SPOILER Puppeteer Special: Nigel Plaskitt (Pipkins, Spitting Image, Little Shop of Horrors)

In the run up to our series 7 première episode on Jim Henson’s ‘Labyrinth’, the Spoiler team are proud to present a very special episode on the art of puppetry in which Andy talks to British puppeteer, actor, producer and director Nigel Plaskitt about his long and varied career. Nigel discusses his work on the sophisticated pre-school series ‘Pipkins’ in which he played the iconic character Hartley Hare, including the pioneering approach the series took to the death of its presenter and the reason for Hartley’s distinctive, “manky” appearance. Nigel also reminisces about the excitement of being involved with the savagely satirical British comedy series ‘Spitting Image’, the experience of working on Hollywood classics ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ and ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ and the behind-the-scenes work that goes into setting up international versions of ‘Sesame Street’ and training new puppeteers for the stage musical ‘Avenue Q’. Other subjects include how Nigel upset Billy Ocean by pipping him to the number one spot, whether empathising too much with your puppets is a doorway to madness, and why the classic children’s series ‘Round the Bend’ still hasn’t been released on DVD. Nigel also talks for the first time about his new pre-school series ‘Monty and Co.’ and what it is like to work with a lawyer who has also written episodes of ‘Chucklevision’.

You can find out more about Nigel and his work at his website www.nigelplaskitt.com and about this new children’s series ‘Monty and Co.’ at www.montyandco.co.uk.