Mr Blobby, the pink-and-yellow chaos agent from 1990s BBC show Noel's House Party, has made a bizarre comeback, leaving Schitt's Creek star Dan Levy terrified during a recent TV appearance. The character, known for his nonsensical 'Blobby' catchphrase, appeared on The Claudia Winkleman Show last month, where comedian Josh Widdicombe attempted to explain him to a confused Levy. When Blobby made a surprise entrance, the visibly terrified Canadian actor literally hid behind the sofa. 'That's our Mickey Mouse,' said Winkleman proudly.
The comeback has seen Blobby duet with pop stars like Self Esteem at the Hammersmith Apollo, appear on Saturday Night Live UK, and feature as a GQ cover star. Blobby costumes now change hands for thousands of pounds on eBay, and Blobby-shaped iced biscuits at Bayne's bakers in Scotland have become a cult bestseller. Cultural historian Dr Matthew Sweet called the revival 'a sign of idiotic times,' describing Blobby as 'a creation of breathtaking stupidity' whose 'dumb relentlessness' strikes a chord in a world 'commonly said to be getting more stupid.'
Blobby was invented by accident in 1992 as a one-off skit on Noel's House Party, pranking celebrities. Roughly doodled in mauve felt-tip by co-creator Michael Leggo, the 7ft pear-shaped figure was built by the BBC costume department with a perma-grin, googly green eyes, and yellow spots. He communicated solely by saying 'blobby' or 'blob' in a distorted voice. Despite being intended to bow out at the end of the series, fan mail overwhelmed the BBC, and Blobby was promoted to full-time sidekick, firing cream cakes into the studio audience with a catapult.
