You don’t want to stay in your comfort zone...
Ever wondered what Paignton Zoo’s inhabitants really think about life behind bars? Now you can find out, as Outnumbered star Hugh Dennis and a team of comedy voice artists bring the animals to life in new CBBC series, The Zoo. He tells GEMMA DUNN why, wi
Tell us about the premise behind new CBBC series, The Zoo.
WELL it was to do something that would appeal to everyone on CBBC, so parents can watch with their kids, kids can watch with their parents, and grandparents can watch it because they remember Johnny Morris (of Animal Magic fame).
It’s all set in Paignton Zoo, so it’s got a cast of characters that you will love. It ticks most boxes, I think.
Do you join the team of comedy voice artists that bring the animals to life?
MY ROLE in it is very limited really, given that I just narrate it. I just think it’s great fun to watch.
It’s like Animal Magic was when I was growing up, but the CGI or whatever they use, they can move their mouths and stuff, has improved so much that it’s great. And (the zookeepers) are all incredibly good sports, because they don’t mind having the mickey taken out of them.
The animals, of course, can’t object.
Are the episodes based on day-to-day goings-on at the zoo?
IT’S based on things that actually seem sensible, so there’s one where a new animal arrives at the zoo and that’s all about jealousy and what’s going on, so they’re picking up storylines from what is actually happening, which is very clever. And then the voices come in.
It’s amazing how they get the mouth to fit the voice; the mouth moves in a natural way, it’s not like ‘Oh hang on, I can see the joins there’. You’re just thinking, ‘He’s saying that,’ which is great.
Why a gorilla would be German is slightly strange, and a New York baboon, but it does fit.
Can viewers expect to meet a variety of different animals across the series?
YOU get to meet most of the colourful characters within the zoo.
You want a show that the kids are going to watch before they go to school or as soon as they get home from school... I just remember flopping in front of all sorts of programmes like that. I watched far too much television as a child and this was one of the things I would have sat down and watched.
Will your teenage kids still be watching in support and are they impressed by your work?
THEY’RE pretty grown up; they’re 20 and 18, so I haven’t really bothered with them to be honest.
But given that I enjoy it and I’m in my 50s, they probably would.
Mainly I am just a slightly embarrassing dad, like most dads.
To be fair to them, they do show some interest, but I don’t think either of them will end up doing what I do.
Mock The Week has been going for 12 years this year – and you are back for more this autumn. Why do you think it’s so loved?
PROBABLY because it’s always bringing new people through – that’s sort of its job. Dara (O’Briain) and I sort of sit there and watch people come and go.
Telly is never quite sure what to do with stand-ups, so the panel show suits them and it just means there is a conveyor belt of very new, funny people.
I probably enjoy it more now, because I feel more relaxed.
It was very, very competitive to start with and now it’s not quite so competitive. I think it’s because we’re all a bit older.
The Outnumbered Christmas reunion was received well too. Is there scope for another series?
I SUSPECT it would just be one-offs now. I think it’s very difficult getting people together, as much as anything.
(The reunion) was amazing, really. I hadn’t seen any of the kids for about a year and kids change incredibly fast at that age, so I actually didn’t recognise Ramona (Marquez), which was a bit embarrassing. My own pretend child.
You’re well known for your comic acting – but you’ve had your serious roles too. Do you like the variety?
WHAT I have always wanted to do is just stretch myself and do new things, so whether that is serious or funny, it doesn’t really matter in a way. You just don’t want to stay in your comfort zone; you don’t want to do stuff you know you can do well.
What’s next for you?
THERE’S more Mock The Week in the autumn, and I do a radio series in the autumn too.
That takes me through to spring next year and after that no one knows what they’re doing, even if they think they do.
I love all that. It’s great. I like to keep busy, but I like to not really know what on earth is going on.
Do you have a dream role you’re yet to tick off?
I WOULD quite like to be in a Marvel movie. I don’t know what superhero I would be, but any of them would do. Any of them!
The Zoo starts on CBBC on Monday at 8.45am and is repeated at 3.40pm and 6.45pm.