Emu's TV Series

Emu's World
Emu's All Live Pink Windmill Show
Genre Comedy
Created by Rod Hull
Directed by Colin Clews
Presented by Rod Hull
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
Production company(s) Central Independent Television
Release
Original network ITV Network (CITV)
Original release creative_director

Emu was an anarchic British television puppet of Rod Hull, and after successful appearing on a number of Variety shows, he was given his own Television series on the BBC, then on ITV.

BBC

Emu's Broadcasting Company

Emu's Broadcasting Company (1975–1980) was a children's television series featuring Rod Hull and Emu running their own television station, which parodied many BBC series of the time. Supporting Rod Hull and his emu puppet were Billy Dainty who played a James Bond pastiche called Captain Perceval and Barbara New who played the tea lady.

Transmissions

BBC Specials

Rod And Emu's Saturday Specials BBC)

The Rod And Emu Show (BBC)

ITV

Emu's World

In 1981, Emu and Rod Hull were offered additional series by the newly awarded ITV franchise Central Independent Television, which also introduced a green witch called Grotbags (played by the singer and comedian Carol Lee Scott), with Rod and emu living in a pink windmill.

The premise of the show was simple: each week Grotbags threatened and tried to steal Hull's aggressive arm length puppet Emu so that once captured (in Carol Lee Scott's own words) she would be able to use its "special powers" to control all the "brats" in the world.

Some episodes used songs from the 1971 Disney film, Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

Transmission

Emu's All Live Pink Windmill Show

The Series morphed into Pink Windmill show and carried on from Emu's world, but the format also featured viewer phone-ins, as well as a segment in Grotbags' grotto where selected members of the audience were offered the chance to win prizes, and lots of singing and dancing, and this show achieved enormous popularity during its early years. The show is probably now most fondly remembered for Rod Hull's catchphrase "There's somebody at the door, there's somebody at the door" every time a visitor rang the doorbell (which 'sneezed' loudly when pressed) at the Pink Windmill's entrance.

The series first aired in 1984 and was televised live. A second series which followed in 1985 was also broadcast live. Thereafter, the series was pre-recorded (until it was eventually cancelled in 1988) airing simply as Emu's Pink Windmill Show which was floor managed by Martin Essex. All series were produced and directed by Colin Clews for Central Independent Television and broadcast from the now defunct East Midlands Television Centre in Nottingham. The series was heralded as one of the greatest successes of the so-called "Dream ticket" collaboration between Producer/Director Colin Clews who produced several popular TV hits for Central Independent Television in the 1980s.

Transmission

Emu's All Live Pink Windmill Show

Emu's Pink Windmill Show

Emu's Wide World

Emu's World

E.M.U - TV

Rod and Emu did have one more television series with Central Independent Television in 1989 with Emu TV, which broadcast for one series. The Series follows the same format as his BBC series, in which Emu operated his own TV station and broadcast clips of telly programmes which he would produce and broadcast.

The episode 5 of this series features future England football player Emile Heskey.

Transmission

Rod 'n' Emu

For full details, see Rod 'n' Emu.

References

  1. ↑ Adam Shergold (2012-10-03). "Emile Heskey on the Rod Hull and Emu Show | Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-08-02.

See also

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