John Eccleston

Actor

John Eccleston is an English puppeteer, writer and presenter known for his work as lead puppeteer of Rygel on Farscape,[1] Groove on The Hoobs and his many roles on British children's television alongside Don Austen. He was also behind the character Gilbert the Alien (voiced by Phil Cornwell) on Get Fresh. He also performed Worth the Dog in the Woolworths adverts (again opposite Don Austen as Wooly The Sheep), Mervin J Minky on MTV's Fur TV and Rattus Rattus on the CBBC Horrible Histories series.

His "in vision" television career started as one of the original presenters of the UK version of the Mickey Mouse Club, Disney Club, the success of which led to his presenting Run the Risk, The Big Dish, the children's magazine show Brill and Get The Picture, for Nickelodeon. It took seven years for him to realise he did not like being pointed at in the street and he has remained off screen ever since.

Where to start: The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992).