Rizzo the Rat "Midnight Cowboy". Steve Whitmire created the character, based on rats he had previously made out of bottles. Rizzo first appeared in episode 418 of "The Muppet Show", as one of many rats following Christopher Reeve backstage. He can be seen mugging and reacting to practically every line of dialogue. He remained a scene-stealing background figure through the final season, occasionally performing with Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem. By the time of "The Muppets Christmas Carol", Whitmire had been performing Rizzo for around 12 years. After the series, he appeared in "The Great Muppet Caper" as a bellboy in a
The Saturday Show (BBC TV series) & Kicking" would be axed after eight series, and instead, a brand new show fronted by Dani Behr and Joe Mace would be aired. It would be a radical departure from standard and conventional Saturday Morning TV. The new show was billed to be tough competition for "SMTV Live". The show was confined to the studio, which was designed in an unconventional format - it was based on tiered seating and three stages at the bottom: one with a presenters' couch, one for performances and one for The Saturday Show house band, Stamford Amp. The show included a series of