George Martin (comedian) of the day. He wrote for the first TV series of Irish comedian Dave Allen; "Tonight with Dave Allen", as well as material for artistes such as Rolf Harris, Jimmy Tarbuck, Paul Daniels, Harry Worth and Tommy Cooper. He became the main writer and ideas man, as well as script and production associate, for renowned magician David Nixon. When the then unknown legendary fox puppet, Basil Brush, appeared as a weekly guest on "The Nixon Line", Martin helped develop the character and subsequently was the sole writer of every Basil Brush show for many years, (throughout the 1960s and 70s).
Basil and Barney's Swap Shop Basil and Barney's Swap Shop Basil and Barney's Swap Shop, first two series as Basil's Swap Shop is a British children's television series that was produced for CBBC and ran on Saturday mornings on BBC Two and CBBC Channel from 5 January 2008 to 25 September 2010. Based on the original BBC children's Saturday morning show "Multi-Coloured Swap Shop", which ran on BBC One from 1976 to 1982, it was hosted by Barney Harwood, along with veteran puppet character Basil Brush, from whom the show takes its title. The new version of "Swap Shop" was broadcast live, and featured games