Basil Brush Talking Toy

Basil Brush was a red fox glove puppet who was popular on children's TV in the 60s and 70s. Voiced by the incomparable Ivan Owen, he had a posh voice and a huge, rollocking laugh which was often followed by the huge, distinctive "Boom boom!" He always worked with a long-suffering straight man who certainly had a lot to put up with and the show usually had a lady guest with whom Basil would flirt outrageously. In the mid 70s I remember seeing all kinds of Basil Brush merchandise, but the wish of my heart was the beautiful Basil Brush talking soft toy made by Wendy Boston. I only ever got to hold one once, but I remember it to this day. It was about fourteen inches high, was soft, fat and cuddly, Basil was wearing some kind of clothes though I can't remember exactly what, his brush was incredibly soft, thick and fluffy and the pull cord didn't end in the usual ring but in a cute little bobble which came out of the middle of his fat tummy. He said all his usual catch phrases and of course that wonderful laugh was there. My husband, unlike me, was one of those kids who seemed to have everything, well except all the dolls I wanted! :D He had the talking Basil Brush and remembers it well. When I was doing a little research for this article I saw that there are still a few talking Basils around, but they are very rare and being auctioned for high prices. That's a shame because I'd love to have one!