Gopher 'back from rehab' in new BBC comedy pilot

Gordon the Gopher is making his BBC comeback – as a boozy, washed-up ex-celebrity.

Phillip Schofield’s former puppet sidekick is to star in a comedy pilot on the BBC’s website.

And instead of his familiar squeak, he will be given a voice for the first time,courtesy of Warwick Davis.

The pilot was devised by Ryan McDermott, who previously created the online school-based sitcom Staff Room, and will be hosted on the BBC Taster website where executives seek feedback on 'new and innovative ideas'.

McDermott said he got the inspired after hearing Schofield joke in interviews how his former Broom Cupboard pal had wound up in rehab at the Priory.

He told The Sun: 'Phillip and the puppeteer, Paul Smith, own Gordon and both really liked the idea, so they allowed us to do it. I think they like it because Gordon’s naughty and swears.'

In an interview earlier this year, Schofield joked: 'Gordon the Gopher is in rehab. It’s all gone horribly wrong for him. It’s a shame. I’ve got a restraining order against him and we don’t speak. He’s quite bitter.'

Here's is the five-minute pilot, also starring comedianRob Rouse:

And you can rate it on the BBC site here.

• The Sun also reports that the BBC have axed a comedy sketch featuring an impersonation of Cilla Black. The planned scene from Tracey Ullman's British TV comeback had the comedy actress playing Cilla, fronting a TV show about showbiz haunts. But it transpired all the celebrities she encountered had been embroiled in historic sex abuse cases.

Published: 6 Aug 2015