Gimlet and Finchley 14 - Becky

I met up with Blake and Mario to discuss the implications of dad’s will.

“That was a shock,” I said.  It had been a shock. Dad had left Gimlet and Finchley to us, on condition that TWO of us took over the act.

“It sure was,” said Blake. “Gavin was furious.”

“Gavin had it coming,” said Mario. “A classic childrens’ entertainment ending for the bad guy.”

“Well I’m not doing it,” said Blake. “I’ve got a career. I loved doing the show with dad as a kid, but I’m not giving up everything I’ve worked for to spend my life voicing a puppet.”

“You don’t have to,” I said.

“The will expressly said it had to be two of us.”

“I’d like to give it a go,” said Mario. “I know the routines, I’ve been onstage, I’ve been in recordings, I have a good idea what to do. Plus, I get on really well with Gimlet, we understand each other.”

“And I’d like to do it as well,” I said.

“You!” said Blake. “But you’re a woman.”

“I know,” I said.

“But the puppets are …”

“Puppets,” I interrupted.

“I think it would work,” said Mario.

“The Daily Mail will hate it,” said Blake. “A famous children’s puppet changing gender. You might as well make Chitty Chitty Bang Bang an electric vehicle.”

“That’s even more reason to do it,” I said. “We can even do a scene where Finchley goes to the ladies toilet, just to irk the anti-woke brigade.”

“The kids won’t care,” said Mario. “They’re a bit more open to things than Daily Mail journalists. They just want naughty puppets and great gags. There’s no such thing as politics if you can manage to make a child laugh.”

“Of course, you have the final say,” I said. “If you’d rather give the act to Gavin so that Bradley Walsh can voice the worst-drawn cartoon in puppet history.

Blake sighed. “I suppose,” he said.  “Dad must have realised I wouldn’t do it.  Typical bloody dad.”

“There will be new jokes to be had,” said Mario, always alert to the potential joke-count. “Not just playing with gender, but also playing off the two hosts against each other. You have to remember that G & F are used to outnumbering Ted.”

“There can even be allusions to you if you like Blake, ‘Don’t offend her, they’ll only bring their brother in to take her place, and he really doesn’t like you.”

“I like that,” said Mario. “We can even threaten them with Bradley Walsh to keep them in line.”