Bodger and Badger is a BBC children's comedy programme which was first broadcast in 1989. It starred Andy Cunningham as Simon Bodger, who had a badly behaved companion, a talking badger with a love for mashed potatoes.
The first series saw Bodger working at Troff's Nosherama, where his badger was unknown to the other characters. The second and third series were set in the Letsby Avenue Junior School; Bodger worked as the caretaker for the school and there was general antagonism between him and the schoolchildren - a large cast of children - and the headteachers Mrs Trout ('Fish-Face') and later Mrs Bogart ('Bogey'). Later series featured Bodger moving to other jobs and began to feature less of Bodger, concentrating more on Badger and his friend Mousey. She was a not overly intelligent mouse, who had an unsurprising fondness for cheese.
Main characters
Simon Bodger (Andy Cunningham) - Simon Bodger is a handyman who has had various jobs throughout the series, probably because when he is nervous he makes silly mistakes and Badger's antics keep on getting him sacked. In the first series he was working as a cook for Troff's Nosherama. In the second and third series he was a caretaker at a junior school. In the fourth series he was a handyman and zookeeper at Chessington World of Adventures. In the fifth, sixth and seventh series he was seemingly unemployed and renting a flat, occasionally working as a casual handyman to his landlady, Mrs Dribelle. In the eighth and ninth series he was manager of his own Bed and Breakfast. Badger is his talking pet and best friend, although all the trouble that Bodger ends up in is usually down to Badger. Regular gags usually involve Badger covering Bodger in mashed potato or some other messy substance, either intentionally or accidentally.
Badger (voiced by Andy Cunningham) - Badger is named after the type of animal that he is - a badger. He has the ability to talk and wears smaller versions of human clothes (including his trademark red beret) and has a fondness for mashed potato, which he likes to play with as well as eat. He has a laugh that's similar to boxer Frank Bruno. He gets Simon into trouble a lot of the time by messing round with the Mashed Potato because some of the characters do not know about Badger so Simon gets the blame for it instead of Badger which makes him extremely angry with his pet. However Badger is still a very good friend to Simon and tries to help him out every way he can. It is not known how Bodger originally met Badger. There were several different Badger puppets used throughout the series - all looked very similar bar their clothes.
Mousey (voiced by Jane Bassett) - Mousey is a talking mouse who lives under the floorboards of the flat that Bodger rents from Series 5-7. She and Badger are great friends, both constantly getting up to mischief. Mousey's presence is only known by Bodger in the first episode of Series 5 when he sets traps to try to catch her. After Badger makes friends with Mousey, he tricks Simon into believing Mousey has gone from the house. When Bodger and Badger move to Puddleford to run their hotel in Series 8, Mousey goes with them and moves into the airing cupboard rather than under the floorboards. Even though Badger is known to several of the human characters, Mousey is kept a secret from everyone, although Mrs Dribelle spots her on two occasions in Bodger's flat and Mrs Melly on one occasion who tried to capture her when she was disguised as a rare bird to trick Miss Piper.
Series 1
Mr Hector Troff (Roger Walker) - The arrogant owner of the restaurant in Series 1. He has no knowledge of Badger's presence until the final episode of the first series.
Mavis (Joanne Campbell) - Worked as a waitress at the restaurant with Bodger, and was friendly with both Bodger and Badger. She was also a singer, and returned for one episode during Series 2 when she visited Bodger and Badger at Letsby Avenue Junior School.
Series 2 and 3
Mrs Daphne Trout (Lila Kaye) - The cruel and overweight Headmistress of Letsby Avenue Junior School, where Bodger worked in Series 2 and 3. She was referred to as 'Fish-face' by Badger and the school children. She liked insulting Bodger and Miss Moon, being nasty to the children and going down the cake shop. She was sent back to Teacher Training College by Mr Valentino after she tried to get Miss Moon sacked in the third series. It is revealed in the episode following her departure that she became the new Chair of the School Governors. She appeared briefly in the final episode of Series 3 in a flashback to when she was still Headmistress, when she messed up the class photograph as her weight caused the bench to collapse.
Miss Geraldine Moon (Selina Cadell) - The warm-hearted but dim-witted Deputy Head of Letsby Avenue Junior School throughout Series 2 and 3. She was friendly with Bodger, but not enough for him to let her know about Badger. She was briefly the acting Headmistress after Mrs Trout was sent back to Teacher Training, but returned to her old post when Mrs Bogart took over as Headmistress. As a teacher she was useless - she never made the children do any work and just let them play games all day when she was acting Headmistress.
Mr Valentino (Rudolph Walker) - Chairman of the Governors of Letsby Avenue Junior School, who appeared in two episodes in Series 3. He sends Mrs Trout away to re-train as a teacher after he realises she is a useless Headmistress.
Mrs Prunella Bogart (Richenda Carey) - The elegantly dressed, nasty-tempered Headmistress who replaced Mrs Trout in Series 3. She is Mrs Trout's sister, and brought along her spoiled nephew, Eamon, who wanted to replace Bodger as the school handyman. She never seems to do any work, despite the fact that she is the Headmistress, and spends most of her time in her office eating chocolate, confiscating the children's chocolate, or at the chocolate shop. She is nicknamed 'Mrs Bogey' by Badger and is always looking for ways to make quick money.
Eamon Trout (Philip Herbert) - Mrs Trout's spoiled son, and Mrs Bogart's nephew. He wanted Mrs Bogart to fire Bodger so he could be the school handyman, but he was quickly scared away by Badger and the children.
Series 4
Mr Lionel Beasley (Jon Glover) - Bodger's superior at Chessington World of Adventures in Series 4. He tries to imply he is an educated professional, and excellent at his job. He knows of Badger's presence at the park and is constantly trying to catch him, although he does not know he is Bodger's pet.
Holly (Sophie Worters) - A friendly girl who spends a lot of time at Chessington in Series 4. She is good friends with both Bodger and Badger and dislikes Mr Beasley just as much as they do.
Series 5, 6 and 7
"Boss" & Courtney (Penelope Nice and Ashley Artus) - Two villainous thieves who attempt to burgle Bodger's flat in Series 5. Posing as two council officers upgrading home security, they try to steal a valuable Ancient Egyptian statue which belongs to Bodger's aunt. They fail, thanks to Badger who tricks the dim-witted Courtney into believing that it is a cursed statue that throws 'Ancient Egyptian mashed potato' if tampered with.
Mrs Cecilia Dribelle (Carol MacReady) - The extravagantly dressed businesswoman from whom Bodger rents his flat in Series 6 and 7. She has a distinct dislike for animals (apart from cats) and forbids her tenants from keeping pets, resulting in Bodger having to constantly hide Badger whenever she visits. She dislikes Bodger intensely and tries everything she can think of to evict him, she also expressed a dislike for pop music in one episode. She is fond of cakes and biscuits, and likes to make lots of money from silly ideas. She is nicknamed 'Mrs Dribble' and 'Dribbly Bibbly' by Badger. She drives around in a car with the registration plate 'DRIB 1' and has a cat called Fluffykins. In her early episodes she is made aware of Badger's presence by her sidekick, Elton, but never actually sees him as Elton's plans to catch Badger always fail. She eventually decides that Elton is imagining Badger. However, she has spotted Badger herself on several occasions - in one episode she saw Badger when she got knocked out, mistakenly thinking that Badger was her pet cat Fluffykins. Another was when Fluffykins had disappeared and Badger was inside the cat box pretending to be Fluffykins. Another time was when Badger was hiding behind a picture frame which Mrs Dribelle thought was a picture of a Badger. After spending the majority of Series 6 trying to find ways to evict Bodger, Mrs Dribelle later employs him as her handyman in Series 7. Later on she allowed her niece, Vicky, to stay in the first floor flat above Bodger's after she evicted Alec Smart. After Vicky left to go touring with a band, Mrs Dribelle temporarily moved into the vacant flat while her house was being decorated.
Elton (Joe Cushley) - Mrs Dribelle's dim-witted sidekick. He is a hardman who always wears a woolly hat with badges and a denim jacket. He knows that Bodger has a badger in the flat after Badger hits him on the head with a frying pan. He is incredibly stupid and is always trying to prove to Mrs Dribelle that there is a badger in the flat by all means possible, but he never succeeds. In one episode he dressed up as Mrs Dribelle's mother to trick Simon into believing Mrs Dribelle had nowhere to live, so that she could get Simon to move out of the flat. However Badger, who could see Elton's underpants underneath his skirt, knew it was Elton so he tried to show Simon the underpants. First he pulled the lever when Elton was sitting on the bed which made the bed go back, but it still did not work so Badger thought of another way to show Simon the underpants by turning the vacuum cleaner on, which sucked up the skirt Elton was wearing. Simon then saw the underpants and realised it was Elton. Even though Mrs Dribelle features in Series 7, Elton did not feature after Series 6. He was last seen in the episode 'Badger's Party' where he was attacked by children who were St John Badger Scouts.
Daphne (Jane Bassett) - A friend of Mrs Dribelle's, who appears in the Series 7 episode 'Cuckoo'. After Simon sells Mrs Dribelle an old Grandfather Clock (which is also a cuckoo clock) for £50, she tries to sell it to Daphne - who is an antiques dealer - for £500. At first Daphne does not believe her when she is told that is a "Grandfather Cuckoo Clock" - however when Mousey, disguised as a cuckoo, comes out of the clock and squirts mashed potato on Mrs Dribelle, Daphne starts to laugh at Mrs Dribelle, telling her that she is the one that's cuckoo if she thinks she's going to pay £500 for the clock. Mrs Dribelle gets angry and shoves a pie in her face - the two ladies then have a food fight.
Alec Smart (Ricky Diamond) - The sly and untrustworthy tenant who moves into the flat above Bodger's in Series 7. He was always thinking up schemes to make money, often tricking Mrs Dribelle and Bodger in the process. He sucks up to Mrs Dribelle while secretly trying to scam her. In the episode 'Mrs Dribelle's Big Day' he asks her to marry him, with the intention of getting his hands on her money. After Mrs Dribelle discovers his plan, she throws him out of the flat. A year later when Bodger and Badger move to Puddleford at the beginning of Series 8 to run a hotel, they are horrified to discover that Mr Smart is their next door neighbour once again. He is also running a hotel, but never seems to have any guests and is always trying to steal Bodger's or trying to outshine his rival in every despicable way possible. He was last seen in the episode 'Doggone' when he kidnapped China the dog in order to obtain a reward for finding him. As he is not seen or mentioned again in the series, it is assumed that he moved away from Puddleford or still lives next door but never mentioned.
Vicky (Sally Ann Marsh) - Mrs Dribelle's niece. She was supposed to have been an accountant, but Vicky had dreams of being part of a band. She moves into the upstairs flat in after Alec Smart is thrown out. She is supposed to work for her auntie, but she is always secretly auditioning for jobs as a drummer. She hides her drum kit in the bath when Mrs Dribelle visits as she disapproves of it. Vicky and Badger got on very well as they both love mashed potato. She ended up going on tour with a travelling band as a drummer. Vicky only appeared in Series 7.
Luigi - An Italian badger who travelled from Italy and stayed at Bodger and Badger's flat during Series 7 (the puppet design for this was very similar to Badger's). He had several arguments with Badger over which was the better food - spaghetti or mashed potato. At first Bodger did not know about Luigi's presence. After he found out about Luigi, Bodger allowed him to stay at the flat a while. Luigi only appeared in one episode.
Series 8 and 9
Millie (Jane Bassett) - A milkwoman in Puddleford who is a friend of Bodger and Badger in Series 8 and 9. She helps out Bodger and Badger on numerous occasions, mainly allowing use of her milk float to carry customers around, such as picking Mr Wilson up from the station. She shares their dislike of Mr Smart and Mrs Melly. She owns a dog named China, who is friends with Badger.
China - A dog originally owned by the Hutchins family in Series 8 but later belongs to Millie in Series 9. It is unknown how he became Millie's pet or why he is no longer with the Hutchins. He worked with Badger and Mousey to cause chaos with mashed potato around Puddleford. He likes annoying Mrs Melly by barking loudly outside her office.
Miss Prunella Peake (Valerie Minifie) - One of Bodger's first hotel guests in Series 8. She was bad-tempered and miserable and was rather rude and quite threatening to Bodger. She also was nicknamed 'Old Peaky' by Badger. She leaves his hotel in disgust after finding mashed potato in her bed and is immediately pounced on by Mr Smart, who tries to seduce her into staying at his hotel instead. She soon sees through him, however, and returns to Bodger's hotel. She later becomes obsessed with the legend of the lost pirate treasure, and along with Mr Smart, ends up digging up half of Puddleford beach trying to find it. On her final day in Puddleford she enters a fancy dress competition with Bodger and wins thanks to Badger and Mousey.
Mr Tucknott (Bill Thomas) - A bank manager who stayed in Bodger's hotel in Series 8. He is quite cheerful but appears to be long-suffering and quite nervous about his job, and gets particularly worried when trying to write a speech in the episode 'Mashy Record Breakers'.
Mrs Bobbins (Jo Warne) - Stayed in Bodger's hotel in Series 8 at the same time as Mr Tucknott. She is very bubbly and appears to like Bodger, but is not aware of Badger's presence, even in the episode 'Big Bear' when Badger poses as a large teddy bear which she bought for her granddaughter and she tries to wrap him up in wrapping paper.
Mrs Sharona Melly (Carole Boyd) - The bossy, bad-tempered Tourist Information officer from Series 9. She was also nicknamed 'Mrs Smelly' and 'Smelly Melly', due to her forename beginning with 'S', and appearing as 'Mrs S Melly'. She is highly suspicious of Bodger and believes that he is hiding something in his hotel, although she never actually finds out about Badger. She refuses to recommend Bodger's hotel to tourists because he accidentally covered her in mashed potato when she visited his B & B. She dislikes people having fun on the beach outside her office and will do anything to prevent it. She has a lot of trouble with China the dog, who is always hanging around her office. She often looks for quick ways to make money, such as when she attempts to catch a valuable bird and charge people to see it, and when she believes Bodger has won the lottery she buys him lunch and starts being nice to him in the hope that he will share some of his winnings with her.
Miss Piper (Hilda Braid) - A short-sighted birdwatcher who featured in only one episode. She stayed in Bodger's hotel in Series 9 while trying to spot a rare and valuable bird on the cliffs above Puddleford. However, she makes the mistake of telling Mrs Melly about it, who tries to catch it to make some quick money. She is played by the same actress who played Nana Moon in EastEnders.
Mr Malcolm Wilson (Matthew Woolcott) - A trainee bank manager who stayed in Bodger's hotel in Series 9. Like most of the characters, he too despises mashed potato as he is involved in an unfortunately large amount incidents where he ends up covered in it. In one episode he even accidentally tasted it in his cereal. He is a bit of a cry-baby, who gets upset over the slightest things, one of the most notable being when he is late for a job interview after Mrs Melly confiscates his clothes while he is swimming in the sea.
Mr Bill Gripper (Roger Liddle) - Another hotel guest from two episodes in Series 9. A school P.E. teacher who had a crush on Mrs Melly and challenged Mr Wilson to a running race along the sea front, which he lost (thanks to Badger).
All 9 series were produced between 1989 and 1999 and 124 episodes were made.
Series
Series 1
Series 1 featured Bodger and Badger working in Troff's Nosherama, a run-down café. Bodger worked in the kitchens as a chef. Both Bodger and Badger made friends with the waitress, Mavis. Troff's Nosherama was run by Mr Troff who was very arrogant. Troff had no idea of Badger's presence until the last episode in the series.
Series 2 and 3
Series 2 and 3 featured Bodger and Badger working at Letsby Avenue junior school; Simon worked as the caretaker, Badger made friends with the school children and crawled around the air vents. Letsby Avenue's headmistress was the overweight and mean Mrs Trout, there was also the friendly and dim-witted deputy head Miss Moon. In Series 3, Mrs Trout was fired and Miss Moon became the new temporary headmistress until Mrs Bogart (Mrs Trout's sister) took over as headmistress. All of the school children knew about Badger but Mrs Trout, Mrs Bogart and Miss Moon did not.
Series 4
Series 4 featured Bodger and Badger working at Chessington World of Adventures, a real theme park in Surrey. Bodger was the caretaker there, and Badger made friends with a girl called Holly who frequently visited the theme park. Bodger's boss was Mr Beasley, who was mean and obsessed with rules. Beasley kept trying to catch Badger to try to get Bodger chucked out. Series 4's episodes were cut down to 10 minutes, instead of 15 also this the rarest series of all of them and no episodes are available on the internet
Series 5, 6 and 7
Series 5, 6 and 7 featured Bodger and Badger living in a rented bedsit flat. Badger met his friend Mousey in Series 5, a mouse who lived under the floorboards. Badger kept Mousey's presence a secret from Bodger, because Bodger tried to get rid of Mousey in the first episode of Series 5 by setting traps for her. Series 5 mainly featured everyday adventures between Bodger, Badger and Mousey. Series 6 mainly featured the pair having trouble with their new landlady, Mrs Dribelle, and Elton (her sidekick) who did all her dirty work. Mrs Dribelle did not allow her tenants to keep animals in her properties, so Bodger always had to hide Badger whenever she came to the flat. Series 7 featured more everyday adventures, and various different people moved into the flat upstairs including a slimy trickster called Mr Smart and Mrs Dribelle's niece, Vicky. Mrs Dribelle herself lived in the upstairs flat temporarily while her house was renovated. Some of the sound effects used are actually ones heard in the Sonic the Hedgehog games.
Series 8 and 9
Series 8 and 9 featured Bodger and Badger running a B&B in the fictional town of Puddleford. Various guests stayed at the hotel over the course of the two series, and again Bodger kept Badger's presence a secret from all of them. Guests included two Spanish flamenco dancers, Miss Peake (a bad-tempered school teacher), Mr Tucknott (a dim-witted bank manager), the bubbly Mrs Bobbins, Miss Piper (a mad old woman) and Mr Wilson (a pathetic trainee bank manager). In Series 8 the characters of Millie the Milkwoman and China the dog were introduced, who featured in the show until the very end. Millie was friends with Bodger and knew about Badger, as he was friends with her dog, China. Series 8 also featured the return of Mr Smart, as he ran the B&B next door to Bodger's. Smart never seemed to have any guests staying at his hotel and was always trying to steal Bodger's. In Series 9 the character of Mrs Melly was introduced, the bossy tourist information officer who stopped people from having fun on the beach outside her office. She hated Bodger and refused to recommend his B&B to tourists although she was nice to him in the episode "Hundreds And Thousands".
Series runs and scheduling
Series 1 was broadcast on Wednesdays at 4:05pm. Series 2 was also broadcast on Wednesdays at 3:50pm. Series 3 was broadcast on Tuesdays at 3:55pm, moving to 3:50pm midway through the series.
Popularity
In 2000 and 2001 all episodes of Bodger and Badger were repeated on archive children's programming strand CBBC on Choice on the BBC Choice digital TV channel. Additionally, they were broadcast on CBeebies in 2002 but then disappeared from schedules until 2005 when the CBBC channel began a repeat of series 6-9. Since 2008 it has not been shown at all.
Bodger and Badger has enjoyed something of a cult status, particularly among teenagers and young adults who grew up with the programme. It has also found popularity amongst students, tuning into daytime re-runs. As such, it has led to a popular tour of UK universities; 'Mashed Potato Theme Nights' have been seen at Hull, Aston, Warwick, Bath and Buckinghamshire New and will be also seen soon at Aberystwyth. A DVD, 'Bodger and Badger: Live', was released on 6 November 2006.
Bodger and Badger have also since appeared in other venues, most notably in the kids' field at Glastonbury Festival, where a routine aimed primarily at children is also cleverly seeded with knowing in-jokes about the festival and the people attending it.
Cast
Andy Cunningham - Simon Bodger / Badger (Series 1-9)
Roger Walker - Mr Hector Troff (Series 1)
Joanne Campbell - Mavis (Series 1 and 2)
Peter Leabourne - Baddie (Series 1)
Stephen Lewis - Marcel the Chef (Series 1)
Maggie Henderson - Health Inspector (Series 1)
Robin Sneller - Rodney (Series 1)
Jim Bywater - Shorty (Series 1)
Lila Kaye - Mrs Daphne Trout (Series 2 & 3)
Selina Cadell - Miss Geraldine Moon (Series 2 & 3)
Andrew Fraser - Brains (Series 2)
Neil Kattenhorn - Danny (Series 2)
Nicholas Parsons - Mayor (Series 2)
Shaun Prendergast - Mr Crusher (Series 2)
Andre Vincent - Sidney Fudgepocket (Series 2)
Rudolph Walker - Mr Valentino (Series 3)
Victoria Avery - Vicky (Series 3)
Rocky Samari - Rocky (Series 3)
Richenda Carey - Mrs Prunella Bogart (Series 3)
Jon Glover - Mr Lionel Beasley (Series 4)
Sophie Worthers - Holly (Series 4)
Jane Bassett - Mousey (Series 5-9) / Millie (Series 8 & 9) / Countess of Skegness (Series 6) / Cat Burglar (Series 7) / Daphne (Series 7) / Various Roles
Richard Braine - Raymond (Series 5)
Ashley Artus - Burglar 1 (Series 5)
Penelope Nice - Burglar 2 (Series 5)
Carol MacReady - Mrs Cecilia Dribelle (Series 6 & 7)
Joe Cushley - Elton (Series 6)
Mike Harvey - Wrestler (Series 7)
Wayne Jackman - Radio presenter (voice) (Series 7)
Duncan Galloway - Policeman (Series 7)
Ricky Diamond - Alec Smart (Series 7 & 8)
Sally Ann Marsh - Vicky (Series 7)
Valerie Minifie - Miss Prunella Peake (Series 8)
Jo Warne - Mrs Bobbins (Series 8)
Bill Thomas - Mr Tucknott (Series 8) / Mr. Roberts (Series 2) / Bearded workman (Series 5)
Carole Boyd - Mrs Sharona Melly (Series 9)
Hilda Braid - Miss Piper (Series 9)
Matthew Woolcott - Mr Malcolm Wilson (Series 9)
Alan Towner - Lord Mayor (Series 9)
Roger Liddle - Mr Bill Gripper (Series 9)
The theme tune was sung by Tim Whalley, Simon Cross-Fancy and two other children.
Crew
Andy Cunningham - Creator / Writer of most of the episodes.
Wayne Jackman - Other Writer
Jane Bassett - Other Writer of most of the episodes.
