List of Zzzap! Characters - Cuthbert Lilly (1993-2001)

Cuthbert Lilly (1993-2001)

Played by Richard Waites and aided with the catchphrase "He's Dead Silly", Cuthbert is one of two characters (the other being The Handymen) to have appeared in every episode from Series 1 to Series 10.

Cuthbert's scenes follow the general trend of a slapstick comedy, where Cuthbert generally fails to perform simple tasks with disastrous consequences. The sketches often featured the recurring characters of "Mr Snooty", Cuthbert's antagonist, and the "Old Lady" who frequently attacks Cuthbert with an umbrella. His trademark characteristic is putting his thumbs up. Two running gags throughout the show show Cuthbert reaching out and taking the comic book frame from the edges of the screen before throwing it away and Cuthbert repeatedly getting his hand crunched by anyone he tries to shake hands with.

Sometimes, if Cuthbert caused trouble, another person like an angry old lady or a policeman would chase after him. Before they did, he would stick his thumbs up to the camera, and then he would run off.

In Series 1, Cuthbert was introduced with the camera travelling to visit his respective square, which showed a picture of Cuthbert with his thumbs up in the setting that the sketch would take place in. In Series 2 to 9, the square featured a ripped cartoon which he burst through which was reversed to give the effect of him mending the picture and coming into the sketch and in Series 10, frames containing the characters floated around the screen; the respective character's segment would continue when the roulette stopped at them. Cuthbert's panel was always at the Top Row on the left side. The following music was used in his sketches - Toytown,Clowns,Vintage Hollywood,Pony Trotting And Animal Capers, they are all production music.