Feeds
Toby, tell me about the set up for the new series.
Well it's about Emu and I living in quite a nice modern apartment, and we're trying to hide Emu from the look of the 'evil' Ken Cole [the building's security man] who's always on the prowl of animals. He hates animals, and the apartment has a strict 'no pets allowed' policy. But Emu and I think that he is not a pet, and that the rules shouldn't be adhered to. We also have two next door neighbours: two children Danny and Charlie who become Emu's friends, and Sophie, who is my character's 'love' interest. Although her only interest is in Emu and how she can make money out of him. So poor old Toby doesn't know what's going on!
Before this series, you had already done a couple of pantomimes with Emu. What made you bring Emu out of retirement?
We were contacted by a fan of Dad's old shows, who absolutely loved what Dad had done. They spoke to Mum - about five years after Dad had died - about bringing Emu back. And Mum said, 'oh okay maybe we should think about it'. So we sat down and had a chat about it and thought 'why not, let's give it a go'. So we got in touch with Dad's old agent - who is now my agent - and they got us a pantomime and it all went from there.
Having seen a clip of the new series, I noticed Emu is operating independently this time, as well as by the 'old fashioned method'. Why is that?
Yes, Emu is 'on my arm' definitely but he is also independent. We thought it best to introduce him to a brand new audience and do a brand new thing with it. Obviously the way Dad did it was fantastic, and we're not trying to be better than that. The best way was to do a new angle all together. It's a new handler - and much better looking - or perhaps not!
How have kids - who may not have seen Emu before - reacted to him?
The kids have no idea who Emu is - none whatsoever. They're [like] 'what the hell is this thing?' They love him, they absolutely love him. No kids have cried yet which is a good sign. I had a little girl come up to me after a show and she said: 'Where's Emu?' So I said 'He's just out playing in the field.' And she said, 'Aww, he's really very naughty that Emu; he's a very funny character.' I said 'Yeah he is a naughty,' and she said, ''Aww, I like him.' Very cute - kids are great.
I used to watch the Pink Windmill when it got audiences of around 11 million. Are you hoping for anything like that?
That would be great, wouldn't it, if that could happen. I don't know what will happen. This the first of - hopefully - many stepping stones towards something. The relationship now - with Emu and I - is a new relationship, and it's going to grow, and grow with the audience. We're hoping to do that. Dad's first show didn't pull those sorts of figures at all. I think that there's a nostalgia value now, and people will tune in because they watched it when they were kids.
When he was still alive, did you and your Dad ever have a conversation about you taking over with Emu?
No, not none whatsoever. I mean I assumed that Dad was going to continue doing it forever and ever. There was no sudden need to have that chat - Dad was fighting fit and everything was fine. And then obviously the accident happened and then all these questions I needed to have a chat with him about, suddenly I can't do it.
Did he ever want to do other things apart from Emu?
Dad was very much a writer. He loved writing things and creating things. He wrote the Pink Windwill and all his other shows. He wanted to be best known as a writer, rather than Emu's sidekick. But it was sort of a double edge sword: he created Emu, and it gave him a lot of success, but it also left him wanting to be acknowledged for his written work.
Did he ever give you any advice about the entertainment industry?
He did actually. He said 'Work out who your friends are.' After the bankruptcy, his so called showbiz friends disappeared, which was quite an awful thing actually. The phone stopped ringing - and it was people he had helped out a lot and people he had put a lot of trust in - suddenly weren't there when he needed them the most. It wasn't so much the monetary value, it was more the support value he was looking for, and he didn't get that at all.
Do you think Rod would have been pleased with new series?
Yeah, absolutely, I think he'd love it. Obviously it's a different Emu, because of the relationship now. Dad's Emu was 'father & son'; this Emu is more like mates or brothers. And I think he would see that and think it was great. I would love to know what he thought; I'd love to have a ten minute chat with him again.
What did you think about Emu growing up?
It was quite funny. Dad was performing with Emu long before I was born, so I've grown up with Emu all through my life. So as a family we've always seen it as Dad's work. We've never seen it as a performance or its entertainment value because we've seen a different side of it. We'd watch the shows from the wings and watch the shows being recorded, so we'd see it from a different angle. It never got in the way of the family thing, because for Dad, family was number one.
Do you think you'll get an invite to go on the last series of Parkinson?
No! Probably not. Michael Parkinson has got a lot of power now, so I think we would just let that one go. It was a terrific piece, and you can't improve on that, and I don't particularly want to either. I think it should stay as a classic TV moment.
Watch this space, Toby!
Are you working on anything else or are you totally focussed on Emu?
At the moment, totally focussed on Emu. We just want to make sure that the re-introduction to the British public goes as smoothly as possible and hopefully it will be an iconic character that is loved by all. So we're going to keep making sure that that happens and hopefully the show will start developing. But I would love to take the show to a worldwide audience.
Thanks Toby!
Emu returns on the CITV channel on October 8 at 4pm, and on ITV1 on October 13 at 9.35am.
Discuss this article
Share this article
Print this article
