Emu (puppet)

Emu is a puppet emu which was given to British entertainer Rod Hull in the 1960s while he was presenting a children's breakfast television programme in Australia. Hull adopted the mute puppet for his cabaret act, and took it with him to the United Kingdom when he returned in 1970.[1] The character was given a mischievous and sometimes aggressive onstage persona, attacking celebrity guests (and Hull himself) for comic effect. Hull and Emu also appeared on several episodes of The Hudson Brothers' comedy show in the United States.

Emu
The logo for the new series of Emu.
Created byRod Hull
Portrayed byRod Hull (1960s–1999)
Toby Hull (2003–present)
In-universe information
SpeciesEmu
GenderMale

Emu's new series

The first episode of Emu's new series, simply called Emu, was broadcast on 8 October 2007. The first series was filmed in Belfast with shots at Queens Street Flats. The plot centres around Emu and his owner, Toby (Toby Hull), a computer games designer. Toby has to keep Emu a secret from Ken Cole, a grumpy security guard. Toby's neighbours, children Charlie and Dani, help him to keep Emu a secret. Toby's other neighbour, Sophie, is the villainess of the show: an air hostess who becomes obsessed with making money off of Emu, but her plans always backfire on her. At the end of the first series, Emu and Toby moved back to Australia.

In June 2009, it was announced that a second series of the show with 26 episodes would be produced by the Gibson Group, a New Zealand film and broadcast company. Most of the cast were New Zealand actors. The plot in the second series revolves around Toby's job in a kids' cafe. He meets Kelly (Bryony Skillington), the cafe manager, who is allergic to birds (especially Emu), although she still adores Emu. Cafe kids Sam and Georgia live upstairs above the cafe. They are good friends with Emu. They all must watch out for Leo Leach (Toby Leach), the town inspector who is strict with pest control; he will close the cafe down if an animal is found.

The first episode of the second series was broadcast on 13 September 2009 on ITV1 at 9.45am. The second series puppeteer was Nick Blake and the director was Danny Mulheron the same director of Paradise Café made by the same company. The second episode was also broadcast on the same day.

It was shown on CITV with repeats until April 2014.

List of episodes

Series 1 2007-2008

No.
overall
TitleOriginal air date
1Not So Secret Emu8 October 2007
2Attack Of The Spacebird8 October 2007
3A Date With Dusterny8 October 2007
4Double The Fun8 October 2007
5A Sweet Business9 October 2007
6Ticket To Ride9 October 2007
7Plumbing New Depths9 October 2007
8Emu's Got To Go9 October 2007
9The Birthday Cake11 October 2007
10Endangered Species12 October 2007
11Locked Out12 October 2007
12Cuckoo In The Nest12 October 2007
13Nurse Emu12 October 2007
14Emu's Party22 October 2007
15Scratching For Oil22 October 2007
16Ken Sees Emu23 October 2007
17Decorating23 October 2007
18Emu Cleans Up24 October 2007
19Rubbish Day24 October 2007
20Bathtime For Emu25 October 2007
21Ken Comes To Stay22 March 2008
22Emu Sleepwalks23 March 2008
23DJ Emu29 March 2008
24Dreams Of Ice Cream30 March 2008
25Sophie’s New Leaf5 April 2008
26Homebird6 April 2008

Series 2 2009

No.
overall
TitleOriginal air date
1Apricot Antics13 September 2009
2Run Emu Run13 September 2009
3Secret Birthday Cake20 September 2009
4Emu Pox20 September 2009
5Mousetrap27 September 2009
6Hide 'n Shriek27 September 2009
7Nits To The Rescue4 October 2009
8Bubble Trouble4 October 2009
9Non-Imaginary Friend11 October 2009
10To Catch An Emu11 October 2009
11New Improved Emu19 October 2009
12Hocus Pocus19 October 2009
13Pulling Teeth20 October 2009
14Waiter There’s An Emu In My Soup20 October 2009
15Full Moon Blues21 October 2009
16Double Vision21 October 2009
17Party Games22 October 2009
18Leo Cadges A Meal22 October 2009
19The Fancy Dress Party23 October 2009
20Emus Can Fly23 October 2009
21Loose Goose26 October 2009
22Best Friends26 October 2009
23A Smashing Day27 October 2009
24Surprise27 October 2009
25Emu On The Loose28 October 2009
26Finale28 October 2009

UK television career 1975-1989

During the 1970s, Hull and Emu achieved national fame in the UK with their BBC series Emu's Broadcasting Company. The duo subsequently moved to ITV where a succession of shows were produced in the 1980s centring around their ongoing war with Grotbags, a witch played by Carol Lee Scott.

References

  1. "Emu set for television comeback". BBC News. 8 June 2006. Retrieved 8 June 2006.
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