Emu (puppet)

Emu is a puppet emu given to the late Rod Hull in the 1960s while Hull was presenting a children's breakfast television programme in Australia. Hull adopted the mute puppet for his cabaret act, and took it with him to the United Kingdom when he returned in 1970.cite news | date=2006-06-08 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5059196.stm | title=Emu set for television comeback | publisher=BBC News | accessdate=2006-06-08] Emu was known for misbehaving and attacking other celebrities. In a particularly notorious incident it attacked Michael Parkinson during a TV interview. He has since referred to Emu as "That bloody bird!".

Rod and Emu appeared on several episodes of The Hudson Brothers' comedy show in the United States.

Hull's son Toby Hull returned "Emu" to television on CITV in October 2007. Unlike before, Emu now makes noises so viewers can get a good idea of what he is thinking, and whenever Toby needs to move around, an unseen puppeteer controls Emu.

Emu's new series

The first episode of Emu's new series, simply called "Emu", was broadcast on October 8, 2007. The plot centres around Emu and his owner, Toby (Toby Hull), a computer games designer as the pair move into a flat. However, there is a problem: Toby has to keep Emu a secret because of Ken Cole, a grumpy security guard with a severe disliking for animals (especially birds) who is always on the prowl. Toby's neighbours, two kids Charlie and Dani, help him keep Emu a secret. Cole (referred to by Charlie and Dani as "Coley") always carries a little black book with him, and will put you in the book for even the slightest "offence" (such as skipping in the foyer).

Toby's other neighbour, Sophie, is the sole villainess of the show. She is an air hostess who becomes obsessed with making money off of Emu, but her plans always backfire on her. While Toby is oblivious to her evil ways, Charlie, Dani, and Emu know what she is really like. It seems Sophie's one great weakness is her hair as she can't bear to get it messed up - one line she constantly uses is "Not the hair! Not the hair!". She once tried to film Emu making a fool of himself so she could send the tape in to "Animals Do the Stupidest Things" to earn some easy money, but Emu turned the tables on her, stole the tape, and sent it to "People Do The Stupidest Things". Sophie later received a written complaint from her employer about her telling a passenger who was scared of flying to "get out and walk", and was given twenty-four hours to turn over a new leaf. Emu learned of this, and after causing Sophie to lose her temper by pouring a glass of fruit juice over her head, quickly called her employer as Sophie broke into a rant, and by the time she realized her boss was on the other end of the phone, it was too late. As a punishment, Sophie was forced to clean the airport toilets.

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