Western Daily Press (Saturday)
THE DAY I ALMOST KILLED DEL BOY!
Janet Hughes meets the man who brought some of our favourite characters to the television screen and also nearly brought about the premature demise of another
> The West Country’s legendary puppeteer Peter Pullon confesses to nearly killing Ony Fools and Horses star David Jason with a giant sugar lump:
WHEN Peter Pullon was asked to create a giant tea set so a young actor could demonstrate extra large teabags, he could never have guessed that over 40 years later he would be accused of nearly killing a national treasure.
But Only Fools and Horses star David Jason recently told This Morning viewers than he thought he could have died while making the 1970s TV commercial for PG Tips.
Back then the Touch of Frost actor was a talented but unknown actor in a white wetsuit and flippers, and the Gloucestershire model-maker was known for creating household names such as Emu and Orville the Duck.
But even though he had been making props for years, it was still a challenge for Peter to create a teapot big enough for a small boat with two bowler-hatted men to float in so they could lower a giant teabag containing Jason into the water.
And last October the 81-year-old caused a storm in a teacup when he told Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield that he nearly died when he was then poured into a tea cup and bombarded with two fake sugar cubes.
“That nearly ended my career,”
said Jason, who was promoting his autobiography A Del of a Life.
“They had the props guys up on a gantry throwing that giant sugar cube down on to me into the tea cup.
“The first few times they did it, it wasn’t heavy enough, so it wouldn’t sink. The director said ‘make it heavier, make it heavier’, and eventually it took about four props boys to lift this sugar cube and drop it in. As it went past, it touched my nose. Had it hit me on the head it would have been David Jason killed by sugar cube,
which wouldn’t have been a very good epitaph.”
Peter admits he was the props guy who made and threw the sugar cube and said the experience had left him a lifetime admirer of the actor.
He said: “It took him a long time to reach the edge of the diving board to jump in because he did not like heights, but he did it all without a single word of complaint.
“Everything was in scale, so because he was supposed to be a little tiny man the sugar cubes had to be 18 inches square. I had to aim two of them into a 7ft 6in cup of water without hitting him.
“Rightly or wrongly, he put his complete faith in me doing it, and my admiration and respect for him as a professional performer has never waned.”
But he says the sugar cubes weren’t the only danger Jason faced during the shoot, which lasted days.
The actor had to be lowered into a glass tank inside a teabag to mime a script so it could be dubbed later while Peter, a qualified diver, waited on the bottom with a mouthpiece so he could unzip the teabag and give Jason air when needed.
“It was a very difficult underwater job, but he was completely professional,” he said, adding that Jason had to hold his breath and mime.
“He was risking his life and had to put his faith in me, but he was amazing. Nobody watching that advert really knows what he had to go through, but he just got on with it without any hysterics.
“David Jason was a complete unknown back then, but he was
I don’t really have a favourite. I think the ones I like best are the ones that are the most successful for the client. If the client is satisfied, so am I PETER PULLON
absolutely incredible and should get some credit for what he did. I always thought the story should come out because people just think of him as a well-known comedy actor.
“It wasn’t my story to tell, but I am pleased that it has come out so we can talk about his unbelievable dedication and professionalism.”
From Ken Dodd’s Dickie Mint to the Honey Monster, Nookie Bear, the Hofmeister Bear and the Monster Munch characters, Peter had made a whole array of famous puppets that became iconic figures in their day.
He made Bertie Bassett for Liquorice Allsorts, a wooden Pinocchio for Dulux Woodstain and the laughing Martians for the famous ‘For mash get Smash’ adverts.
When comedian Rod Hull came up with the concept of Emu, the aggressive bird that famously attacked chat show host Michael Parkinson in 1976, it was Peter he asked to make it.
“I made several of them because they got knocked about quite a bit,” said Peter, who described the late Hull as lovely but eccentric.
“It was a visual comedy act, so Rod Hull was always attacking people and there was a lot of wear and tear.”
Conversely, Keith Harris took great care over Orville and Cuddles, the duck and monkey puppets that starred in his BBC TV show, which ran between 1982 and 1990.
Back then the nappy-wearing green duckling, who speaks with a falsetto Yorkshire accent, was a household name and topped the charts with his song I Wish I Could Fly. He was so popular that Lady Diana, the Princess of Wales, even asked him to perform for Prince William’s third birthday at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire. Orville went to Kensington Palace for Prince Harry’s third birthday.
“I don’t really have a favourite,” said Peter. “I think the ones I like best are the ones that are the most successful for the client. If the client is satisfied, so am I.”
Born in the Midlands, he started out as a scenic artist at a Coventry theatre before setting up his own theatre model business.
“I was born into the theatre,” he said. “My mum was a stage dancer and my father was George Formby’s pianist and arranger.
“You can see him in some of the old films.”
He was doing a job for the Palladium when a manager gave his name to an ad man looking for realistic looking fake chocolates that would not melt under the hot studio lights.
From here the number and scale of the projects for film, TV and advertising grew until he found himself making a stack of five real cars that would not blow down in the slipstream from a Porsche for a tyre advert.
But horse-loving Peter was missing country life and eventually moved to Stroud full-time in 1985 and set up studios with his partner Christina, who was a stylist in the film industry.
“I love this area, it has such a diverse, eclectic mix of people,” he said.
“You can go to the pub and there are so many different people from different backgrounds all drinking a pint together.
“There’s an amazing amount of talent here and people can be whoever they want to be.
“The scenery is beautiful without being twee. When I first came here, I felt like I was on holiday. I still do.”
During his 50 years of model-making, he moved into sculpture, and one of his biggest passions is bringing together sculpting, mould-making, model-making, sewing, mechanics, electronics and animatronics.
Watching the project go from design to finished product is the most rewarding thing for him and he has never wanted to step in front of the cameras like the famous names he has worked with.
“Never in a million years,” he said. “I was a very good gymnast and at one time I did think of joining the circus, but I always loved art and making things, so I followed my heart.
“I get my satisfaction from my clients being successful. I may never be a millionaire, but I’m not motivated solely by money and I get satisfaction from their acclaim and success.”
Clients become friends and the father-of-three has been watching the industry struggle during the pandemic, which has shut down theatres.
He himself has branched out into making heads for the University of Manchester for use by students being taught optometry.
But he believes ventriloquism is starting to enjoy a renaissance.
“Over the last five years there has been quite a resurgence in ventriloquism,” said Peter, who made the Sinitta puppet for Steve Hewlett from The X Factor.
“In the old days it was all about the art of ventriloquism, talking without moving your lips. These days you have to be a good stand-up comic as well. Some people think it’s an old fashioned art, but there’s a lot of funny and original talent out there showing it’s not out of date.”