Gordon the Gopher, also known as Gordon T. Gopher, is an English puppet gopher who first appeared on Children's BBC (CBBC) between 1985 and 1987, listed on television shows by Phillip Schofield on the interstitial or in-vision continuity programme The Broom Cupboard. He is a yellow puppet gopher with red paws.
Career
Early work
Gordon's first appearances were on CBBC between 1985 and 1987, presenting television shows with Phillip Schofield on the interstitial programme The Broom Cupboard.
In September 2013, Gordon appeared on an episode of Celebrity Juice.
In August 2015, Gordon appeared in an online short where he returned to the BBC and got a job as a cleaner. In this short, he was voiced by Warwick Davis. In the September of that year he made a brief appearance in a special that aired on CBBC called Hacker’s 30th Birthday Bash when Hacker T Dog interviewed Schofield and reunited the two.
Puppeteers
Gordon was operated by several people in The Broom Cupboard, but the person who did it longest was Chris Wright who also operated Gordon for the whole run of Going Live! Warrick Brownlow-Pike performed him for his appearances on This Morning and Hacker's 30th Birthday Bash.
Influence
Gordon's famous leather jacket was a gift from Adam Ant, who made and decorated the jacket himself. Ant had befriended Gordon while being interviewed on Going Live! in February 1990 to promote his new single, and described Gordon as "one of the most interesting people" he'd met.
Gordon was parodied by comedian Brian Conley as "Larry the Loafer," the puppet sidekick of sarcastic children's TV presenter Nick Frisbee. The skit is one of Conley's most widely remembered, along with its catchphrase "It's a puppet!"
In 2006, Gordon was mentioned in Little Britain Abroad in the first Lou and Andy sketch. Lou tells Andy that he's planning to take him to Walt Disney World, and when Lou asks Andy who he's looking forward to meeting, Andy replies "Gordon the Gopher."