Gilbert’s Fridge – Nostalgia Central

1 9 8 8 (UK)
10 x 25 minute episodes

This spin-off from Get Fresh featuring Gilbert the ugly green alien (voiced by Phil Cornwell and operated by puppeteer John Eccleston) debuted on 20 October 1988 and ran on ITV for 10 weeks on Thursday afternoons.

A regular pre-recorded segment on the show – “Sunny Jolly Hols” – followed Gilbert and Charlotte Hindle (his former colleague from Get Fresh) on a budget package holiday to Benidorm in Spain.

Gilbert travelled with a suitcase packed entirely full of dead fish, which he stored in his hotel bathtub, while Charlie had to deal with the advances of a Spanish lothario named “Manolo”.

“How Far to Hitchin?” parodied wartime Prisoner of War movies like The Great Escape with Gilbert as Major Cuthbert Gwendolen Poppinjay, a bumbling, upper-class British officer who, with Lance Corporal Reginald Fortress Buttress (Neil Mullarkey), Sergeant Major Leonard Horrible (Clive Mantle), and Private “Nifty” Thoughtcup (Rick Stone), constantly tried to coordinate absurd escape plans from the German POW camp, Gustaven III in Austria, run by Commandant Herr Wolfgang Otterholiday (John Sparkes).

Their (highly specific) goal was to make their way back to the Hertfordshire market town of Hitchin.

“Giz the Dosh” was a recurring game show parody where the actual game was a surreal, rigged nightmare where winning was practically impossible.

The game was hosted by a sleazy, overly enthusiastic character named Marmaduke Smarmy (played by Gilbert), who was assisted by a miserable, silent floor assistant named Barry.

The contestants constantly failed because the questions were entirely ridiculous and fundamentally unanswerable.

The logic of the game also shifted constantly at the host’s whim, so no matter how accurately the contestants responded to Smarmy’s questions, the answer would be ruled incorrect.

Despite the promise of “dosh” in the gameshow title, the actual prize showcased was almost always a cheap Straw Donkey.

Gilbert’s guests on the show over the ten episodes included Climie Fisher; Aswad; Kim Wilde; Gary Glitter; Brother Beyond; Wendy James of Transvision Vamp; The Proclaimers; television chef Rustie Lee; Voice of the Beehive, and Simon O’Brien from Brookside.

Recognising Gilbert’s appeal to an older audience, Tyne Tees Television transitioned the character away from children’s television in 1990 for the nighttime comedy chat show, Gilbert’s Late.

Video