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 Brush well-spoken, the voice of Basil is very different to the original Ivan Owen version. Basil Brush often breaks the Fourth Wall by having shots of the set and making references on how long the show is, and abusing the obvious way of walking across to other scenes. The British Film Institute in November 2016 announced "The Basil Brush Show" would be digitised as part of the BFI's five-year strategy for 2017-2022 to preserve shows from the 1970s and 80s. Many of the tapes at the BFI's Conservation Centre in Hertfordshire were reportedly deteriorating and at risk of becoming unplayable. Basil's