Dangermouse And Duckula (and Penfold, Of Course!)

Dangermouse had been delighting us since his arrival in 1981, and in late 1982 a fan club was on the cards. Just for teeny tots? Er, no, actually...

From the News of the World Sunday magazine, 7/11/1982:

DON'T TAKE THE MICKEY OUT OF THIS MOUSE

Bolder by far than Bond, that's secret agent Dangermouse, hero of the five-minute cartoon series, making Mondays more fun. With his faithful sidekick Penfold he saves the world - again and again. But it's not only children who are fans of the rodent hero in an eye-patch. Recently, a group of Oxford University students wrote to ITV demanding the formation of a Dangermouse Fan Club.

This naturally delights Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall who make the programme and are now working on an all-action version of "The Wind in the Willows". Also declaring themselves fans of the cartoon hero are comedy actor David Jason (who provides his voice) and Terry Scott, the voice of Penfold. And, if you're a voice-spotter, you'll have recognised Edward Kelsey as Greenback. Remarkably, the rest of the voices are almost all by Brian Trueman.

Count Duckula wasn't your typical vampire duck. For a start, he was a vegetarian. The despair of his faithful servant Igor and the "ducky-boos" of his ever-loving Nanny, Duckula's life was far from easy.

The character was a revamped version of a vampire duck first seen in Dangermouse.

And David Jason provided the voice for the principle character again.

A wonderfully witty new show for 1988.

And another excellent reason for me not to be too grown-up at twenty-three!

He flies through the night, looking for a bite, but he's back home by daylight - Duckula!