The CBBC Thread

Even then, he didn't speak at all at first did he? I was quite young, but I seem to remember he was lured to the studio with sweets or something and had to learn to talk - which he did so very quickly. I may be mixing things up with Emlyn though!

Just going slightly off topic with puppets but might be worth mentioning Ratz which was a computer generated cat head who cropped up a few times on CBBC on a Saturday morning before Live and Kicking as well as starring in the first series of L+K.

There was also an Andy Crane look alike puppet presenterin a programme in the late 80s called The Satelitte Show in which the puppet was the sole presenter.

I think Otis always spoke. The original Otis was somewhat dull though, didn't look anywhere near as cute either.

The first CGI puppet created on British TV as well, apparently. Wonder how much the BBC invested in that and thus him never 'taking off'.

Was Ratz moved into the CBBC Broom Cupboard at the end of the first series of Live & Kicking when they didn't want him to return, or during the first series to try and boost his appeal?

I think I was too young to remember what Ratz did properly, but didn't he just do what Mitch subsequently did, and was simply a voiceover rather than being used in sketches, etc. like Sage & Onion (and later Sage & Shamrock) were?

Ratz was often in the Broom Cupboard with Toby Anstis (excuse the pun!) circa 1994, I think also while doing the first series of L&K which ran from October '93 to about Summer 1994. He was axed altogether when L&K returned for a 2nd series.

AIUI he was a replacement for Gordon the Gopher for Live and Kicking but because he was a CGI he was too static and there wasn't much they could do with him - so he was axed.

I can remember Ratz being on Sunday mornings with Philipa Forrester and possibly holiday mornings.
Can't put a date on it though. Must have been about 93/94. It was before Children's BBC moved into their new bigger studio.

I'm sure Otis couldn't speak initally. He was tempted by toffee's if I remember right.

He wasn't exactly the best 'puppet' in the history of the broom cupboard, Paul Brophy did his best but the animation wasn't really good enough for it to work. I might be wrong but I think Ratz almost always appeared on a screen or monitor on Live and Kicking after the first few shows.

Ratz' finest moment came called the Rat Run or something like that which was a video game that ran during the holiday mornings (or was it Live and Kicking?). Proper 3D video game although viewers still had to shout up, down etc


It's possible, I'm trying to find the video of the first Otis I have hanging about somewhere. Come to think about it I don't think he speaks that much on that recording so you could be right.

Ratz was certainly there on the unexpected last day in the broomcupboard, which was used for an extra day because of a power cut.

At this time Childrens BBC whenever it was scheduled to be on BBC2 actually had a studio, so this was usually around 1.00pm weekdays and on Sunday mornings. I do recall on many occassions when the on-duty presenter had to go straight from the Broom Cupboard on BBC1 to the Studio for BBC2, the handover time for CBBC from BBC1 to BBC2 was usually 8.15am and there would usually be less than a minute.

I do remember Ratz, he wasn't my favourite, although when they had problems with the Computer once ISTR Philippa saying that he had locked himself in a room and couldn't be here today.

I remember seeing Otis The Aardvark live too, he often popped up on CBBC on Nick and CBBC Prime, he was quite popular at the time.

That whole idea just seems ridiculous now.

I know yeah, I don't know how they got around it, it didn't get much promotion from the BBC for obvious reasons and from Nick either, but it got about two hours of airtime a day, so they were doing something right.

Slightly OT Paramount always used to have a 'Channel 4 on Paramount' ident whenever they were repeating C4 sitcoms.