Bungle (Rainbow)

Bungle is a character in the highly successful British children's television series "Rainbow". He is a large brown furry bear and is played by various actors. An urban legend holds that one actor (presumably Stanley Bates) playing the role of Bungle was fired after swearing at a child who had deliberately stood on his foot during a live show, although long-time Rainbow contributor Malcolm Lord revealed that Bates chose to stand down before the live shows began in order to concentrate upon scriptwriting, giving Lord the opportunity to portray Bungle himself [ [http://www.btinternet.com/~acbarrett/malc.htm Malcolm Lord ] ] . The character of Bungle is inquisitive but also clumsy, each show typically represents Bungle involved in a comic dispute with the other puppet characters, Zippy and George, with Geoffrey Hayes mediating. Bungle also appeared in an episode of series 2 of "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps" when Jonny hired him and a bouncy castle with his scratch card winnings.

Road Rage

In 2001 Stanley Bates, one of the actors who played Bungle, caused controversy due to an alleged road rage incident. [ [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20010313/ai_n14366132 Spare a thought for the needy and inadequate | Independent, The (London) | Find Articles at BNET.com ] ] [ [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20010310/ai_n14377649 TV's Bungle in road-rage incident | Independent, The (London) | Find Articles at BNET.com ] ]

His original look

Originally, Bungle's face stuck out more, and his belly was white in comparison to his brown fur. He also looked more like a bear, but starting with the second season the crew made him look more cartoony because some of the younger viewers were frightened of his realistic appearance. They made his fur became more orange, and his head was enlarged with his face squashed in.

Actors who portrayed Bungle

*John Leeson
*Stanley Bates
*Malcolm Lord
*Paul Cullinan

References