Basil Brush is still as cheeky as ever: OPINION

It’s been rather eventful.

First of all, we’ve had BBC Music Day – a fantastic annual UK celebration of all things music.

We were lucky enough to have a house band in the studio for the entire day, Southsea’s Colour of the Jungle.

They were amazing and provided a really eclectic mix of self-penned numbers throughout our programmes.

I love chatting to musicians about the inspiration behind their work, but I wasn’t expecting one story which involved the lead singer’s mate whose son decided to drop his Dad’s phone into a full potty.

I’ll spare the graphic details but who knew an act like this would create ear-grabbing music?

The other big event of the week was a visit to the studio by Basil Brush.

I’m fortunate to count the little furry fox as a friend after we met about five years ago. We co-presented a show together in 2015 and I still remember it to this day. He certainly keeps you on your toes.

What’s lovely about working with Basil is seeing other people’s reaction to him. It’s impossible not to smile when you hear him as your mind is instantly transported back to your childhood with Basil on the telly and whichever ‘Mr’ accompanied him – it was Mr Derek for me.

Basil is one of those characters who has really stood the test of time. His debonaire charm and cheeky wit lets him get away with murder and he strikes that perfect balance of taking his humour to a level that makes adults chuckle but goes over the heads of little ones.

Although I miss Basil on the TV, he’s still going strong, having just completed a run at the Edinburgh Festival where he launched his new show Basil: Unleashed – a slightly cheekier hour of entertainment for grown-up Brush fans.

He came into the studio to announce he was bringing the show to Southampton on October 19. I can’t wait.

Funnier still was seeing Alun’s reaction when he met Basil – he was trying to play it cool but was clearly starstruck.

Boom, boom!