Orville and Emu puppets expected to fetch up to £10,000 each at auction

They were once two of prime-time TV’s biggest stars – one best known for the catchphrase “I wish I could fly”, the other for an infamous attack on Michael Parkinson.

Now, the original puppets for Emu and Orville are to go on sale at auction, with guide prices set at between £8,000 and £10,000 each.

They are among a host of entertainment memorabilia lots which will be up for sale at Bonhams in December.

Orville, a loveable green duck who wore a cloth nappy, was created by ventriloquist and comedian Keith Harris for the BBC’s Keith Harris Show, which ran from 1982 to 1990.

At the height of their fame, the duo reached number four in the charts with Orville’s Song in 1982, and were later invited by Princess Diana to perform at third birthday celebrations for both William and Harry.

Harris died in 2015, aged 67, two years after being diagnosed with cancer.

The mischievous Emu got his big break thanks to comedian and entertainer Rod Hull in the 1970s, going on to achieve national fame with shows including Emu’s Broadcasting Company and Rod ‘N’ Emu.

Best known for creating chaos and attacking celebrities, Emu will always be remembered for the incident with Parkinson in 1976, in which the interviewer eventually fell off his chair.

Bonhams says the Emu puppet was acquired from Hull’s estate in the early 2000s, and is the “original puppet owned and used” by the star during his television and stage career.

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Hull died in 1999, aged 63, after falling from the roof of his home in East Sussex.

Other lots up for auction in the entertainment memorabilia sale include the original cover artwork for Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album, a colour print of The Beatles at Abbey Road Studios, and Francis Rossi’s famous Telecaster guitar, which he played for almost 50 years.

(c) Sky News 2019: Orville and Emu puppets expected to fetch up to £10,000 each at auction