|
Phil Fletcher
Phil Fletcher (born 1975/1976) is a British puppeteer. He established his puppet manufacturing and performance company, Gluvets, at the age of 11. After briefly working in manufacturing he found summer work performing in holiday camps and became a full-time puppeteer in 2002. In 2009 he was cast by the BBC as the puppeteer for Hacker T. Dog for continuity segments on the CBBC Channel. Fletcher gave Hacker a voice for the first time and the character proved popular, receiving his own 63-episode TV series, ''Hacker Time'', which was nominated for eight BAFTAs. From 2017 Fletcher voiced Sweep in ''Sooty'' and from 2021 has appeared as Larry the Lizard on '' Buffering''. Early life Fletcher was born in Hindley, Greater Manchester, in 1975/1976. He developed an interest in puppeteering as a child, after seeing programmes featuring The Muppets and, his favourite, Rod Hull and Emu. Fletcher was given a replica puppet of Emu at the age of four and used it, and puppets made from c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hacker T
A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popular culture with a '' security hacker''someone who utilizes their technical know-how of bugs or exploits to break into computer systems and access data which would otherwise be inaccessible to them – hacking can also be utilized by legitimate figures in legal situations. For example, law enforcement agencies sometimes use hacking techniques in order to collect evidence on criminals and other malicious actors. This could include using anonymity tools (such as a VPN, or the dark web) to mask their identities online, posing as criminals themselves. Likewise, covert world agencies can employ hacking techniques in the legal conduct of their work. On the other hand, hacking and cyber-attacks are used extra- and illegally by law enforceme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scoop (British TV Series)
''Scoop'' is a children's TV series first broadcast by the BBC on the CBBC channel from 5 January 2009 to 10 August 2011. The show stars Shaun Williamson as Digby Digworth, an ambitious but inept journalist for a fictional local newspaper, ''The Pilbury Post''. Each episode centres on Digby's failure to get a scoop, ending up causing mayhem and disaster instead. In each of these he is accompanied by Hacker, a dog. The show also stars Mark Benton as the newspaper's short-tempered editor, Max de Lacey and there are guest appearances by popular British TV actors such as Lesley Joseph and Mina Anwar who plays Selena Sharp, reporter for a rival paper. In one episode the famous children's writer J. K. Rowling is parodied as a novelist character called T. K. Towling, while in another Jeremy Clarkson (ex ''Top Gear'' presenter) is satirised with the character Clark Jameson. The episodes are 28 minutes in length and were originally stripped (broadcast every day) across weekdays on BBC O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1970s Births
Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * February 19 – Battle of Lugdunum: Emperor Septimius Severus defeats the self-proclaimed emperor Clodius Albinus at Lugdunum (modern Lyon). Albinus commits suicide; legionaries sack the town. * Septimius Severus returns to Rome and has about 30 of Albinus's supporters in the Senate executed. After his victory he declares himself the adopted son of the late Marcus Aurelius. * Septimius Severus forms new naval units, manning all the triremes in Italy with heavily armed troops for war in the East. His soldiers embark on an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orville The Duck
Orville the Duck was the most famous puppet often used by the ventriloquist Keith Harris (1947–2015) and was named after Orville Wright (one of the Wright Brothers). Orville is a green duckling who wears nothing but a nappy with a large safety pin on the front. He speaks with a falsetto Yorkshire accent. Orville appeared on BBC television from 1982 to 1990 on ''The Keith Harris Show'', which featured assorted puppets such as Orville the Duck and Cuddles the Monkey. At the peak of their popularity in December 1982, Harris and Orville released the single "Orville's Song", reaching number 4 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1983 and selling over 400,000 copies in total. After ''The Keith Harris Show'' ended in 1990, Harris took up work for Butlins holiday resorts. In 1991 "Orville's Song" was sampled for a dance music single "I Wish I Could Fly" by DWA with Harris appearing in the accompanying music video. In 2004, Harris provided Orville's personality in an advert for Surf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keith Harris (ventriloquist)
Keith Shenton Harris (21 September 1947 – 28 April 2015) was an English ventriloquist, best known for his television show ''The Keith Harris Show'' (1982–86), audio recordings, and club appearances with his puppets Orville the Duck and Cuddles the Monkey. He had a UK Top 10 hit single in 1982 with "Orville's Song" which reached number 4 in the charts. The son of variety performers, Harris assisted in his father's ventriloquy acts as a child; as a teenager, he created his own ventriloquism characters which he performed at holiday resorts in the summer season, attracting the attention of television producers. He debuted on screen in 1965 and became a popular act guest starring on various shows; he had his first solo series ''Cuddles and Company'' in the 1970s, but got his big break in 1982 with ''The Keith Harris Show''. He, Orville and Cuddles became popular performers on primetime television until ''The Quack Chat Show'' was cancelled in 1990, as audiences and television pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rainbow (TV Series)
''Rainbow'' is a British children's television series, created by Pamela Lonsdale, which ran from 16 October 1972 until 6 March 1992 when Thames Television lost its ITV franchise to Carlton Television. The series was revived by HTV on 10 January 1994 until 24 March 1997, in two different formats from the original Thames series, with differing cast members. The series was originally conceived as a British equivalent of long-running American educational puppet series ''Sesame Street''. The British series was developed in house by Thames Television, and had no input from the Children's Television Workshop. It was intended to develop language and social skills for pre-school children and went on to win the Society of Film and Television Arts Award for Best Children's Programme in 1975. It aired five times weekly, twice weekly on Mondays and Wednesdays then Tuesdays and Fridays, and finally once weekly at 12:10 on Fridays on the ITV network. The show had three producers over its l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sweep (puppet)
Sweep is a British puppet and television character popular in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and other countries. Sweep is a grey glove puppet dog with long black ears who joined ''The Sooty Show'' in 1957, as a friend to fellow puppet Sooty. He is a smart dog but chooses to be dim-witted with a penchant for bones and sausages. Sweep is notable for his method of communication which consists of a loud high-pitched squeak that gains its inflection from normal speech and its rhythm from the syllables in each word. The rest of the cast, namely Soo and the presenter, could understand Sweep perfectly, and would (albeit indirectly) translate for the viewer. The sound of Sweep's voice was achieved using a saxophone reed. Versions of the puppet later sold as toys had an integral squeaker connected to an air bulb that was squeezed by hand. Sweep's family first appeared on the Sooty Show in an episode called ''Sweep's Family''. He has his moth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basil Brush
Basil Brush is a fictional red fox, best known for his appearances on daytime British children's television. He is primarily portrayed by a glove puppet, but has also been depicted in animated cartoon shorts and comic strips. The character has featured on children's television from the 1960s to the present day. He has also appeared in pantomimes across the UK. A mischievous character and a raconteur, Basil Brush is best known for his catchphrase "Ha Ha Ha! Boom! Boom!", used after something he finds funny, and also for speaking in a "posh" accent and manner, referring to himself as a "fella". The character claims to dislike puppets, and says his most prized possession is his brush, this being the traditional name for a fox's tail. The character of Basil Brush publicly supports Leicester City Football Club, which he refers to as "the foxes". 1962 to 1968 The original Basil Brush glove puppet was designed by Peter Firmin in 1962 for an ITV television series, and was voiced and p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Issue
''The Big Issue'' is a street newspaper founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991 and published in four continents. ''The Big Issue'' is one of the UK's leading social businesses and exists to offer homeless people, or individuals at risk of homelessness, the opportunity to earn a legitimate income, thereby helping them to reintegrate into mainstream society. It is the world's most widely circulated street newspaper. History Inspired by '' Street News'', a newspaper sold by homeless people in New York City, ''The Big Issue'' was founded in 1991 by John Bird and Gordon Roddick as a response to the increasing numbers of homeless people in London; they have been friends since 1967. The Body Shop provided start-up capital to the equivalent value of $50,000. the magazine was initially published monthly but, in June 1993, ''The Big Issue'' went weekly. The venture continued to expand with national editions being established in Scotland and Wales, as well as region ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lauren Layfield
Lauren Layfield (born on 1 December 1987) is an English television and radio presenter and journalist who works mainly for CBBC and Capital FM. Career Layfield joined CBBC continuity in September 2015, at the end of the one-off TV special ''Hacker's Birthday Bash: 30 Years of Children's BBC,'' going on to co-host design series, ''The Dengineers'' with Mark Wright. In April 2017, Wright left and was replaced with Joe Tracini. In January 2016, Layfield joined '' All Over the Place'' and became a co-host with Ed Petrie. Layfield has made one-off appearances in game shows ''Ultimate Brain'' and '' Celebrity Mastermind'' and four appearances in the panel show ''The Dog Ate My Homework''. A 2016 clip in which Layfield appeared on a CBBC children's show with Hacker T. Dog, during which Hacker deadpanned to Layfield "We're just normal men... We're just innocent men.", prompting Layfield to break character and laugh has resurfaced in 2022 and went viral. While some assumed the cli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Pet Shop Boys
The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music history in the 1999 edition of ''The Guinness Book of Records''. Three-time Brit Award winners and six-time Grammy nominees, since 1984 they have achieved 42 top 30 singles, 22 of these being top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart, including four UK number ones: "West End Girls" (also number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100), "It's a Sin", a synth-pop version of " Always on My Mind", and "Heart". Other hit songs include a cover of " Go West", and their own "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)", and " What Have I Done to Deserve This?" in a duet with Dusty Springfield. With five US top ten singles in the 1980s, they are associated with the Second British Invasion. At the 2009 Brit Awards in London, the Pet Shop Boys receiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celebrity Mastermind
''Celebrity Mastermind'' is a celebrity version of ''Mastermind'', a British television quiz show broadcast by BBC television. It began in 2002 as a one-off special, expanding to the current arrangement of 10 episodes, broadcast during December and January. It was originally hosted by John Humphrys, who also hosted the main show from 2003 to 2021. Format The format is the same as the standard show, although each episode is treated as a single contest with the winner receiving a trophy, and the contestant's fees being donated to charity. History The original BBC version of ''Mastermind'', hosted by Magnus Magnusson, was broadcast on BBC One from 1972 to 1997. While other versions continued on radio and satellite television, the show did not return to BBC Television until 2002, with a one-off episode, the ''Mastermind Celebrity Special'', originally broadcast on 30 December 2002 on BBC Two to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first ever ''Mastermind'' final. The original host, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Hacker T")
