Phil Fletcher

Phil Fletcher (born 27 October 1976) is a British puppeteer. He established his puppet manufacturing and performance company, Gluvets, at the age of 11. After briefly working in manufacturing he found summer work performing in holiday camps and became a full-time puppeteer in 2002.

In 2009, he was cast by the BBC as the puppeteer for Hacker T Dog for continuity segments on the CBBC Channel. Fletcher gave Hacker a voice for the first time and the character proved popular, receiving his own 63-episode TV series, Hacker Time, which was nominated for eight BAFTAs.

From 2017, Fletcher voiced Sweep in Sooty and from 2021 has appeared as Larry the Lizard on Buffering.

Early life Phil Fletcher was born in Hindley, Greater Manchester, on 27 October 1976. His first public show was a performance of Aesop's "The Tortoise and the Hare" at his local church.

Television Fletcher never aspired to appear on television, as he thought it too small a market, and concentrated on live performances. A programme trailer featuring an interrogation scene preceded the segment. Fletcher told his sound operator not to play the usual background music during the segment and told Layfield to move her head close to the Hacker puppet.

Fletcher's Gluvets company has made puppets for the Sooty TV series and replicas of famous puppets such as the Muppets, and Basil Brush, for his personal collection. From 2017 Fletcher provided the "voice" for Sweep on Sooty.

Personal life Fletcher has always lived in Hindley, except for his first two years at CBBC when he lived in London, and has two dogs. Fletcher also appears in a Pet Shop Boys tribute band, known as The Pound Shop Boys. As well as the band's hits he sings children's television themes and novelty chart hits.

In 2018, Fletcher purchased at auction one of the few surviving Emu puppets used by Rod Hull. He paid £8,860 for the puppet, well in excess of its £750–£1,000 estimate. The puppet joined others in his collection, such as George from Rainbow, Keith Harris' Orville the Duck, and Sooty and Sweep. Fletcher also performs alongside Ricardo Autobahn in the duo Pound Shop Boys, covering theme tunes to children's television programs in the style of Pet Shop Boys.