This ITV children’s sitcom featured all the usually unseen bugs living in a scummy house and, later, a restaurant called ‘Bug Bites’ – think Fawlty Towers with puppets.
The show began its life on breakfast television – in this case, GMTV (Good Morning Television) – and moved from ITV to Channel 4 between 1996 and 2004 during its 78-episode run.
The head of the family was the pompous, moustachioed, and arrogant Grub Bug, who was very much a Basil Fawlty type.
Plug Bug lived in the sink and was very protective of what gunk got put down it, and his best friend Doodle Bug was the artistic one, always making things out of junk.
Mystic Mug Bug was loosely modelled on celebrity fortune teller “Mystic Meg”. Increasingly eccentric as the series progressed, she often teetered uncertainly on the edge of sanity.
Grunge and Slopp were a pair of green, hairy hippies who cracked jokes and sang songs. Buggins was an irritatingly enthusiastic and jolly orange worm-like creature.
Gorgon and Zola were a husband-and-wife team of fuzzy worms. Aggressive to all and sundry, they were also resident jokesters and background dancers for most of the songs.
Regular features included ‘Raid the Fridge’ – Grub Bug’s disgusting cookery section, and ‘In the Bin’ – Doodle Bug’s arts and crafts how-to section, where he created something from discarded materials in the trash.
The main puppeteer, Francis Wright, co-wrote the episodes with director Peter Eyre.
Puppeteers and voices
Francis Wright
Rebecca Nagan
Alison McGowan
Sarah Wright
Joe Greco
Richard Coombs
Jeremy Stockwell
John Tobias
The show began its life on breakfast television – in this case, GMTV (Good Morning Television) – and moved from ITV to Channel 4 between 1996 and 2004 during its 78-episode run.
The main puppeteer, Francis Wright, co-wrote the episodes with director Peter Eyre.
