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Shipoftheline
08-06-2006, 11:41 AM
Emu, the infamous glove-puppet bird that caused untold havoc on television chat shows in the 1970s, is to return to the small screen, but this time with the son of his original handler, Rod Hull, in control.
ITV has commissioned a sitcom aimed at six- to 11-year-olds featuring the manic bird alongside Toby Hull, a trained actor who has already appeared with Emu in two pantomimes.
Hull Jr took over as Emu's partner after his father died falling from the roof of his cottage while attempting to adjust his television aerial in 1999.
The new show - to be made by Endemol-subsidiary Initial for ITV's CiTV children's strand - will feature Emu and Hull moving into a new flat where pets are not allowed, giving ample opportunity to hide the bird in strange places.
ITV has described the show as "The Odd Couple meets Laurel and Hardy with feathers".
"Emu's world has plenty of domestic conflict. He's not the easiest of flatmates, but there's also real friendship and loyalty between Toby and Emu, underlying the chaos of their day-to-day life," according to the show's promotional material.
In their heyday, Rod Hull and Emu became national icons, performing to audiences of 11 million and, most memorably, attacking Michael Parkinson on his chatshow.
Christopher Pilkington, who will executive produce the new show alongside Rachel Davis, said he was looking forward to resurrecting Emu's career.
"Having worked with Rod Hull in the past, it is a particular thrill and pleasure to be reacquainted with the extraordinary Emu," he said. "Chatshow hosts be warned - the beak is back!"
The CiTV controller, Estelle Hughes, said: "CiTV audiences love homegrown comedies so this was a great opportunity for us to bring back one of the funniest and favourite CiTV characters for a new generation."Source (http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,1792460,00.html)
Just seems wrong to me after seeing the documentary about his dad and the bird he grew to hate

Tallywadger
08-06-2006, 01:05 PM
Never seen that documentary, but from what you're saying he slagged his dad off and now he's off to make a living at the same thing...do anything for money - some folk...