Characters

Jamie

This lucky lad with a laughably awful hairdo happens to be the owner of a fabulous magic torch, which opens the portal into Cuckoo Land every night. Friendly and polite to everyone he meets (no matter how odd they are), Jamie uses his torch to offer solutions to any problem – although it causes its fair share of them too.

Wordsworth

"Always there to lend a paw - or hand" is what the theme song says and indeed, Wordsworth is never short of a useful suggestion or a witty comment (delivered in his characteristic West Country accent). He generally tends to be more cynical about the goings-on in Cuckoo Land than his young master, regularly accusing its inhabitants of being "bloomin' cuckoo!".

Mr Boo

Cuckoo Land's foremost, and probably only, resident inventor. Mr Boo can often be found flying in the Sub-Machine, a weird flying-saucer type thing, or zooming around on his rollerskates counting things. Well, someone's got to do it, I suppose.

Ebullient "Bully" Bundy

Ah, that's more like it. A huge, purple, thespian rabbit, with the biggest feet ever, and huge spats to match. Can, and frequently does, disappear into his striped top hat, ready to pop out and quote Shakespeare at unwitting bystanders. Marvellous.

Officer Gotcha

Cuckoo Land's one-man police force. Always appears speeding over the horizon, with his siren blaring. Eats his truncheons. It was commonly believed by myself and my fellow infants that he had a wheel instead of feet, but recent viewings have revealed that he is, in fact, riding a unicycle. Silly us!

Nutmeg

A ragdoll who can produce things from her magic pocket. That's all I can recall about Nutmeg. Oh, and she was voiced by a genuine woman, which was pretty unusual for a Cosgrove Hall cartoon of that era.

Strumpers Plunkett

Owner of the famous trombonium. A weird-looking orange gonk-type thing, who can play tunes on his trumpet-like nose. All other things he can do with his trumpet-like nose are between him and the Broadcasting Standards Commission.

Wellibob

Large and baffling Scottish cat, who does everything backwards, e.g. he says goodbye when he greets you. Source of many priceless quotes from the show, such as "He refused to offer Jamie and Wordsworth tea and crumpets, which they enjoyed very much ".

Jo-Jo Help

A not-very handy handyman, who pops up out of the ground whenever anyone says the word "help". Trouble is, he's never free to do the job; but he might be able to help you a week on Thursday. Kind of an anti-Bob the Builder in that respect.

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