Baboo Yagu (The Hitcher
) or as he pronounces it, "Thee 'Itcha" is a fictional character portrayed by Noel Fielding. He was created for the 1999 stage show Autoboosh, and later appeared in the 2001 radio series, three episodes of the television series, and the 2006 stage show, The Mighty Boosh, in which he is the main antagonist, even killing all the main characters at one point.


The Hitcher is an old Cockney man with long grey hair, green skin, a large polo mint over his left eye, a top hat and black and red clothing. He is evil, threatening to kill Howard and Vince whenever he meets them, and killing the whole cast in the stage show. His name is Baboo Yagu, but he is almost always referred to as The Hitcher. He is also a proponent of jazz fusion, especially proficient at playing with the slap method on the bass guitar, although his keyboard technique seems to consist mainly of tuneless banging.

The Hitcher has a confused history, he states in The Hitcher that as a child his parents were ashamed of his small thumb (prompting him to seek out the Hornet Shaman). However, in Eels he reveals that Elsie, proprietor of the Pie and Mash Shop, gave him three eels "on account of [him] being an orphan n' that"

The Piper TwinsEdit

The Hitcher is sometimes accompanied by two short, rotund henchmen called the Piper Twins. The Piper Twins are dressed similarly to the Hitcher, with similar polo eyes, but wear bowler hats and have long red moustaches, made from strawberry bootlaces.


The Hitcher's appearance, though being grotesque, alters slightly during the course of the television show. In the first series episode The Hitcher he has an abnormally large thumb, as well as nose and chin. He explains this as a result of visiting a Hornet Shaman in the bin of a primary school and asking him to enlarge his thumb.

In the television episode, he is proprietor of the "Zoo for Animal Offenders”. He later appears in the 2005 television episode, "Fountain Of Youth", where he plans to utilize the fountain of youth's magical qualities for himself with the aim of ruling the universe.

In the second series however his thumbs are both normal sized. In the third series he has both a normal chin and nose, and looks altogether much younger and more spry - a direct result of his showering in the Fountain of Youth in the episode of the same name (Series 2) - although his voice, based loosely on Noel Fielding's grandfather, remains as haggard as ever.

In The Mighty Book of Boosh, it is revealed The Hitcher trained a man called Ian in the ways of a Cockney. Ian later goes on to become Jack the Ripper, and the Hitcher murders him as punishment for 'slashing Women'.

He also appears in Coconut form in the series two episode "The Nightmare of Milky Joe".

The Hitcher appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross singing a song about eels. Although he dances energetically and enthusiastically, he falls to his knees at the end of the song, complaining of his "old legs." The polo came off his eye during the song and he casually tossed it aside.

Episodes featuredEdit
