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There are some characters from your childhood who stay with you, and Basil Brush is one of mine. He was a fox. He wore tweeds. He had a brush that wagged from side to side when he was happy, and a laugh that could fill a room. He was also a puppet, (I apologise if that comes as a shock to anyone ðŸ¤) , but I have to be honest about it. The thing is, it never felt like that when you were watching. Basil was Basil. He was as real as anyone else on the television, and in our house, he was a lot funnier than most of them.
Basil was there on Saturday early evening television from my earliest memories. We mentioned quite a lot about Saturday evening TV in previous episodes of the podcast, and for me it was one of the few times during the week when we sat down to watch television together as a family. Basil Brush was a firm family favourite and particularly loved by my mother. I have such happy memories of her laughing at Basil, and of us all laughing together on a Saturday afternoon. I suspect I am not alone in that.
The character was created in 1962 by Peter Firmin, and yes, that is the same Peter Firmin who gave us the Clangers and Bagpuss. The original puppet appeared in a show called The Three Scampis, which was about a travelling circus act, and the character quickly became popular enough to earn a regular spot alongside the TV magician David Nixon. Basil and David made a great team, though it is remembered that David felt he was constantly being upstaged by his furry companion. I can believe that. Basil was not the type to let anyone else have the last word.
In 1968, the BBC gave Basil his own show, and his place as a Saturday teatime icon was assured. The Basil Brush Show ran for over a decade, and the format was beautifully simple. It would open with Basil and his companion having a little chat, with jokes and comments that were often surprisingly topical. I seem to remember that Mr Wilson and Mr Heath came in for plenty of attention from the razor-like wit of Basil. We would then have a comedy sketch, with Basil and his companion finding themselves in some situation, perhaps a shop, a ski lodge, an aeroplane, or marooned on a desert island. There would be a musical guest, and top singing artists of the time were queuing up to perform alongside the little fox. And we would end with story time, where the companion would read from a big storybook about one of Basil’s ancestors or distant relatives.
The key to all of it was the chemistry between Basil and his companion, and I particularly remember Mr Derek, played by Derek Fowlds, and Mr Roy, played by Roy North. Mr Roy and Basil had a brilliant onscreen presence, and he was never phased by Basil’s one-liners and interjections. They appeared to have a genuine affection for each other, and it showed. They worked so well together that the government even used them in public information films.
But the real magic came from Ivan Owen, the man who was both puppeteer and voice to the cheeky fox. You may not have heard his name, and that was entirely deliberate. Ivan kept a very low profile in showbiz because he wanted to reinforce the impression that Basil was real. Even at the height of Basil’s fame in the 1970s, Ivan never gave television interviews or allowed himself to be photographed because, in his words, he didn’t want to break the spell. It is rumoured that Basil’s voice was modelled on Terry Thomas, and whilst there are similarities, for me Basil’s voice, wit, and character were all his own.
The stories at the end of the show were a real highlight. We heard tales of Basil de Farmer, a knight at the time of Robin Hood, and Blast Off Basil, his space-travelling relative, because as we have covered before, space was massive in the 1970s. Listening back to those segments for the first time in about half a century, I had forgotten how clever they were. The interruptions, the one-liners and tangents combined with Basil’s childlike enthusiasm to hear the story made them wonderful for adults and children alike. I had also forgotten about Ticker, Basil’s little clockwork dog, who would often be involved in putting off the storyteller and amusing Basil with some tricks.
The story would always end on an exciting cliffhanger, and Mr Derek or Mr Roy would say, and that’s all we have time for this week, Basil, at which point Basil would protest vehemently that we wanted to hear more. We would end with a song from Basil and his companion and then settle down as the credits rolled and we got ready for what was coming next, probably Doctor Who, which often followed on from Basil Brush.
The Basil Brush Show was cancelled in 1980, reportedly after a dispute between Ivan Owen and the BBC. Owen wanted Basil to have a mid-evening time slot, given his broad appeal across all ages, but the BBC disagreed. Basil made a number of comebacks, including hosting an ITV schools programme and a brief stint on Crackerjack, but it was never quite the same. Ivan Owen died in 2000, and the Basil Brush I remember so fondly died with him. The character was reinvented for a new generation, but it was aimed squarely at younger children, and the wit and warmth that Ivan had brought to the role was gone.
Boom, boom. Basil Brush is a much cherished memory of my childhood, and of Saturday teatimes spent laughing with my family. I suspect he holds a similar place in the hearts of many of you reading this.
Do you remember the Basil Brush Show? Was your family watching and laughing together on a Saturday teatime? I would love to hear from you, so leave a comment below or join the conversation in our Facebook group.
And don’t forget, our My 70s TV Childhood quiz game is now in pre-production. If you’d like to register your interest in buying one, add your name to the waitlist. We’d love to have you on board!
Take care,
Oliver
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