Phil Fletcher (puppeteer)
Phil Fletcher is a five time BAFTA Award nominated[1] British puppeteer and puppet maker. He is best known for performing the CBBC puppet presenter Hacker T. Dog. He has puppeteered him since 2009, when Hacker first began presenting. Before then he was operated by Andy Heath. Before Hacker appeared on CBBC, Fletcher made puppets for CBBC presentations and shows, including Ed and Oucho's Excellent Inventions and Transmission Impossible with Ed and Oucho. Hacker the Dog, Dodge, Dunceton the Brain and Oucho the Cactus are all puppets designed and built by Neil Sterenberg. Fletcher has performed Hacker in multiple CBBC shows and events. He stars in two CBBC shows; Hacker Time (since 2011) and Scoop (since 2009), while also making guest appearances on many others including; Blue Peter, TMi and The Dog Ate my Homework. Fletcher has also performed as Hacker regularly for television coverage of The Championships, Wimbledon. Originally from Wigan, Fletcher is also the founder of comedy puppet show company, The Gluvets (where he is assisted by fellow puppeteer Carl Chadd). Phil's puppet shows tour around the UK at many parties and festivals.[2] He once performed a Gluvets tribute to Jim Henson, featuring Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. The rights of the characters had been taken up by Disney, who threatened to sue them if they didn’t cut out Miss Piggy and Kermit[3] After two shows in Irvine and Stirling. Disney lawyers discovered that they asked the estate of Jim Henson, the late Muppet creator, last September for permission but were told the rights had been sold to Disney and were misled. The case was closed but Fletcher still cut out Kermit and Miss Piggy, he said “'It's just a frog and a pig but we can't afford to take on Disney.”
Selected television credits
- CBBC presentation (2009–present)
- Transmission Impossible with Ed and Oucho (2009)
- Ed and Oucho's Excellent Inventions (2009-2010)
- Scoop (2009-2011)
- The Championships, Wimbledon (2009-2014)
- Hacker Time (2011-2015)
- All Over the Place (2015-2016)
- The Dog Ate My Homework (2015)
- Blue Peter (2015)
References
- ↑ Nominations Announced: British Academy Children’s Awards 22 October 2013 Retrieved 2016-04-09
- ↑ Report on the 2009 Covent Garden May Fayre by Geoff Felix Retrieved 2016-04-09
- ↑ Disney kill a tribute to Kermit - Free Online Library. Retrieved 2016-04-09
External links
- Official Website
- Phil Fletcher at the Internet Movie Database
- Hacker T. Dog at the Internet Movie Database