Basil Brush - The Basil Brush Show From 2002 To 2007

The Basil Brush Show From 2002 To 2007

In 2002, after the death of Ivan Owen, Basil made a comeback - performed by a new puppeteer - in a children's BBC sitcom, again named The Basil Brush Show, in which his new comic foil, Stephen, is played by Christopher Pizzey. It was produced by The Foundation, part of the RDF Media Group. Child actors Georgina Leonidas and Michael Hayes also appeared on the show. Basil Brush now had a family, which included his destructive, hyperactive but cute nephew Bingo, and his criminal cousin Mortimer. Other friends were introduced as well, such as the moneymaking child Dave and the more sensible Molly, as well as Madison, a hippy who lived upstairs, Irish sidekick Liam (played by Michael Byers), and Anil, a crazy café owner and rubbish cook.

Several celebrities made cameo appearances on the show. These included Eamonn Holmes, Ainsley Harriot and Myles Broom . The original shows were recorded before a studio audience, comprised mainly of children, but the new programme used a post-production laughter track instead of an audience.

Interspersed with the main programme, there are now various animated shorts in which Basil and/or another character is seen making jokes. The more recent puppet looks different from the original 1960s/ 1970s puppet in a number of aspects, but the 'well-spoken' voice of Basil is similar to the original Ivan Owen version.

Basil Brush often breaks the Fourth Wall by having shots of the set and making references on how long the show is,and abusing the obvious way of walking across to other scenes.