Basil Brush and Mr Derek

BBC Genome has a nice article on one of my childhood heroes, occasioned by the fact The Basil Brush Show was first aired today in 1968:

Basil Brush started his own show in the traditional Crackerjack slot at five to five on a Friday afternoon. The first series of The Basil Brush Show debuted on 14th June 1968. Again scripted by George Martin, it was produced by Johnny Downes, and Basil was partnered by actor Rodney Bewes, late of The Likely Lads. 

In Basil’s inimitable fashion he was addressed as ‘Mr Rodney’. The first series also benefited from impressive musical acts, including Manfred Mann, The Alan Price Set and The Kinks. 

The series performed well enough, and a second series followed in March 1969, although Rodney Bewes had bowed out to concentrate on his ITV sitcom Dear Mother… Love Albert and was replaced by another young actor, Derek Fowlds, later famous for roles in Yes Minister and Heartbeat – but for now known by Basil as ‘Mr Derek’. 

Fowlds became perhaps the best remembered of Basil’s partners, interacting well with his furry friend through several series until he called it a day in 1973. They made guest appearances on It’s Lulu, and landed a 'best of' show and a Christmas morning programme in 1970.

Most of the programmes Fowlds made with Basil were wiped. There used to be a longer video of them together on Youtube, but at the moment the scrap above is all that is to be found there.