Emu's TV programmes facts for kids

Emu is a famous British television puppet. He looks like an Australian emu bird and was brought to life by a performer named Rod Hull. Emu first appeared on many different TV shows. Later, he got his very own TV series on the BBC, and then on ITV.

Who Was in the Shows?

Many talented people helped bring Emu's world to life!

• Rod Hull: He played himself, Emu, and King Boggle.
• Carol Lee Scott: She played the green witch, Grotbags.
• Freddy Stevens: He played characters like Croc, Robot Redford, and Grovel.
• David Tate: Another actor who played Croc.
• Glenn Munroe: He performed inside the Croc suit.
• Susan Maughan: She played Princess Hortensia.
• Carl Wayne: He played Odd Job John.
• Murray Langston: He played Murray in later shows.

The Pink Windmill Kids

The Pink Windmill Kids were a group of young performers from the Corona Stage School. They sang and danced in many of Emu's shows. Abbie Shilling and Kelly Rossiter were two of the kids who appeared for the longest time. These kids were a big part of the fun and energy in the Pink Windmill Show!

Emu's BBC Shows

Emu had several popular shows on the BBC!

Emu's Broadcasting Company

Emu's Broadcasting Company was a children's TV series that ran from 1975 to 1980. In this show, Rod Hull and Emu ran their very own TV station! It made fun of many popular BBC shows at the time. Billy Dainty played Captain Perceval, a character like James Bond. Barbara New played the tea lady.

When Did Emu's Broadcasting Company Air?

• Series 1: 6 episodes from November 18, 1975, to December 23, 1975.
• Series 2: 6 episodes from November 12, 1976, to December 17, 1976.
• Series 3: 6 episodes from October 10, 1977, to November 14, 1977.
• Series 4: 8 episodes from October 26, 1978, to December 14, 1978.
• Series 5: 8 episodes from December 2, 1979, to January 27, 1980.
• Christmas Special: December 24, 1977.

BBC Holiday Specials

Rod and Emu often had special shows around holidays. These were one-off specials made for the BBC:

• Emu's Blackpool Walkabout: August 29, 1977 (30 minutes).
• Emu's Cornish Walkabout: August 28, 1978 (30 minutes).
• Emu's Scottish Walkabout: August 27, 1979 (35 minutes).
• Emu's Magical Music Show: December 27, 1980 (35 minutes).
• Emu's Magical Christmas Show: December 27, 1981 (35 minutes).
• Emu's Magical Easter Show: April 12, 1982 (35 minutes).

Rod and Emu's Saturday Specials (BBC)

• Series 1: 6 episodes from January 1, 1983, to February 5, 1983.

The Rod & Emu Show (BBC)

• Series 1: 6 episodes from January 28, 1984, to March 10, 1984.

Emu's ITV Adventures

Emu also had many exciting shows on ITV!

Emu's World

In 1981, Rod Hull got a chance to make a show for younger children on ITV. This led to the creation of the Pink Windmill, where Rod and Emu lived. The show also featured a green witch named Grotbags, played by Carol Lee Scott, and her clumsy helper, Croc.

The main idea of the show was simple: every week, Grotbags tried to steal Emu. She believed Emu had "special powers" that would let her control all the "brats" (children) in the world. Children from the Corona Theatre School, known as the Pink Windmill Kids, were there to help protect Emu and perform fun song and dance routines.

Rod Hull had a famous catchphrase in the show: "There's somebody at the door, oh, there's somebody at the door!" He would say this every time someone rang the doorbell of the Pink Windmill, which would make a loud "sneeze" sound when pressed.

When Did Emu's World Air?

• Series 1: 6 episodes from January 5, 1982, to February 9, 1982.
• Series 2: 6 episodes from October 27, 1982, to December 1, 1982.
• Series 3: 6 episodes from March 2, 1983, to April 6, 1983.
• Series 4: 6 episodes from September 7, 1983, to October 12, 1983.
• Special: Emu's World at Christmas – December 21, 1983.
• Series 5: 6 episodes from March 9, 1984, to April 13, 1984.
• Special: Emu at Easter: April 20, 1984.

Emu's All Live Pink Windmill Show

Emu's World was so popular that in mid-1984, the show became longer, going from 20 minutes to 42 minutes. It was renamed the Pink Windmill Show. The show aimed for a wider age group and added new features. These included phone calls from viewers, a live studio audience, and games. One game in Grotbags's grotto was like the "take the money or open the box" part of Take Your Pick!. There was also a Post Office for viewers to send letters and pictures.

A mini-series called Boggle's Kingdom was added, featuring Rod's ancestor stuck in Tudor times. Later, the Twin Schools section was introduced, connecting British schools with similar ones in Australia, Canada, or the US.

The Pink Windmill Kids continued their singing and dancing. A new character, Robot Redford, was also introduced. This new format of the show became very popular. It was even shown in a prime spot on Children's ITV on Friday afternoons. Three series were broadcast live from 1984 to 1986.

In 1987, two series of Emu's Wide World were made. These were similar to the Pink Windmill Shows but were pre-recorded. Instead of the phone-based Spin Quiz, they had Emu's Bargain Basement, which was an obstacle course in a supermarket. A final series of Emu's World aired in 1988. It kept Boggle's Kingdom and added an outdoor obstacle course, even though it was cut back to 20 minutes. All these shows were made by Colin Clews for Central Independent Television in Nottingham.

A short video from the very first live episode (July 13, 1984) became popular online in 2016. It showed the Pink Windmill Kids excitedly introducing themselves and singing the Village People song "Can't Stop the Music". Not long after, most of the original kids reunited to remake this part for Comic Relief in 2017.

When Did These Shows Air?

Emu's All Live Pink Windmill Show

• Series 1: 7 episodes from July 13, 1984, to August 24, 1984.
• Emu at Christmas – December 25, 1984.
• Series 2: 13 episodes from April 12, 1985, to July 5, 1985.

Emu's Pink Windmill Show

• Series 1: 10 episodes from February 14, 1986, to April 25, 1986.
• Emu at Easter – March 29, 1986 (a repeat of the 1984 special).
• Emu at Christmas – December 26, 1986 (a repeat of the 1984 special).

Emu's Wide World

• Series 1: 9 episodes from April 3, 1987, to June 5, 1987.
• Series 2: 8 episodes from November 3, 1987, to January 5, 1988.

Emu's World

• Series 6: 13 episodes from May 12, 1988, to August 4, 1988.

EMU-TV

After Emu's World ended, Rod Hull went to Canada to film a series called EMU-TV. This show was very similar to his earlier Emu's Broadcasting Company. His co-stars were Murray Langston and Carolyn Scott. These episodes were brought back to the UK and edited for a British audience by Central Independent Television. Some extra parts were filmed with Grotbags and the Pink Windmill Kids.

In one episode (Episode 5), a future England football player, Emile Heskey, ran an obstacle course. He was accidentally called "Emily" in the show!

When Did EMU-TV Air?

• Series 1: 22 episodes from March 15, 1989, to September 20, 1989.

Emu (2007 Series)

A new series simply called Emu began on October 8, 2007. The first series was filmed in Belfast. The story was about Emu and his owner, Toby (played by Toby Hull), who designed computer games. Toby had to keep Emu a secret from Ken Cole, a grumpy security guard. Toby's neighbors, children Charlie and Dani, helped him hide Emu. Toby's other neighbor, Sophie, was the show's villain. She was an air hostess who wanted to make money from Emu, but her plans always failed. At the end of the first series, Emu and Toby moved back to Australia.

In June 2009, it was announced that a second series with 26 episodes was made by the Gibson Group, a New Zealand film company. Most of the actors in this series were from New Zealand. In the second series, Toby worked at a kids' cafe. He met Kelly (Bryony Skillington), the cafe manager, who was allergic to birds, especially Emu, even though she still liked him. Cafe kids Sam and Georgia lived above the cafe and were good friends with Emu. They all had to watch out for Leo Leach (Toby Leach), the town inspector. He was very strict about pest control and would close the cafe if an animal was found.

The first episode of the second series aired on September 13, 2009, on ITV1. The puppeteer for the second series was Nick Blake, and the director was Danny Mulheron. The show was repeated on CITV until April 2014.