Emu's TV programmes

BBC

From 1975 to 1980, the children's show Emu's Broadcasting Company saw Rod Hull and his puppet Emu operate their own TV station, EBC1, which spoofed many BBC programmes of the era. The main cast included Billy Dainty as Captain Perceval, a parody of James Bond, Barbara New as the tea lady, and Tom Chatto, who occasionally appeared as an in-vision continuity announcer. All five series were made by BBC Manchester at the recently opened New Broadcasting House on Oxford Road in Manchester. Peter Ridsdale Scott produced the show, with Hazel Lewthwaite directing the early series and Mike Stephens taking over for later ones. The first series aired on weekday afternoons, while later series got repeat runs on Saturday evenings; the fifth and final series moved to a Sunday teatime slot. The first series had six episodes from 18 November to 23 December 1975. Series two also had six episodes, running from 12 November to 17 December 1976. Series three, again six episodes, aired from 10 October to 14 November 1977. Series four had eight episodes from 26 October to 14 December 1978, and series five had eight episodes from 2 December 1979 to 27 January 1980. A Christmas special aired on 24 December 1977. Rod and Emu also became regulars in early-evening variety shows around Bank Holidays. The BBC produced several one-off specials: Emu's Blackpool Walkabout on 29 August 1977, Emu's Cornish Walkabout on 28 August 1978, Emu's Scottish Walkabout on 27 August 1979, Emu's Magical Music Show on 27 December 1980, Emu's Magical Christmas Show on 27 December 1981, and Emu's Magical Easter Show on 12 April 1982. A further run, also labelled series 1, had six episodes from 1 January to 5 February 1983, and another series 1 had six episodes from 28 January to 10 March 1984.

ITV

In 1981, Central Independent Television, a newly formed ITV franchise, gave Rod Hull the chance to create a show for younger viewers. This led to the Pink Windmill, where Rod and Emu lived, along with the green witch Grotbags, played by singer and comedienne Carol Lee Scott, and her useless helper Croc. The story each week was straightforward: Grotbags tried to steal Emu because, as she put it, his "special powers" would let her control all the world's "brats." Children from the Corona Theatre School, called the Pink Windmill Kids, helped protect Emu and performed song-and-dance numbers in every episode. A regular feature was Rod Hull's shouted catchphrase, "There's somebody at the door, oh, there's somebody at the door," whenever someone rang the Pink Windmill's doorbell, which sneezed loudly when pressed. The first five series were taped at Elstree Studios from 1981 to 1983. Series one ran for six episodes from 5 January 1982 to 9 February 1982; series two had six episodes from 27 October 1982 to 1 December 1982; series three had six episodes from 2 March 1983 to 6 April 1983; series four had six episodes from 7 September 1983 to 12 October 1983; a Christmas special called Emu's World at Christmas aired on 21 December 1983; series five had six episodes from 9 March 1984 to 13 April 1984; and an Easter special, Emu at Easter, aired on 20 April 1984.

Because Emu's World was so successful, the show was lengthened in mid-1984 from 20 minutes to 42 minutes and renamed the Pink Windmill Show. It aimed at a wider age range and added viewer phone calls, a studio audience, and games—including one in Grotbags's grotto based on the "take the money or open the box" segment from Take Your Pick! There was also a Post Office segment for viewers to send letters and pictures, and Boggle's Kingdom, a mini-series about Rod's ancestor stuck in Tudor times. Later, the Twin Schools section was added, which tried to link British schools with similar ones in Australia, Canada, or the United States.

Emu (2007)

In 2007, Toby Hull, the son of Rod Hull, brought a new Emu series to the CITV channel, producing a first run of 26 episodes. A second set of 26 episodes followed in 2009. The show, simply titled Emu, premiered on 8 October 2007. The first series was shot in Belfast, with scenes filmed at Queens Street Flats. The story follows a four-year-old Emu—who turns five in the second series—and his owner Toby, a computer games designer played by Toby Hull himself. Toby must hide Emu from Ken Cole, a grumpy security guard. His young neighbours, seven-and-a-half-year-old Charlie and eight-and-a-half-year-old Dani, help keep the secret. Another neighbour, Sophie, an air hostess, acts as the villain, constantly scheming to profit from Emu, though her plans always fail. By the end of the first series, Emu and Toby move back to Australia.

In June 2009, a second series of 26 episodes was announced, produced by New Zealand’s Gibson Group. Most of the cast were New Zealand actors. This time, Toby works at a kids’ cafe, where he meets Kelly, played by Bryony Skillington. Kelly manages the cafe and is allergic to birds, especially Emu, yet she still adores him. Two cafe kids, seven-year-old Sam and eight-year-old Georgia, live in the flat above the cafe and become good friends with Emu. The group must be careful around Leo Leach, played by Toby Leach, a strict town inspector focused on pest control who would shut down the cafe if he found an animal. The second series premiered on 13 September 2009 on ITV at 9:45 am. The puppeteer for this series was Nick Blake, and the director was Danny Mulheron, who also directed Paradise Cafe for the same company. The show aired on CITV with repeats continuing until April 2014.

Cast

The first batch of Pink Windmill Kids were all drawn from Pattison College, then called the Betty Pattison Dancing Academy. Later groups came from the Corona Theatre School, then known as the Corona Stage School. Of all the Pink Windmill Kids, Abbie Shilling appeared in the most episodes, with Kelly Rossiter close behind. A clip from the first live episode, broadcast on 13 July 1984, shows the kids excitedly introducing themselves before breaking into a cover of the Village People song "Can't Stop the Music". This clip became an internet meme in late 2016. In early 2017, all the children from that sequence except Spencer, who was unavailable, reunited to re-film the segment for Comic Relief.