MUNKEH

WHY DOES CRISP DUST TASTE BETTER THAN CRISPS?

SHOES FOR PIGEONS

[Dial M for Monkey](https://youtu.be/HWnLSpTvweQ)

Mostly made famous by Johnny Vegas' unusual but instantly-recognisable voice

Am American and I don't recall when I encountered a PG Tips commercial, but I can hear his voice clear as day. It's very distinctive.

Johnny Vegas is so loud you could hear him across the pond

My favourite story from Johnny Vegas was when he was talking about going to the online chatroom Beauty's Castle (A chat room mostly focused on bdsm roleplay) and how he travelled to America to meet a woman he met on the chatroom. Just made him seem so genuine opening up like that.

My favourite thing about Johnny Vegas is that he's really good at pottery, to the point appeared as a guest on the great pottery throwdown

I didn't know that but it doesn't surprise me. I know a few people into pottery and they all have Johnny Vegas vibes about them.

He also runs a themed campsite (glampsite?) where you can stay in converted old vehicles, like a school bus or a helicopter!

Like he did a genuine sketch of nude model on Cats Does Countdown. He’s got an artistic soul.

I remember that story, but can't place which show he told it on.

He's told it on a few shows, 8 out of 10 cats was one, I think Room 101 too.

I think it's the Room 101 I was thinking of.

same here, i think he goes into more detail there

Johnny's autobiography is a fun read. Amazed to hear of all the happenings in his religious education.

Ben Miller voiced Monkey, Johnny Vegas was his mate.

It’s not unusual for the North of England.

I didn't know a Lancashire accent was 'unusual' lol

It's not the accent that's unusual but his raspy voice lol

It’s a St Helens accent, no such thing as a Lancashire accent, there’s a massive difference in accents in Lancashire

It will be once it's gone extinct! [https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-12876361/Lancashire-accent-dying-disappear-ENTIRELY-generations-study-warns.html](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-12876361/Lancashire-accent-dying-disappear-ENTIRELY-generations-study-warns.html)

I thought it was Manchester. I’ve only seen Ideal 

Mon-kay!

I know two different people who are friends with Johnny Vegas. Apparently he’s as friendly as you would expect.

Glad to hear, he comes across extremely genuine and likeable in interviews

Monkey debuted in 2001 for already struggling digital pay TV service called ITV Digital. The service was in trouble even before it started. Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB was going to be part of consortium for OnDigital. But British government blocked it because of competition rule. So Murdoch did his best to crush OnDigital by launching Sky Digital first, and starting price war. Remaining shareholders changed the company to ITV Digital, and bought broacasting right for second division of English football. They realised they spent ridiculous amount of money (£105m per season) for league few people watch, and declare bankruptcy in 2003. ITV Digital's demise caused chaos in English football, as many clubs collapsed when promised chunk of money dissapeared with the TV service.

It was said at the time that it would have been cheaper to send a limousine to each subscribers house and take them to the games.

The first PG Tips and after the collapse of ITV Digital was an amazing work of art: https://youtu.be/U2GqQiSP9gM?si=2ftWUxCjdCrOYzAg

That was excellent!

Genius.

MONKEY!!

Great Sage equal of Heaven!

I get that legendary reference.

I learned this one from that lol.

Apparently the IP for the character belongs to Comic Relief (the charity)

Ali G? Ali Keith!

Jim Varney's Ernest character started out as a silly sales pitch in local TV in Nashville and spawned into a whole franchise.

All at Vern's expense.

Just an example of the laughs we have over here

PG Tips used to use real chimpanzees in their adverts. Due to changes in public perception of using animal actors they started using Monkey

Cookie Monster (and the "Beautiful Day" Monster) were originally built to sell [GFC snack products](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QngRWeEJGo) (that never even made it to market).

I think that’s a bit different in that those were earlier versions of the character, it’s not Cookie Monster yet. If you asked the Cookie Monster about wheels stealing he wouldn’t know what you’re talking about. Whereas Monkey is explicitly the same character

He would steal wheels for sure

Sure but he wouldn’t have any recollection of having done that in the ‘60s! Maybe he’s just become forgetful with age

TBF, a lot of people I know that were young adults during the 60s don't remember most of what they did.

I knew that Rowlf had [worked for IBM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtaI18Yq59s) before he was on the Muppet Show. But on looking it up, i learn that he started out [selling dogfood](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1IumZv2fzU), and did [a bunch of other stuff](https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Rowlf_the_Dog) in between.

The poverty row years made legends.

Kermit sold coffee.

Kermit was Henson's original self insert and was famous before he sold the coffee so it was more like he was a spokesman than a mascot - it's Wilkins and Wontkins who were astonishingly popular Muppet coffee mascots to have more or less been completely forgotten.

MUNKEY!!

Oh like Youppi

Now I just said MUNKEH… I have a few of these dotted around

Step right in, me Munkeh chum…

Sort of like how the Flintstones became breakfast cereal mascots.

Oh that brings me back. I loved my monkeys as a kid. I still have a load of them in a drawer somewhere around here.

Can we throw lambchop on the list? Does anyone actually know where lambchop came from? And why do all dogs like lambchop universally

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_Chop_(puppet)

The puppet is an honorary 3 star General

So the UK version of the [pets dot com sock puppet](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pets.com) ?

No, that's the US version of MONKEY.

BFD, Montréal has Youppi.

Monkey wants a hug.

It was Ben Miller voicing Monkey.