In 1982 I was working in Bray Studios when two mime artists, Gavin Robertson and Andy Dawson, came to see me. They seemed nice enough, but they'd a strange request - they wanted hats made like Thunderbirds 1 and 2. I thought they were nutters, so I asked to see their act. They did that trapped-in-a-glass-box mime and were amazing. They told me about their show but I didn't understand a word, so I put them in touch with my model-makers and forgot all about it.
In 1984 I saw their first performance in fringe theatre and it was fantastic - then I started taking them seriously. They were at the Edinburgh Festival in 1989, and later at the Apollo on Shaftesbury Avenue they broke all house records.
In the past 30 years few people in theatre and television have come up with anything that original. Somehow they've convinced the public that my puppets move and walk.
Now that Thunderbirds is having tumultuous success all over again, F.A.B. appeals to a new generation and it's resulted in other projects. When I did Space Precinct, Gavin and Andy dressed up as aliens and did special actions.
Recently I tested for the new series of Captain Scarlet in CDI [Computer Digital Information] and they enacted the original scenes for the computerisation. I forgave them for pinching the Thunderbirds idea long ago so I'll be there - every night probably. You can't keep me away.
