Boom Boom! – The Best Of The Original Basil Brush Show DVD – Roy North, Lulu

Basil Brush, possibly the world’s most famous fox, returns with a collection of his finest television moments. Decked out in his finely-tailored threads, Basil represented the peak of elegant tea-time televisual fun to a whole generation, a judgement amply justified by the clips collected here.

The Terry Thomas of children’s television returns to the screen in Boom, Boom! The Best Of The Original Basil Brush Show. The raffish star, with his distinctive laugh, trademark tweeds and enduring catchphrase, was created in 1963, diligently learning his trade before hitting the big time in the 1970s in his own show. The cheeky vulpine host went on to vex a succession of “Mr”s with his continual interrupting, ad-libbing and appalling jokes:Mr Roy: “Do you know about ethics?”Basil, lisping: “Yes, it’s somewhere near Sussex, isn’t it?”The show’s guest list boasted the best of 1970s celebrity: Alvin Stardust, Cilla Black, John Inman and Demis Roussos to mention just a few–all treated to Basil’s unique blend of charm and brusque wit in a series of excruciating sketches.The show was dropped in the 1980s but Boom, Boom! The Best Of The Original Basil Brush Show proves that Basil, now a pop-culture icon, is a truly 21st-century fox. –Helen Baker