The Basil Brush Show
Boom! Boom!
Hermann Hesse · Public domain
The glove-puppet fox Basil Brush returned to British television in a new sitcom, *The Basil Brush Show*, which aired on CBBC from September 2002 to December 2007. Produced by The Foundation across six series, it was a spin-off of the earlier BBC series from the 1960s and 1970s, though none of the original cast members appeared.
The action takes place in a brightly coloured modern penthouse flat co-owned by Basil and his sidekick, Stephen (Christopher Pizzey). Living with them are Stephen’s niece, Molly (Georgina Leonidas), and nephew, Dave (Michael Hayes), left in his care while their parents travel the world. The group often eats at a greasy-spoon café called 'Anil's', run by Anil (Ajay Chhabra). Another neighbour, Ella (Tisha Martin), loves to sing; she is later replaced by Madison (Laura Evans), an American fashion designer whose full name is Madison Square-Gardens. In the first series, Laurie Ventry played a different character in 12 of the 13 episodes.
The show frequently breaks the fourth wall. Characters openly acknowledge they are on a studio set, and storylines sometimes involve the cameramen and crew. Later series introduced two new characters: Liam (Michael Byers), who replaces Stephen as Basil’s sidekick, and Lucy (Janine Vieira in series five, Madeline Castrey in series six), who arrives as Anil’s niece.
Basil Brush is a red fox, shown as both a glove puppet and an animated character. He wears a green jacket and red cravat, speaks with a posh Received Pronunciation, and addresses people as "Mister", "Master", or "Miss". His catchphrase, "Boom! Boom!", follows his own jokes. Michael Winsor voices him, credited as "Basil's Personal Assistant".
Stephen, called "Mr Stephen" by Basil, is the uncle of Dave and Molly. He appears from 2002 to 2006 and is often the target of jokes. He is not very clever—in the episode "Bing Trouble", Molly has to tell him that two plus two equals four. Played by Christopher Pizzey, he leaves after series four. In series five, Basil mentions Stephen has been snapped up by Hollywood, but it turns out he is working at a burger van there. His cousin Liam then takes his place.
Liam, played by Michael Byers, replaces Stephen from 2006 to 2007. He is trying to find his way in life, sometimes appearing dim but actually being quite smart. He builds near-impossible inventions like a time machine and a shrink ray, and is good at chemistry. A running joke has him saying, "I knew those [relevant] night classes would come in handy." In "Ballroom Basil", his surname is revealed as O'Dingleberry.
Dave is ten in series one and fifteen by series six. He has a talent for business, setting up a media empire (later destroyed by Basil and Stephen in "Meeja Mogul"), importing stolen goods, and starting his own TV show. He is often described as a 14-year-old multi-billionaire entrepreneur. Michael Hayes plays him.
Molly, Dave’s older sister, is twelve in series one and seventeen in series six. She is the sensible one, reasoning with others and sometimes becoming violent. She is clever and witty. From series five, she appears only occasionally, with Lucy taking over her role. In the final season, she appears in just two episodes: "Ballroom Basil", where she says she is going for milk and may be gone a while, and "Basil Christmas Dinners", where she returns, explaining a worldwide milk shortage forced her to travel to Timbuktu. Georgina Leonidas portrays her.
Madison, an American fashion student, lives upstairs. She is on the show from 2004 to 2007 and is played by Laura Evans, a singer-songwriter from Aberdare, South Wales. Basil initially mistakes her designs for rubbish. She is Stephen’s third love interest and pronounces Basil’s name as "Bay-zull". When things go wrong, she often says the only reason she is still in the UK is because she lost her passport.
Anil appears in every series as the owner of Anil’s Caff. He is less than average intelligence, and a running joke is the terrible quality of his food. In "Bend it like Basil", he is revealed to be sexist. Played by Ajay Chhabra, it is also shown in the episode "Camping" that he wears a wig.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Children's sitcom
- Director
- David McKay
- Writer
- Ged Allen / Danny Robins
- Starring
- Michael Byers / Christopher Pizzey / Michael Hayes / Georgina Leonidas / Laura Evans / Tisha Martin / Ajay Chhabra
- Voices
- Michael Winsor (uncredited) / Don Austen / Basil Soper
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- Num Series
- 6
- Num Episodes
- 78
- List Episodes
- List of The Basil Brush Show episodes
- Runtime
- 24 minutes
- Network
- CBBC
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The series is set in a colourful modern penthouse flat, jointly owned by Basil and his sidekick Stephen. Living with them are Stephen's niece and nephew, Molly and Dave. Other characters include Anil, the owner of a greasy-spoon café; Ella, a neighbour who loves to sing; and later Madison, an American fashion designer. The series frequently breaks the fourth wall, with characters referencing the studio set and crew. In later series, Liam replaces Stephen as Basil's sidekick, and Lucy debuts as Anil's niece.
Reader's Guide
The show ran for six series from 27 September 2002 to 25 December 2007. Key characters include Basil Brush (voiced by Michael Winsor), Stephen (Christopher Pizzey, 2002–2006), Liam (Michael Byers, 2006–2007), Dave (Michael Hayes), Molly (Georgina Leonidas), Madison (Laura Evans, 2004–2007), Anil (Ajay Chhabra), Lucy (Janine Vieira in Series 5, Madeline Castrey in Series 6), and Ella (Tisha Martin, Series 2 only). Semi-regular characters include the Voice-over Man (Basil Soper, 2002–2005), Mortimer Brush (voiced by Don Austen), Bingo Brush (voiced by Don Austen), and Maximilian Brushefeller.
Did You Know?
- Basil Brush's catchphrase is 'Boom! Boom!'
- The character of Madison is named after Madison Square Garden.
- In the episode 'Ballroom Basil', it is stated that Liam's surname is O'Dingleberry.
- Mortimer Brush's catchphrase is 'Bang! Bang!'
- The show was produced by The Foundation.
Format, Production & Studio Ethos
The Basil Brush Show ran for six series on CBBC, produced by The Foundation between 27 September 2002 and 25 December 2007. Although it grew out of the original 1960s–70s BBC series, it featured a completely fresh cast and creative team. The action unfolded in a bright, modern penthouse flat shared by Basil and his human partner Stephen, with the kids Molly and Dave living under Stephen's guardianship while their parents toured the globe. What set the programme apart was its deliberately loose, studio-aware tone. Characters routinely acknowledged they were performing on a set, and several episodes wove the actual cameramen and crew members into the plotlines. In the first series, Laurie Ventry appeared in twelve of thirteen episodes, playing a different role each time. The overall atmosphere leaned playful and unpolished, giving the show a distinctive energy that distinguished it from more tightly scripted children's fare. Later seasons re-vamped the format, swapping in new characters and shifting the ensemble dynamics.
Casting Shifts & Character Evolution
Across its six-series lifespan, the show cycled through notable casting changes that reshaped its ensemble. Stephen, portrayed by Christopher Pizzey, anchored the first four series as Basil's sidekick and the kids' uncle. He departed at the end of Series 4, making a brief Series 5 cameo in which he claimed a Hollywood deal — only for it to turn out he was manning a burger van. His distant cousin Liam, played by Michael Byers, then stepped in as the new partner for the final two years. Molly, the sharp-tongued niece, saw her screen time shrink sharply from Series 5, appearing in just two episodes of the last season. Lucy, Anil's niece, debuted as a partial successor to Molly's role in the flat. Upstairs, the singing neighbour Ella gave way to Madison, an American fashion student. These rotations kept the cast feeling current while preserving Basil as the constant gravitational centre of the comedy.
Basil the Fox: Design, Voice & Persona
Basil Brush is a red fox presented in dual form: a physical glove puppet for live-action scenes and an animated figure for more fantastical sequences. His wardrobe is consistent — a green jacket paired with a red cravat — and his speech is immediately recognisable. He speaks in crisp Received Pronunciation, addressing everyone as 'Mister,' 'Master,' or 'Miss,' which lends him an air of old-world formality. His trademark exclamation, 'Boom! Boom!', fires off after he bursts into laughter at one of his own jokes. The voice behind the puppet belongs to Michael Winsor, who is credited in the show not as a voice actor but as 'Basil's Personal Assistant,' a quirky choice that reinforces the fiction of Basil as a self-contained individual with his own staff. This dual puppet-and-animation format gave writers the flexibility to move seamlessly between grounded studio comedy and more outlandish visual gags, all while keeping the fox's personality front and centre.
Supporting Cast & Recurring Comedic Threads
The ensemble surrounding Basil was built on layered, long-running gags. Anil, the café owner played by Ajay Chhabra, appeared in every series, his greasy-spoon 'Anil's' a frequent dining spot. A persistent joke targeted the appalling quality of his food, and in the episode 'Camping' it was revealed he sported a wig, a glass eye, false teeth, and a prosthetic wooden leg — a detail revisited with comedic effect in 'Toothache.' Dave, played by Michael Hayes, aged from ten to fifteen over the run and built a sprawling media empire, imported questionable goods, and even launched his own television show. Liam's running line about 'night classes' coming in handy neatly tied his improbable inventions — time machines, shrink rays — to a mundane hobby. Molly served as the group's voice of reason, occasionally resorting to outright violence when logic failed. Together these threads gave the show a rich, multi-generational comedic texture that rewarded long-term viewers.
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