Zig and Zag are an Irish puppet duo, featured on

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

, performed by Ciaran Morrison and Mick O'Hara. The characters are a pair of furry extraterrestrial twins from the planet Zog. They made their television début on 22 September 1987 on RTÉ's ''

Dempsey's Den ''The Den'' was a long-running popular children's television strand of Ireland's public broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. First broadcast on 29 September 1986 on RTÉ1, it moved to Network 2 two years later. Initially a continuity strand ...

''. Two years later they won a

Jacob's Award The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients ...

for TV Personalities of the year. In 1992, Zig and Zag found fame in the UK when they joined the team of the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

breakfast show ''

The Big Breakfast ''The Big Breakfast'' is a British breakfast light entertainment television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4. Originally presented by Chris Evans and Gaby Roslin, the show was latterly presented by Mo Gilligan and AJ Odudu. The pro ...

''. During the 1990s the characters spawned a merchandising range of comic books, videos and embarked on a recording career – scoring a UK top-five single with "Them Girls Them Girls". In 2010, the characters saw a resurgence in their popularity as they joined the ''

Big Brother's Little Brother This is a complete list of shows about and relating to ''Big Brother UK'' and ''Celebrity Big Brother''. The civilian edition ran from 2000 to 2018 and the celebrity edition ran from 2001 to 2018. ''Big Brother'' ''Big Brother'' was a daily sho ...

'' team and in October 2010 they were commissioned to host a flagship Saturday morning radio show on 2FM called '' Smells Like Saturday''. A brand new TV bloopers show hosted by Zig and Zag entitled ''Zig & Zag's Superbloopers'' was announced on the RTÉ TV website. In April 2015, it was announced that the duo would return in 2016 with a 26 episode animated series '' Zig and Zag'' commissioned by RTÉ and the BBC. On 22 September 2020, RTÉ confirmed the return of The Den as a weekend family show reuniting Zig and Zag,

Ray D'Arcy Raymond Michael D'Arcy (born 1 September 1964) is an Irish television and radio presenter currently on his second stint at state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). He once presented a self-titled weekday morning radio programme on th ...

and

Dustin the Turkey Dustin the Turkey, a character performed by John Morrison is a former star of RTÉ television's ''The Den'' between 1989 and 2010 and from 2020. He has been described as "the most subversive comedy force on Irish television". A turkey-vulture w ...

. The show returned on 8 November 2020 on RTÉ One whereas previously, the slot was on RTÉ 2.

Characters

Zig and Zag's full names are Zigmund Ambrose Zogly and Zagnatius Hillary Zogly and claim they were born 29 February 1971 on Zog. Zig is beige (although he claimed to be fawn) with red "zogabongs" (pom-pom antennae) and a tuft of green hair, and Zag is purple with green spots and yellow zogabongs and

dreadlock Dreadlocks, also known as locs or dreads, are rope-like strands of hair formed by locking or braiding hair. Origins Some of the earliest depictions of dreadlocks date back as far as 1600–1500 BCE in the Minoan Civilization, one of Europe' ...

s. In their original RTÉ incarnation, Zig often came across as the more intelligent one, with Zag under his thumb (most evident in their "Story Time" segments, when Zig would read a nursery rhyme to the audience, and Zag would grudgingly act it out). Zag also displayed a penchant for

cross-dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself. Cross-dressing has play ...

and playing with

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...

dolls. However, after the two moved to Channel 4, Zag began to be portrayed as the more intelligent older brother, a lecherous lady-killer who claimed to fly every weekend to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

to dine with the stars, as well as performing

ragga Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Wayne Sm ...

songs in his guise of "Ragga Zagga". Zig was then portrayed as a weak-willed childish simpleton, constantly giggling at rude jokes (like the word "bottom"), obsessed with specific things (such as ''

The Hunt for Red October ''The Hunt for Red October'' is the debut novel by American author Tom Clancy, first published on October 1, 1984, by the Naval Institute Press. It depicts Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius as he seemingly goes rogue with his country's cutt ...

'' or his rash) and frequently unaware of what was going on around him.

Alter ego characters

Zig and Zag frequently appeared dressed as other characters, in particular during their tenure on The Den. Such characters ranged from would-be distant relatives to superheroes. Captain Joke – Zag's primary superhero identity, Captain Joke had no superpowers other than his ability to tell silly jokes. He wore a red mask on his eyes and matching cape and only Zig suspected his identity. Captain Pillowcase – While Captain Joke's true identity was never discovered, Zig's first attempt at being a superhero was far less successful and was generally met with contempt. The character consisted of Zig wearing a pillowcase over his head. Captain Pillowcase's alleged special ability consisted of using his pillowcase to do impressions, such as his impression of Mount Everest or an ice cream cone melting. Captain Shamrock – Zig's next superhero alter ego was far more successful. Captain Shamrock generally only made appearances on Saint Patrick's Day. He spoke with a strong American accent and, as such, was delivered as a satire on American tourists visiting Ireland to discover their roots. Captain Shamrock managed to convince the others that he was the primary authority on all things Irish, and would often tell nonsensical stories loosely based on Irish folklore. Cousin Nigel – Zig and Zag's obnoxious, brattish cousin who would constantly complain about everything in a strong Birmingham accent. Cousin Nigel consisted of Zig wearing a pair of drinking glasses over his eyes and a Cub Scouts hat. Sunny Daze – Another Zig alter ego, Sunny Daze was the star crooner at the Rotten Apple Club.

Creators

Ciaran Morrison and Mick O'Hara provide the voices for Zig and for Zag, respectively. Their production company, Double Z Enterprises produced ''The Den'' when Zig and Zag featured. In 2003 they produced a TV series for

The Bronx Bunny Show ''The Bronx Bunny Show'' is an Irish ten-part series originally broadcast in 2003 on E4 in the United Kingdom and later in Ireland. It was an adult puppet interview show which followed the premise of a semi-educational show for the good people ...

. They also regularly appear on

RTÉ Two (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

in their current incarnations of

Podge and Rodge Pádraig Judas O'Leprosy and Rodraig Spartacus O'Leprosy (born 1941) are the central characters of Irish television series '' A Scare at Bedtime'', created and performed by Ciaran Morrison and Mick O'Hara. More recently, the brothers have presen ...

, fellow characters from ''The Den'' with an unsavoury past but who are now reformed enough for RTÉ to commission their own primetime chat show, ''

The Podge and Rodge Show ''The Podge and Rodge Show'' is a talk show, broadcast and produced by RTÉ. For the first three seasons Podge and Rodge were joined by Lucy Kennedy as a co-host but for the first half of the fourth season they were joined by guest hosts includi ...

''. Ciaran and Mick continue to work in development and as in-demand scriptwriters for a number of companies through their partnership Double Z. They have written on animation series such as

Danger Mouse Danger Mouse may refer (or appear in) to: * ''Danger Mouse'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 British animated television series * ''Danger Mouse'' (2015 TV series), a 2015 reboot of the British animated television series * Danger Mouse (musician) (born ...

Oddbods ''Oddbods'' (also known as ''The Oddbods Show'') is a Singaporean computer-animated comedy television series produced by One Animation. The series centers on seven characters—Bubbles, Pogo, Newt, Jeff, Slick, Fuse and Zee—wearing furry suit ...

Kiva Can Do A kiva is a space used by Puebloans for rites and political meetings, many of them associated with the kachina belief system. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, "kiva" means a large room that is circular and underground ...

Claude Claude may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etcher ...

Space Chickens in Space ''Space Chickens in Space'' is a science fiction-comedy animated television series created by José C. García de Letona and Rita Street and developed by Tommy and Markus Vad Flaaten, Alan Keane, Shane Perez, and Scott Sonneborn for 9Go! and Di ...

101 Dalmatian Street ''101 Dalmatian Street'' is an animated television series created by Miklos Weigert that aired on Disney Channel in the UK and Ireland from 18 March 2019 to 22 February 2020, and released on Disney+ in Canada and the United States on 28 Februar ...

, Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy to name but a few.

TV work

When

Ian Dempsey Ian Dempsey (born 16 January 1961) is an Irish presenter of television and breakfast radio. He is the long-running presenter of the breakfast show on Today FM, self-titled ''The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show'', which runs from 6-9 am each weekday. ...

left the then titled ''Dempsey's Den'' in 1990, Zig and Zag remained on with his replacement

. Their alien dog,

Zuppy One of the successes of children's television strand, ''The Den (Ireland), The Den'', was its ability to continually produce an array of successful characters, many of whom then went on to achieve fame in other fields, both nationally and intern ...

, also featured on television at this time. Zuppy remained with ''The Den'' for some years after Zig and Zag left. After having worked on ''The Den'' for a number of years, Zig and Zag worked concurrently on ''The Big Breakfast'', subsequently exiting ''The Den'' to work on the show exclusively. After their departure from RTÉ,

took over with new character Soky. The brothers' decision to work for a UK-based broadcaster caused friction with their former Den colleagues, which led to Dustin later accusing them of 'selling out to

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

' during a live, heated exchange on

2Phat ''2Phat'' was an Irish television programme that was shown twice weekly on Network 2 from 1998 to 2000. It reunited Ray D'Arcy and Zig and Zag, who had previously appeared together on ''The Den''. Following the demise of this show, all three woul ...

's 1998 Christmas special. On ''The Big Breakfast'', the two acted as interviewers in the "crunch" segment of the show. Among the memorable results was them teaching

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of t ...

and

Ol' Dirty Bastard Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), better known by his stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan, a rap group primarily fr ...

"how to fold a serviette like a pineapple". "I did like them guys," recalled ODB. "Anything to do with aliens is fine with Dirty." During this time, they also starred in a series of adverts for

Yoplait Yoplait ( , ) is the world's largest franchise brand of yogurt. It is jointly owned by American food conglomerate General Mills and French dairy cooperative Sodiaal. History In 1964, 100,000 French farmers agreed to merge six regional dairy coo ...

yogurts. Zig and Zag made an appearance on

MTV Europe MTV Global (formerly as MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV, a 24-hour music and entertainment TV channel that began broadcasting on August 1, 1987, as part of the worldwide MTV network. Initially, MTV serve ...

's ''MTV's Most Wanted'', leading to their own

sketch programme, ''The Zig and Zag Show''. After a revamp of ''The Big Breakfast'', they were dropped and produced a kids entertainment show, also entitled ''The Zig and Zag Show'', for

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

. They then returned to Ireland to present the music quiz, ''2Phat'' with Ray D'Arcy until 2001. They starred in a children's programme called ''Me:Tv'' for

Nickelodeon UK and Ireland Nickelodeon (commonly shortened to Nick) is a British pay television network aimed at children aged under 13. On 1 September 1993, a localised version of the US channel launched in the United Kingdom and launched at a later date in Ireland. I ...

in the summer of 2006, the premise of which was kids used their own

webcam A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripheral d ...

s to present the show. In 2010 they joined

team to interview past contestants. Zig and Zag returned to Irish TV screens with an hour-long Christmas special in 2011 entitled ''Zig and Zag's Superbloopers'' co-hosted by

Aidan Power Aidan Power (born 30 March 1979) is an Irish television and radio presenter. Career Born in Templeogue, Dublin, Power was educated at St. Mac Dara's community college and then Ballyfermot Senior College where he obtained a diploma in broadca ...

. The three returned for a six-part series of the blooper show broadcast on

RTÉ 1 (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

in September 2012. A second Christmas special this time entitled ''Superfestivebloopers'' was produced and broadcast on Christmas Day 2013. In May 2012, Double Z Productions and Flickerpix announced they were gearing up to begin production over the summer for a new, 2D animated show to debut in 2015. The series is written by Zig and Zag creators Ciaran Morrison and Mick O'Hara who will also voice the characters. The series will be produced by Ronan McCabe for Double Z and David Cumming for Flickerpix. Joel Simon, creative director at Flickerpix, will direct the series. The first animated series (26 x 11mins) simply entitled '' Zig and Zag'' was broadcast on

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

and

in Spring 2016. Zig and Zag made a surprise guest appearance on

TFI Friday ''TFI Friday'' is an entertainment show that was broadcast on Channel 4 television in the United Kingdom. It was produced by Ginger Productions, written by Danny Baker, and hosted by Chris Evans, for the first five series. The sixth series ...

on 18 December 2015 in what is most likely the last ever live episode of the show. They had previously appeared on the show during its first season in 1996. They joined Chris Evans for the Christmas Special and when

Gaby Roslin Gaby Roslin (born 12 July 1964) is an English television and radio presenter who rose to fame co-presenting ''The Big Breakfast'' on Channel 4 between 1992 and 1996. Roslin also presented the '' Children in Need'' charity telethons on the BBC ...

appeared later in the show she stated that it was the first time all four former Big Breakfast presenters had been together on screen in 21 years.

Filmography

* ''

'' (RTÉ) (1987–1990) * ''

The Den The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in New Cross, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter of a mile from the Old Den, which it ...

'' (RTÉ) (1990–1993) * ''

'' (Channel 4) (1992–1998, 2002) * ''Entertainment Cops'' (1994) * ''The Zig and Zag Show'' (MTV) (1994–1995) * ''Dirty Deeds'' (Channel 4) (1996) * ''The Zig and Zag Show'' (ITV) (1998) * ''

'' (RTÉ) (1998–2001) * ''

'' (Channel 4) (2010) * ''Zig & Zag's Superbloopers'' (RTÉ) (2011–2013) * ''

'' (Channel 4) (1996),(2015) Guests * '' Zig and Zag'' (

, RTÉ) (2016) * ''

'' (RTÉ) (2020)

Radio

* '' Smells Like Saturday'' (RTÉ radio) (2010–2011)

Merchandise

VHS/DVDs

* 1988 – ''Nothing to Do with Toast'' * 1992 – ''The Best of The Big Breakfast'' * 1995 – ''Million Quid Vid'' * 2008 – ''

Best Bitz from Back Den This is a list of television programmes to have been broadcast on the children's television strand ''The Den'' of RTÉ in the Republic of Ireland from 1986 until its conclusion. ''Creature Feature'' Éanna ni Lamhna presented ''Creature Feature' ...

Music

Zig and Zag's first single, "The Christmas No. 1" reached No. 1 in Ireland in 1990 at Christmas and stayed there for five weeks. Their album, ''Never Mind the Zogabongs... Here's Zig and Zag'' and second single "Zig Zaggin' Around" both also topped the Irish charts in 1991. On the back of their success on ''The Big Breakfast'', the pair were signed by

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of ''The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on t ...

and released two singles on

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

. "Them Girls, Them Girls" produced by DJ

Erick Morillo Erick Morillo (March 26, 1971 – September 1, 2020) was a Colombian-American disc jockey, music producer, and record label owner. Having produced under a number of pseudonyms, including Ministers de la Funk, The Dronez, RAW, Smooth Touch, RBM, D ...

was released throughout Europe and its highest chart position in the UK charts was at No. 5 for the week ending 7 January 1995. ;Albums * 1991 – '' Never Mind the Zogabongs... Here's Zig and Zag'' ;Singles * 1990 – "The Christmas No. 1" ( IE #1) - a 2020 remix version was released as an on-line only download for charity. * 1991 – " Zigzaggin'" (IE #1) * 1992 – "Outback Boogie in Malebrawonga" * 1994 – "Them Girls, Them Girls" with DJ

featuring backing vocals by

Jocelyn Brown Jocelyn Lorette Brown (born November 25, 1950), sometimes credited as Jocelyn Shaw, is an American R&B and dance singer. Although she has only one ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart entry solely in her name, she has an extensive background in the musi ...

and Althea McQueen * 1995 – "Hands Up, Hands Up" with

Rednex Rednex is a Swedish musical group whose style is a mix of American country music and modern Eurodance, with their appearance and stage names taking inspiration from the American redneck stereotypes. The band originally consisted of the lead sin ...

* 2014 – "We All Stand Together" as The Zog Chorus with

Bosco Bosco may refer to: People Given name Bosco * Bosco (drag queen) (born 1993), Drag Queen * Bosco Lin Chi-nan (born 1943), Taiwanese bishop * Bosco Frontán (born 1984), Uruguayan soccer player * Bosco Hogan (born 1949), Irish actor * Bosco Lo ...

and Pajo - charity single in aid of Childline (IE #4)

Books

Zig and Zag produced a number of books in Ireland and the UK. The first five books in the list were produced exclusively in Ireland as paperback fully illustrated comic books. In the UK, a further two comic book style paperbacks were produced; a hardback annual, a tie-in book with their TV series ''Dirty Deeds'', with photographs and text related to the series and a 416-page joke book. * ''The Fridge in a Denim Jacket'' (1989) – the 25th anniversary edition was released on 20 October 2014 (

O'Brien Press The O'Brien Press is an Irish publisher of mainly children's fiction and adult non-fiction. History The O'Brien Press was founded in 1973, evolving out of a family-run printing and type-house. Its first publication came in November 1974 and nume ...

) * ''Revenge of the Nellies'' (1989) * ''Strawberry Jelly'' (1990) * ''Dial 'D' for Dustin'' (1990) * ''Kangaroos in Bikinis'' (1991) * ''Chilli & Chocolate Flavour'' (1992) * ''In Yer Face'' (1994) * ''Big Sexy Book'' (1994) * ''The Killer Annual from Outer Space'' (1995) * ''The Dirty Deeds Dossier'' (1996) * ''The Big, Bad Joke Book'' (1996)

Awards

Jacob's Radio and Television Awards: * TV Personalities of the Year 1989 : "For keeping the children of the nation happy" National Entertainment Awards (Ireland): * TV Personalities of the Year 1989

Royal Television Society Award The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

: * ''The Big Breakfast'' – Programme Award 1992

Promax Awards The Promax Awards (also known as the PromaxBDA Awards) honor promotion, design, and marketing by a company or individual that is broadcast, published, or released in their respective markets. Promax International/BPME (branded as "Promax") sponsor ...

: * Best Sales/Marketing Tape – Zig & Zag Media Buyers Appeal (UK)

References

External links

RealPlayer video of Zig and Zag on RTÉ2 in Ireland on the 'Dempsey's Den' children's program

on ''

Tubridy Tonight ''Tubridy Tonight'' is a talk show hosted by Ryan Tubridy that aired on RTÉ One for five seasons between 2004 and 2009. The programme featured guest interviews (usually three per show), audience participation and live music from both a guest mu ...

''—8 November 2008.
Zig and Zag live from Vicar Street!
on ''

The Ray D'Arcy Show ''The Ray D'Arcy Show'' is the title given to two differing versions of a radio programme hosted by Ray D'Arcy, originally broadcast on Irish commercial radio station Today FM from the late 1990s until 2014 before transferring in February 2015 t ...

'',

Today FM Today FM is an Irish national commercial FM radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Audio Ireland Limited. Broadcasting since 17 March 1997, it broadcasts mostly music, with a daily news and current affairs programme. Today FM holds a lic ...

* {{The Den Fictional extraterrestrial life forms Television characters introduced in 1986 Comedy television characters Comedy radio characters Fictional puppets Puppets Fictional twins Irish comedy duos Irish television personalities Jacob's Award winners Male television writers The Den (TV programme) presenters