top of page
Search
A lifelong work colleague of cartoon pirate Captain Pugwash has described the BBC’s dramatisation of his exploits on the high seas as "complete fantasy" and "so unfair on other members of the Black Pig crew and all who sailed in her".
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, Tom who was cabin boy aboard the pirate ship during the Pugwash captaincy said: 'The BBC show just makes me so angry. The trouble is that people, especially in America, believe it to be completely true.'
The cabin boy added that the Pugwash character as depicted by the BBC was "not true to life" and totally misrepresented what it was like to be a blood thirsty pirate on the ocean waves. He also said high-seas rival Cut-Throat Jake had not plundered more treasure than Captain Pugwash as suggested during series two of the BBC dramatisation, and that The Flying Dustman crew were no match for the thieving blaggards aboard The Pig.
Tom confirmed he no longer watched Pugwash on TV saying the new BBC dramatisation had crossed a line and was only interested in ratings and not telling the true story about pirates. ‘It’s descended into crude sensationalism and dishonours all those that sailed under the skull and crossbones,' he said.
Dominic East who plays Pugwash in the BBC cartoon series defended the adaptation saying people should not be quite so sensitive about the show. ‘Some people are asking for a "fictional dramatisation disclaimer" to be added at the end of the show…. but quite honestly I think it’s a big fuss about nothing.
'Pugwash often used terms like "blistering barnacles" and "kipper me capstans’" and had a genuine west country accent to go with it. It is entirely accurate and not exaggerated for dramatic purpose. He really did talk like that.’
Filming for the cartoon series was suspended following the death of Queen Elizabeth II while the country observed a period of mourning throughout September. But production has resumed and show runner John Ryan confirmed the latest series will be aired on the BBC early in the new year.
First published 25 Nov 2022
If you enjoyed this archive item, why not buy thousands of archive stories found in our eBooks, paperbacks and hardbacks?
 |  |  |  |
TV Supervet, Sean Flaherty, has ruffled the fur of the nation's cat lovers by insisting their beloved moggies are 'sly, sneaky, self-centred little feckers that love to shit in your neighbour's flowerbeds just for the craic.'
'Cats are genetically programmed with an inbuilt sense of malice,' explains Flaherty, 'only responding to humans when their owners stand banging a can of cat food with a spoon, shouting the cat’s name in some stupid high-pitched voice they imagine is endearing.
'But once they have eaten the food, with no more to gain by even so much as acknowledging anyone’s existence, they pull the drawbridge up. Arrogant bastards. That's what they are.
'They fully understand the minefield of inter-neighbour politics and really get off on upsetting this dynamic by never shitting on their own doorsteps, but by doing their business on next door's instead.'
We spoke to Tiddles, one malicious moggy who purred, 'I love the buzz of getting my owner into trouble, by pissing in anyone else's garden but his, for example.
'Last week I caused quite a scene when he came out shouting the odds at the new next-door neighbour who had tried to shoot me with a BB gun after I shat all over then dug up his prize geraniums.
'How was I to know the neighbour is a professional wrestler and would end up knocking seven bells out of my poor ickle-wickle owner?'
Picture credit: Wix AI
bottom of page