Orville's Bum

Welcome to ORVILLE'S BUM, where we do away with the magical fantasy of the animated cartoon and reveal the horrible truth behind the facade. Why the odd name? Well, ask yourself this: have you ever seen Orville's bum? Of course not, because if you did, you would clearly see that it contained KEITH HARRIS'S ARM. This appalling sight would shatter the illusion of life Mr Harris works so hard to breathe into his little fuzzy companion, and possibly scar your psyche for many years. Coincidentally, this is exactly what happens when you see a cartoon character's voice coming out of a real person's face. Still with me? Good.

(Listed below are the ladies and gents who are either regular Cosgrove Hall voice artists, or have voiced major Cosgrove Hall characters. There are many, many people who have done voice work for CH, so I had to be ruthlessly selective about who was put in the main bit. If you want to know who voiced a specific character in any show, e-mail me. I can't guarantee I'll know, but I'll have a go at finding out.)

The main players | PAGE 2

The main players

Richard Briers

Lovable monkey Briers is quite possibly the least offensive person on the whole of British TV ever. I can't even picture him saying dirty words, can you? Ahem, anyway. He played Alias in Alias the Jester, which is partly why he gets his own main entry, but mostly because I found this fantastic picture of him looking totally wasted. Please enjoy.

Major voices

Alias, Alias the Jester.

Kate Harbour

I have to cheat again and confess that this info came from another Web site. But don't hold it against me, OK?
"Kate Harbour has had huge success in early 2001 with the chart topping single Bob The Builder in which she performs Wendy, and numerous other characters... Be it animal, vegetable or mineral, Kate's voice has been used from playing industrial machinery, amongst other characters, in the hit series Bob The Builder, to mice, rabbits and all things nice in Brambly Hedge, Percy The Park Keeper and Oakie Doke. Kate has recently been shot into space voicing many of the characters in Gerry Anderson's Lavender Castle and the new series Alien Dogs."

Major voices

Lavender Castle, Oakie Doke, Brambly Hedge (don't know the characters, sorry).

Jimmy Hibbert

Former bassist with an underrated 70s parody rock band; currently a flowerpot man. Jimmy H has now effectively filled Brian Trueman's shoes, combining voice acting with scriptwriting and even script editing – for all I know, he bakes great pies too. Superbly versatile voice actor, can make his voice go higher than any normal man should be able to (without the aid of genital trauma), and so often plays female extras. Can also be heard in several adverts and non-CH cartoons. Wrote many excellent episodes of Count Duckula, and many not-so-good episodes of Victor & Hugo, but hey, no-one's perfect.

Major voices

Pyotr, The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship; Victor, Victor & Hugo; Queen Edith, Alias the Jester; Bluey, Avenger Penguins; Lindburgh, Fantomcat; Dr Von Goosewing, Count Duckula; Ben, Bill & Ben.

David Jason

If you don't know who David Jason is, you're either a) living on the Moon, b) dead, c) American or d) any combination of the above. One of Britain's most famous and beloved character actors, Mr J is best known as Del boy in the interminable Only Fools and Horses, although he has many shows and awards under his belt. Despite his high TV profile, relatively few people know he has a longstanding association with Cosgrove Hall, voicing nearly all of their most well-known characters. Also, he recently became a dad for the first time at the age of 61. Hats off to you, David.

Major voices

Dangermouse, Dangermouse; Count Duckula, Count Duckula; The BFG, The BFG; Hugo, Victor & Hugo; Toad, The Wind in the Willows.

Edward Kelsey

Amazing what you find out when you're researching a Web site. Apart from voicing Greenback and Colonel K in Dangermouse, I hadn't a clue what else Edward Kelsey had done, but it seems that he, like Jack May, was in The Archers. He played (or plays?) Joe Grundy. Anyone know of other Cosgrove Hall people in The Archers? Oh yes, he was in top 80s BBC Sci-Fi scarefest The Tripods too.

Major voices

Greenback, Colonel K, Dangermouse.

Lorelei King

One of the very few regular female actors at Cosgrove Hall, Ms King has periodically done voices for the studio since the early nineties. She's also provided voice-overs for non-CH stuff, and has narrated an enormous number of bestselling books on tape. Apparently she was also in Notting Hill. Well I never!

Major voices

Er, not sure. Just "various", I think.

Jack May

Like Terry Scott, something of a one-trick pony in the cartoon voice acting stakes, but provider of a key voice nontheless. Jack May played Igor in Count Duckula, and a more deliciously sinister performance you couldn't wish to hear. Outside of cartoons, he was well-known on stage (particularly in Shakespeare), and on the radio as Nelson Gabriel in The Archers. He died in 1997.

Major voices

Igor, Count Duckula.

Robert Rackstraw

In the words of the man himself: "Rob Rackstraw is 36. He was born on Hallowe'en 1965 in Sunderland and as a consequence has heard a lot of jokes about masks and bats. He is not from Liverpool. He has worked on numerous Cosgrove Hall projects (see below).

He is currently best known for the voice of Spud and numerous others in Bob the Builder and is the voice of Wilkinson Sword razors and other sharp objects. His commercial credits are too numerous and embarrassing to list.

He currently lives inside a hollowed out Manatee in Ealing, West London. He drinks Guinness and practises Wing Chun, though seldom at the same time as this is a good way to waste a fine pint."

Major voices

Rocky, Avenger Penguins; MacDuff, Fantomcat. Also stuff in Sooty's Amazing Adventures, Lavender Castle, Soul Music and The Foxbusters.

Terry Scott

Although Terry Scott only did one voice at Cosgrove Hall, it's an important one. He was none other than Penfold, world's lamest yet cuddliest sidekick – and let's face it, no-one else could have done it with quite such style. In real life, Terry was best known as the star of Terry and June and several Carry On Films. Dangermouse was his only cartoon voice job, as far as I know. He died in 1994.

Major voices

Penfold, Dangermouse.

Brian Trueman

Ex Screen Test presenter and keystone Cosgrove Hall employee of the 70s and 80s. Although only anal-retentive people like me who religiously read the credits of cartoons will instantly recognise his name, Brian Trueman's contribution to CH cartoons can't be overstated. Not only has he narrated and voiced countless shows since the studio's inception, he wrote many of them too. In fact, most of Chorlton and the Wheelies and the truly classic episodes of Dangermouse can be attributed to Brian, and for this the world owes him a debt of gratitude. Current activities unknown, more's the pity.

Major voices

Stiletto, Dangermouse; Nanny, Count Duckula; Narrator (and nearly all the other characters), Jamie and the Magic Torch; King Arthur, Alias the Jester; Narrator, Cockleshell Bay.

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