Snug and Cozi

Did You Know?

• The show received a 32% audience share on CITV when Britain had only four terrestrial channels.
• A Snug and Cozi CD called 'Pink Heads' was released in 1997, and to promote it the characters travelled to London to give the prime minister a copy.
• The show has never been released on VHS or DVD.

Format and premise

Each episode runs 10 minutes and follows a slapstick comedy format for children. The principal characters, Snug and Cozi, are aliens from the planet Squidge. Their pink rocket is hit by an asteroid while travelling in deep space, causing them to crash on Earth. A girl named Emily discovers them and hides them in her garden shed. Snug and Cozi speak a gibberish language called Squidge, though occasional English words are recognisable.

Creation and pilot episode

Actor and filmmaker Richard Vobes created the idea for the show in 1994. Together with fellow actor Nigel Cooper, he produced a low-budget pilot on 16mm film. The original concept involved aliens living in a potting shed on an allotment. When STV commissioned the series in 1996, the spelling of 'Cozi' was altered from 'cosy', and the opening sequence was modified but retained some original animation of the rocket ship. Vobes was not permitted to direct the series and was never entirely satisfied with it, as many slapstick stunts were either simulated or not executed; the only stunt allowed was riding a bed down a hill into a car wash in the episode 'A New Home'.

Live shows and tours

Snug and Cozi appeared on other CITV programmes including Wow in 1996, Scratchy & Co. in 1997, and Timmy Towers in 1998. In 1998 they performed in a pantomime of Cinderella at the Doncaster Civic Theatre, playing Brokers Men; during the show they ate dictionaries and suddenly could speak English. They also toured Britain in a pink caravan, though there were few gigs, and during one show their Rocket Car caught fire and was extinguished by the fire brigade.