Phil Fletcher's scruffy puppet terrier hijacks a pastel studio each week, luring or kidnapping guests including Anton du Beke, Dani Harmer and various Blue Peter presenters. The format never strays far from crude quizzes, clip packages of the star’s past embarrassments and songs belted out by Fletcher himself, all taped before a shrieking child audience. Series one began in September 2011, shot in the soon-to-be-axed TC9 at BBC Television Centre; later runs relocated to MediaCityUK and added bumbling hench-dogs Wilf and Herman to drag bookings in by force.
Ratings peaked at tenth place in the CBBC weekly chart during October 2011, respectable for a daytime slot yet dwarfed by companion sketch show Scoop. Six short series totalling 63 episodes were cranked out between 2011 and 2016, with the final broadcast on 19 August 2016. Repeats disappeared from iPlayer in 2018, and the puppet’s subsequent career moved to link duties for CBBC continuity and the odd Comic Relief cameo. Production files note the theme is a cheeky chop of "U Can’t Touch This", composed by Guy Rowland and performed over brightly coloured graphics that spoof late-night chat shows with cardboard budgets. No episode has been commercially released; archival copies reside in the BBC’s internal library, viewable only by appointment.
Production Details
CBBC / 6 Seasons / 23 Episodes / 2011
Producer(s): Sid Cole
Main Cast
Phil Fletcher as Hacker T. Dog
Warrick Brownlow-Pike as Dodge T. Dog
Helen Skelton as Herself
Louis Payne as
