This article needs additional citations for verification .(May 2008) |
Gordon the Gopher | |
---|---|
Portrayed by | Chris Wright (1986–87) [1] Warrick Brownlow-Pike (2015–present) [2] |
In-universe information | |
Species | Gopher |
Gender | Male |
Gordon the Gopher, also known as Gordon T. Gopher, is an English puppet gopher who first appeared on Children's BBC (CBBC) between 1985 and 1987, listed on television shows by Phillip Schofield on the interstitial or in-vision continuity programme The Broom Cupboard. [3] He is a yellow puppet gopher with red paws.
Gordon's first appearances were on CBBC between 1985 and 1987, presenting television shows with Phillip Schofield on the interstitial programme The Broom Cupboard. [3]
In 1987, Gordon and Schofield, with Sarah Greene, went on to present the Saturday morning show Going Live! . On one occasion, Gordon was famously attacked by a puppy that had been brought on to the show. In 1988, Gordon and Schofield were replaced on The Broom Cupboard by Edd the Duck and Andy Crane.
In 1991, Gordon had a series named after himself which was shown on CBBC on BBC One and BBC Two and ran from 3 January 1991 to 28 March 1991 only lasting a series of 13 episodes, appearing with his friend and colleague Phillip Schofield. The series was shown twice on BBC One, the first time being in January to March 1991 and again from 26 October to 21 December 1992 continuing where BBC Two left off at lunchtime repeats in Summer 1991, BBC Two have also repeated the series at lunchtimes four times from 18 June to 23 July 1991, 20 September to 6 December 1993, 9 March to 1 June 1994, The Christmas season of 1994 from 22 and 23 December 1994 and 17 January 1995 to 28 March 1995. It has not been repeated since 28 March 1995 on the BBC.
In 1990, he appeared on a children's programme called Scrooge – A Christmas Sarah.
During his 2005 Room 101 appearance, Schofield made an attempt to place Gordon in Room 101 (i.e., consign him to the past), but in an audience vote Gordon was spared.
On 26 February 2006, Gordon briefly appeared at the end of Channel 4's The 100 Greatest Funny Moments.
In December 2006, he returned to the screen in the Going Live! segment of the BBC special It Started With... Swap Shop .
Gordon also made a brief appearance with Schofield during a 1980s-themed edition of Dancing on Ice in February 2009. He also made a brief appearance on 5 February 2012 edition.
Gordon appeared on This Morning on 13 September 2010 to celebrate Schofield's 25th anniversary of first presenting CBBC. Schofield said "I miss him". [4] [5]
In September 2013, Gordon appeared on an episode of Celebrity Juice .
In August 2015, Gordon appeared in an online short where he returned to the BBC and got a job as a cleaner. In this short, he was voiced by Warwick Davis. In the September of that year he made a brief appearance in a special that aired on CBBC (TV channel) called Hacker’s 30th Birthday Bash when Hacker T. Dog interviewed Schofield and reunited the two. [6]
Gordon was operated by several people in The Broom Cupboard, but the person who did it longest was Chris Wright who also operated Gordon for the whole run of Going Live! Warrick Brownlow-Pike performed him for his appearances on This Morning and Hacker's 30th Birthday Bash.
Gordon's famous leather jacket was a gift from Adam Ant, who made and decorated the jacket himself. [7] Ant had befriended Gordon while being interviewed on Going Live! in February 1990 to promote his new single, and described Gordon as "one of the most interesting people" he'd met.
Gordon was parodied by comedian Brian Conley as "Larry the Loafer," puppet sidekick of sarcastic children's TV presenter Nick Frisbee. The skit is one of Conley's most widely remembered, along with its catchphrase "It's a puppet!"
In 2006, Gordon was mentioned on Little Britain Abroad in the first Lou and Andy sketch. Lou tells Andy that he's planning to take Andy to Disney World. When Lou asks Andy who he's looking forward to meeting, Andy replies "Gordon the Gopher."
BBC Children's and Education is the BBC division responsible for media content for children in the UK. Since the launch of specially dedicated television channels in 2002, the services have been marketed under two brands. CBBC is aimed at children aged between 6 and 12, and CBeebies offers content for younger viewers.
Dick and Dom are a British comedy double act consisting of the presenters Richard "Dick" McCourt and Dominic "Dom" Wood. They are primarily known for presenting 'the broom cupboard' presentation links on Children's BBC in the 1990s and early 2000s, before moving onto the double BAFTA Award winning Dick & Dom in da Bungalow, a children's entertainment show that was broadcast live during weekend mornings on BBC One, CBBC, and later BBC Two. The show ran for five series between 2002 and 2006.
Phillip Bryan Schofield is an English former television presenter, known for presenting a wide range of high-profile programmes for the BBC and ITV from 1982 to 2023; presenting BBC programmes from 1985 to 1993 and 2001 to 2006 and ITV programmes from 1993 to 2023.
Andi Eleazu Peters is a British television presenter, producer, journalist and voice actor, currently employed by ITV and known for presenting Children's BBC, roles on breakfast TV shows Live & Kicking, GMTV, Good Morning Britain and Lorraine, and for hosting Dancing on Ice: Extra and The Big Reunion.
Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 species are all endemic to North and Central America. They are commonly known for their extensive tunneling activities and their ability to destroy farms and gardens.
Edd the Duck is a puppet duck featured on the CBBC interstitial programme The Broom Cupboard alongside presenters Andy Crane and Andi Peters.
Andrew Hayden-Smith is an English actor and voiceover artist and former television presenter.
Howard Andrew Crane is an English television and radio presenter, best known for presenting Children's BBC between 1987 and 1990 and for his current work as a presenter on the Greatest Hits Radio network.
Sam Nixon and Mark Rhodes, known collectively as Sam & Mark are an English popular music and television presenting duo. They previously competed on the second series of Pop Idol in 2003, where they finished third and second, respectively, behind winner Michelle McManus. Since then, Sam & Mark have had a successful career in radio and television in the UK.
Justin Fletcher is an English children's television presenter, actor and comedian, appearing mainly on the BBC pre-school television channel CBeebies. Speaking and performing in various, often self-created, roles, he specialises in slapstick comedy and works with children with special educational needs through his show Something Special. Fletcher also appears as the comedian Mr Tumble.
In the United Kingdom, continuity announcers are people who are employed to introduce programmes on radio and television networks, to promote forthcoming programmes on the station, to cross-promote programmes on the broadcaster's other stations where applicable and, sometimes, to provide information relating to the programme just broadcast.
Warrick Brownlow-Pike is a British puppeteer. He is best known for performing the character "Gonger" on Sesame Street and its spinoff series The Furchester Hotel and Dodge T Dog on the CBeebies Channel.
Christopher David Johnson is a British television presenter and actor. He began presenting on the CBBC Channel in January 2010, and continued until April 2016. His first television appearance was for BBC Three, introducing Family Guy. Chris also makes content on YouTube under the user name OfficialCDJ.
Throughout the years, Children's BBC, and later CBBC and CBeebies, have used a number of different identities. The branding of the stranded service is distinctive both in the past and at present.
Hacker The Dog, more commonly known as Hacker T Dog, is a Border Terrier dog puppet who appears on the CBBC television channel in the United Kingdom. He is performed by puppeteer Phil Fletcher.
Lauren Layfield is an English television and radio presenter and journalist who has worked for CBBC, Capital FM and Radio 1.
Children's BBC Presentation was the BBC's presentation of its programmes for children and which was the only part of BBC One and BBC Two's television presentation where the continuity announcer appeared on the TV screen rather than as a voice over.
CBBC Puppets are makeshift sidekicks which are used as part of the presentation of children’s programmes on the BBC, and have been used since in-vision children's continuity began in 1985.
Phil Fletcher is a British puppeteer. He established his puppet manufacturing and performance company, Gluvets, at the age of 11. After briefly working in manufacturing he found summer work performing in holiday camps and became a full-time puppeteer in 2002. In 2009 he was cast by the BBC as the puppeteer for Hacker T Dog for continuity segments on the CBBC Channel. Fletcher gave Hacker a voice for the first time and the character proved popular, receiving his own 63-episode TV series, Hacker Time, which was nominated for eight BAFTAs. From 2017 Fletcher voiced Sweep in Sooty and from 2021 has appeared as Larry the Lizard on Buffering.