Gordon the Gopher
Encyclopedia
Gordon the Gopher, also known as Gordon T. Gopher, an English
puppet
gopher
who first appeared on Children's BBC (CBBC)
between 1985 and 1987, presenting television shows
with Phillip Schofield
on the interstitial
or in-vision continuity programme The Broom Cupboard. His main puppeteer
was Paul Smith, who would later go on to a career as a BBC
executive
.
(fictitious)
life. In an interview on Channel 4
's Zippy and George
's Puppet Legends (2005), he revealed that Gordon is now an alcoholic
. In an interview with Heat
magazine (27 May – 2 June 2006 issue), Schofield revealed that Gordon had died in a ramraiding accident. This claim, however, was belied by Gordon's later television appearances.
On 9 June 2008, Schofield commented on his television show This Morning
that Gordon was back in rehab
.
In 1987, Gordon and Schofield, with Sarah Greene
, went on to present the Saturday morning show Going Live!
On one occasion, Gordon was famously attacked by a puppy that had been brought on to the show. In 1988, Gordon and Schofield were replaced on The Broom Cupboard by Edd the Duck
and Andy Crane
.
In 1989, Gordon had a series named after himself which was shown on CBBC, appearing with his friend and colleague Phillip Schofield.
In 1990, he appeared on a children's programme called Scrooge – A Christmas Sarah.
appearance, Schofield made an attempt to place Gordon in Room 101 (i.e., consign him to the past), but in an audience vote Gordon was spared.
On 26 February 2006, Gordon briefly appeared at the end of Channel 4
's The 100 Greatest Funny Moments.
In December 2006, he returned to the screen in the Going Live! segment of the BBC special It Started With... Swap Shop.
Gordon also made a brief appearance with Schofield during a 1980s
-themed edition of Dancing on Ice
in February 2009.
Gordon appeared on This Morning on 13 September 2010 to celebrate Phillip Schofield's 25th anniversary of first presenting CBBC
. Schofield said "I miss him".
TV executive Paul Smith who also operated Gordon for the whole run of Going Live!.
, who made and decorated the jacket himself. Ant had befriended Gordon while being interviewed on Going Live! in February 1990 to promote his new single, and described Gordon as "one of the most interesting people" he'd met.
Gordon was parodied by comedian Brian Conley
as "Larry the Loafer," puppet sidekick of sarcastic children's TV presenter Nick Frisbee. The skit is one of Conley's most widely remembered, along with its catchphrase "It's a puppet!"
In 2006, Gordon was mentioned on Little Britain Abroad in the first Lou and Andy
sketch. Lou tells Andy that he's planning to take Andy to Disney World
. When Lou asks Andy who he's looking forward to meeting, Andy replies "Gordon the Gopher."
at Southampton University Medical School has had Gordon as its unofficial mascot since 1996.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
gopher
Pocket gopher
The pocket gophers are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. These are the "true" gophers, though several ground squirrels of the family Sciuridae are often called gophers as well...
who first appeared on Children's BBC (CBBC)
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
between 1985 and 1987, presenting television shows
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
with Phillip Schofield
Phillip Schofield
Phillip Bryan Schofield is an English broadcaster and television personality best known for presenting shows such as This Morning, Dancing on Ice, and various game shows including The Cube.-Early life and career:...
on the interstitial
Interstitial program
In television programming, an interstitial program refers to a short program which is often shown between movies or other events, e.g. a cast interview after movies on premium channels...
or in-vision continuity programme The Broom Cupboard. His main puppeteer
Puppeteer
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, such as a puppet, in real time to create the illusion of life. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by his or...
was Paul Smith, who would later go on to a career as a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
executive
Senior management
Senior management, executive management, or management team is generally a team of individuals at the highest level of organizational management who have the day-to-day responsibilities of managing a company or corporation, they hold specific executive powers conferred onto them with and by...
.
Personal
In the early 2000s, Schofield stated in interviews that since his television work of the 1980s/1990s, Gordon has had a tragicTragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
(fictitious)
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
life. In an interview on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's Zippy and George
George (Rainbow)
George is an effeminate anthropomorphic pink hippo and a character of the popular children's television programme Rainbow in the 1980s, voiced by Roy Skelton and operated by Malcolm Lord, Tony Holtham and later Craig Crane....
's Puppet Legends (2005), he revealed that Gordon is now an alcoholic
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. In an interview with Heat
Heat (magazine)
Heat is a British entertainment magazine published by German company Bauer Media Group. it is one of the biggest selling magazines in the UK, with a regular circulation over half a million. Its mix of celebrity news, gossip and fashion is primarily aimed at women, although not as directly as in...
magazine (27 May – 2 June 2006 issue), Schofield revealed that Gordon had died in a ramraiding accident. This claim, however, was belied by Gordon's later television appearances.
On 9 June 2008, Schofield commented on his television show This Morning
This Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
that Gordon was back in rehab
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
.
Early work
Gordon's first appearances were on CBBC between 1985 and 1987, presenting television shows with Phillip Schofield on the interstitial programme The Broom Cupboard.In 1987, Gordon and Schofield, with Sarah Greene
Sarah Greene
Sarah Greene is a British television personality well known for presenting live TV: long-running series e.g. Blue Peter, from 19 May 1980 until 27 June 1983, Saturday Superstore, Going Live for 10 years and big event/awards shows.- Early life and career :Greene was born in London, England, the...
, went on to present the Saturday morning show Going Live!
Going Live!
Going Live! was a Saturday morning magazine show, broadcast on BBC1 between 1987 and 1993. It was presented by Phillip Schofield and Sarah Greene.Other presenters included Trevor and Simon, Peter Simon, Emma Forbes, and puppet Gordon the Gopher....
On one occasion, Gordon was famously attacked by a puppy that had been brought on to the show. In 1988, Gordon and Schofield were replaced on The Broom Cupboard by Edd the Duck
Edd the Duck
Edd the Duck is a popular puppet mallard. He has green hair and appeared on the CBBC interstitial or in-vision continuity programme alongside presenters Andy Crane and Andi Peters...
and Andy Crane
Andy Crane
Howard Andrew 'Andy' Crane is an English television and radio presenter, best known for presenting Children's BBC , amongst many others.-Career:...
.
In 1989, Gordon had a series named after himself which was shown on CBBC, appearing with his friend and colleague Phillip Schofield.
In 1990, he appeared on a children's programme called Scrooge – A Christmas Sarah.
Later work
During his 2005 Room 101Room 101 (TV series)
Room 101 is a BBC comedy television series based on the radio series of the same name, in which celebrities were invited to discuss their pet hates and persuade the host to consign them to a fate worse than death in Room 101, named after the torture room in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which is...
appearance, Schofield made an attempt to place Gordon in Room 101 (i.e., consign him to the past), but in an audience vote Gordon was spared.
On 26 February 2006, Gordon briefly appeared at the end of Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's The 100 Greatest Funny Moments.
In December 2006, he returned to the screen in the Going Live! segment of the BBC special It Started With... Swap Shop.
Gordon also made a brief appearance with Schofield during a 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
-themed edition of Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...
in February 2009.
Gordon appeared on This Morning on 13 September 2010 to celebrate Phillip Schofield's 25th anniversary of first presenting CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
. Schofield said "I miss him".
Puppeteers
Gordon was operated by several people in The Broom Cupboard, but the person who did it longest was BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV executive Paul Smith who also operated Gordon for the whole run of Going Live!.
Influence
Gordon's famous leather jacket was a gift from Adam AntAdam Ant
Adam Ant is an English musician who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1980 and 1983, including three No.1s...
, who made and decorated the jacket himself. Ant had befriended Gordon while being interviewed on Going Live! in February 1990 to promote his new single, and described Gordon as "one of the most interesting people" he'd met.
Gordon was parodied by comedian Brian Conley
Brian Conley
Brian Conley is an English comedian, television presenter, singer and actor. At the peak of his television career, he was the highest-paid male television personality in the UK. Outside of television, he is best known for his frequent portrayals of Buttons in pantomime versions of...
as "Larry the Loafer," puppet sidekick of sarcastic children's TV presenter Nick Frisbee. The skit is one of Conley's most widely remembered, along with its catchphrase "It's a puppet!"
In 2006, Gordon was mentioned on Little Britain Abroad in the first Lou and Andy
Lou and Andy
Lou Todd and Andy Pipkin are fictional characters from the cult BBC TV and radio show Little Britain, played by David Walliams and Matt Lucas respectively. Andy's catchphrases include, "Yeah I know", "Want that one" and " Don't like it", while Lou's catchphrase is "What a kerfuffle!"Lou is kind,...
sketch. Lou tells Andy that he's planning to take Andy to Disney World
Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...
. When Lou asks Andy who he's looking forward to meeting, Andy replies "Gordon the Gopher."
Honors and Awards
The mixed hockey team for the medical schoolSouthampton Medical School
University of Southampton School of Medicine is a medical school in England. It is part of the University of Southampton and it offers three different undergraduate medical programmes, all leading to the award of a medical degree, styled B.M....
at Southampton University Medical School has had Gordon as its unofficial mascot since 1996.