality about him.
Professor Bubble was filmed at The Maidstone Studios in Kent, UK, (formerly known as TVS and The Family Channel). In 1996, when the show was made, the studios were owned by Flextech Television.
The Professor Bubble puppets were designed and built by Phil Eason.
Exactly how Professor Bubble (played by Gary Parker) came to be floating around the sky on a cloud with a bunch of strange puppets is anyones guess?
Also (rather randomly) a character called Chromety (played by Vicki Hopps) would magically appear in each episode to tell a story and sing a song...before holding her nose and disappearing again.
The Parkies
In 1996, I presented The Parkies, a pre-school children's show for ITV. Then, in 1997, I returned for another series, not as the presenter, but as a puppeteer, operating and providing the voice for Parkie One.
The Parkies puppets were designed and built by Phil Eason.
The Parkies were two creatures who lived in a playpark and could be seen only by the presenter (Michelle Durler). Upon hearing a special clap and a call, the Parkies would appear.
The Parkies was filmed on location at a school in Winchester, Hampshire, UK, which gained a brand new playground as a result of the programme.
Jays' World
In 1996-97, I puppeteered on the second and third series of Jays' World for ITV. Filmed at Meridian Studios in Southampton, UK, the set was a giant tree which accommodated some large puppets and even larger puppeteers.
I operated and provided the voice for Morris, a singlet wearing, medallion clad magpie.
Thankfully, the other birds of Jays' World were quite fond of Morris and Muriel and weren't really fooled by this couple's bullyboy exterior.
The Jays' World puppets were designed and built by Andy Fraser and Tracy Lilley.
Morris and Muriel were a husband and wife team and were not to be messed with. When it came to showing the other birds who was boss, the inhabitants of the tree were left in no doubt...Muriel definitely wore the trousers.
Bug Alert!
In 1996, I worked on my first show as a puppeteer. Written by Francis Wright and Peter Eyre, Bug Alert! was such a fun and funny show to work on. This show for GMTV/ITV and Channel 4 was supposed to be for pre-schoolers but instead we got away with lots of comic strip slapstick and the odd double entendre - all credit to Francis and Peter.
I operated and provided the (very camp) voice for Plug Bug - a silverfish type bug with a large nose.
The crew and puppeteers on the Bug Alert! set. The show was filmed at Fountain TV studios in New Malden, London and at The Greenwood Theatre, London. We filmed three series from 1996-97.
I also operated and provided the voice for Slopp - half of Grunge & Slopp - two 'way out' hippie musician bugs who lived under the stairs and offered a musical interlude to each episode.
The Bug Alert! puppets were designed and built by Andy Fraser and Tracy Lilley.
Some Puppet Clips
*
* Except for one