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A flying visit from Big Bird
The Sesame Street legend on joining his pals Elmo and Cookie Monster in The Furchester Hotel – the monster hit children’s show
When you’re a mega-celebrity as big as Big Bird it’s difficult to go incognito. Despite wearing sunglasses he was snapped by photographers when he landed at Manchester airport, and received a standing ovation when he arrived at the BBC’s Manchester HQ. But then he has been one of the planet’s best-known faces (or should that be beaks?) since 1969, and now he’s making a welcome return to British TV 15 years after Sesame Street, the show that made him, was last aired here.
For such a big character – he stands 8ft 2in tall and tells me he takes a size 42 quadruple G shoe – he’s surprisingly mild-mannered when we meet. He’s here for a stay at madcap guesthouse The Furchester Hotel, the establishment at the heart of the series of the same name on CBeebies, the BBC’s children’s channel, which was a monster hit in 2014. ‘I’ve been to England before but it was a long time ago,’ he tells me. ‘It’s really good to be back though. My granny bird looked up The Furchester Hotel on Chirp Advisor, a bird reviews website, and it got half a star which is pretty good for a monster hotel.’
Big Bird is following his Sesame Street friends Elmo and Cookie Monster, who crossed the pond for a stay at The Furchester Hotel in the first series. Preschoolers fell in love with Elmo and the British side of his family ( his dad, it turns out, was a Brit) who run the hotel. His cousin Phoebe is the sensible one while her parents Funella Furchester and Furgus Fuzz bear an uncanny resemblance to the proprietors at that other famous British hotel, Fawlty Towers. No wonder the show has such global appeal, being sold to countries as diverse as Norway, Poland and South Africa. Series two, which starts on Monday, comprises 50 shows and a Christmas special.
In the first series the hotel team had to overcome obstacles such as how to stop a hungry Cookie Monster from eating a guest called Mr Crumb, or how to move a bear named Mr Huggles who’s fallen asleep in the lobby during his hibernation season. ‘My problem is that the nest room was too small for me,’ conf ides Big Bird. ‘But Phoebe came up with a plan so now I’m staying in the garden in a nest with lots of pillows.’
The show’s set, at the BBC’s Media City studios in Salford, is raised 4ft in the air so that the puppeteers – there are up to five on each puppet – can work beneath. As I watch a song and dance number about dogs and bones – a cat is playing the organ while vegetables jump up and down – the director calls ‘Cut!’. A puppeteer’s head can be seen on camera. Those humans, ruining it again.
Next to the hotel is a holding room which has a huge cage. This is where the puppets who aren’t being used are housed. Almost all of them are the originals made by Muppets creator Jim Henson. They’re designed to be lightweight yet incredibly characterful. To protect their vulnerable eyes they wear eye
masks when they’re not being used. Each night the cage is locked, the studio door is locked and there’s extra security. These puppets are priceless.
And it’s thanks to The Furchester Hotel that a whole new generation of children is getting to meet the Sesame Street gang their parents adored. ‘It was brilliant for us to be able to invite over some of the characters adults will remember from their own childhoods,’ says executive producer Tony Reed. ‘Cookie Monster, Elmo and Big Bird are characters parents and kids can enjoy together.’
As we chat Cookie Monster comes into the room. ‘Did you bring me cookies?’ he asks. Oops, no I didn’t. ‘Interview over,’ he snarls, and has to be stopped by his entourage from leaving the room. The show’s characters are some of the most enduring stars in showbusiness and it’s impor- tant they do nothing to tarnish the Sesame Street brand.
To calm him down we talk, obviously, about cookies. ‘Me like them to have a nice crunch,’ he says. ‘I love them when they’re sweet and chocolatey.’ He’s groaning with pleasure now. ‘Oh my God, stop. Me have to lie down. Got to collect myself.’ Oh dear.
As well as Big Bird, Count von Count also appears in the second series. ‘He came to stay for a little while,’ says Elmo. ‘He was on a no-counting vacation which seems counter-intuitive – geddit? – but it worked. Seeing him and Big Bird has been great. I was feeling homesick – we Skype, but it’s not the same as having them here.’
But like the Count, Big Bird’s here on a flying visit. ‘I’ve had a wonderful time with my new friends at the hotel,’ he tells me. ‘I’ll be sad to go.’ He’s not the only one who feels that way.
‘The hotel only got half a star on Chirp Advisor’