George is an effeminate anthropomorphic pink hippo and a character of the children's television programme Rainbow, voiced by Roy Skelton[1] and operated by Malcolm Lord, Tony Holtham and later Craig Crane.

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George
Rainbow character
George (first from left) appearing on TV show Rainbow.
Portrayed by	Ian Allen (puppeteer, 1973) Valerie Heberden (puppeteer, 1973–80) Malcolm Lord (puppeteer, 1980–89) Tony Holtham (puppeteer, 1989–92) Craig Crane (puppeteer, 1994–97) Mark Mander (puppeteer, 2006–present)
Voiced by	Roy Skelton (1973–92, 2005–11) Craig Crane (1994–97) Mark Mander (2006–present)
In-universe information
Species	Hippopotamus Puppet
Gender	Male

Sporting long eyelashes, George often appeared to be initially outwitted by the more extrovert and egotistical Zippy. However in the manner of The Tortoise and the Hare, George normally won through in the end.

George was fond of stories from the Rainbow book.

George's "catchphrase" was his own delayed and elongated goodbye at the end of the show, i.e. Geoffrey, Zippy, Bungle, Rod, Jane, Freddy would say "goodbye" normally, followed by a one-second pause and then George's own "good by-eye". This was because Roy Skelton would voice both George and Zippy at the same time, meaning that they could not speak at the same time.

In December 2007, Zippy and George appeared on a puppet special of The Weakest Link hosted by Anne Robinson which was originally broadcast on Friday, 28 December 2007 at 18:00 GMT on BBC1. They were third to be eliminated.

George makes an appearance alongside Zippy in the premiere episode of BBC television series Ashes to Ashes. He was operated by Mark Mander on that programme, although Skelton continued to provide his voice.[2]

In October 2017, Zippy, George and Bungle appeared in a Pizza Hut advert.[3][4]

Sexuality

George's sexuality as possibly being gay has been debated. In many Rainbow episodes he can be seen sharing a bath with Zippy.[5][6]

Further reading

• Climbing High: Life Under the Rainbow Exposed by V. S. Ganjabhang and Mike Anderiesz, Pan MacMillan (2002)
• The A-Z of Classic Children's Television by Simon Sheridan, Reynolds & Hearn (2007)
• Rainbow Unzipped: The Shocking Truth about Zippy, George and Bungle - In Their Own Words by Tim Randall, Headline (2009)
• Zippy and Me: My Life Inside Britain's Most Infamous Puppet by Ronnie LeDrew, Unbound (2019)

References

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