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Pádraig Judas O'Leprosy and Rodraig Spartacus O'Leprosy (born 1941)[1] are the central characters of Irish television series A Scare at Bedtime, created and performed by Ciaran Morrison and Mick O'Hara. More recently, the brothers have presented The Podge and Rodge Show, a chat show in the same vein, and Podge & Rodge's Stickit Inn, set in a pub. Morrison and O'Hara also created and perform the characters of Zig and Zag, Bronx Bunny, and Teddy T.

Podge and Rodge
A Scare at Bedtime character
Podge and Rodge.JPG
First appearance
The Den (1990)
Last appearance
The Podge and Rodge Show (2019)
Created by
Ciaran Morrison and Mick O'Hara
Portrayed by
Ciaran Morrison and Mick O'Hara
Character history
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Origins
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Podge originally appeared as a "villain" character on the children's programming block, The Den. He was introduced in 1990, as an ordinary puppet that Zag (of Zig and Zag) had found in a box amongst the rubbish behind an old joke shop. Dubbing the puppet "Podge," Zag used him to practice ventriloquism, and would put on the "Podge and Zag" show, which a jealous Zig usually interrupted.

During one of these shorts an unidentified voiceover can be heard saying to Zag, "aren't you a smelly stupid ugly alien". The character of Podge was then revealed to be alive to the audience, with the ability to speak and move. He also acted as an antagonist to Zig, often bullying him, or encouraging him to commit acts of nuisance such as stealing a bike.

Other characters, such as Zag and the presenter Ray D'Arcy remained oblivious to Podge's true nature for some time; Podge can occasionally be seen to be moving in the background during continuity announcements between programmes, or be seen scheming on his own, and letters and pictures would pour in from the viewing children trying to let them know that the little puppet was evil.

Eventually, after Zig finally told Zag and Ray the truth, Podge made a power play and took over the programme for a day, revealing that he had been brought to life by a magician, but then sealed away when he turned evil. Podge also possessed some magical powers of his own that he'd learned from the magician, and turned one of the crew members into a teapot. He was finally dealt with when the magician arrived at the end of the programming day, hypnotized Podge (who the magician called "Albert"), and took Podge away.

As a recurring villain
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Podge once attempted to ruin Christmas for The Den crew by kidnapping Santa and putting on his suit.
Following his initial "story arc," Podge became a recurring presence on The Den over the next six years, causing trouble by using one of many paper-thins disguises that the gang could never see through, despite his constant insults and use his catchphrase, "Oh really?" Over the years, he posed as a child named "Patrick Egdop," a postman also named Patrick, a leprechaun, a trick-or-treater, a health inspector, a taxi-driver, and a builder named "Diglas McDoug." He physically fought with Dustin the Turkey upon their first meeting, establishing a pattern that would often repeat when they met again; once, he locked Dustin in the cupboard under the stairs and attempted to take his place by means of disguising himself with a few feathers and a coffee cup for a beak. He often sought to eat Zuppy, who could always see through his disguises and was responsible for his being caught out several times. His "magical" origins were never referred to again, but he retained some of his powers, such as an ability to disappear into thin air to escape when his disguises were seen through.

Podge's most daring scheme was 1992's "Christmas Crisis," in which he tried to ensure that Zig would receive no presents from Santa Claus, using his postman disguise to enter their home, break one of the presents, for which Zig would be blamed, and also make off with a bottle of "Scent of Man", a cologne which would be a recurring motif for the character, often revealing his identity. Zig was able to prove his innocence, but Podge in his right mind, was still intent on ruining Christmas, taking the gang's Christmas letters and not delivering them to Santa. When The Den crew set out to do the job themselves, Podge kidnapped Santa and took his place but was thwarted in the end.

Eventually, in 1996, Podge was finally well and truly caught by the Den gang, only to be freed by his never-before-seen twin brother, Rodge, posing as a policeman, who escorted him away. The "Dastardly Duo" continued to make trouble for the gang over the following year, mostly on the holidays; they staged "Christmas Crisis II" in 1996 to try and ruin the gang's Christmas once again. Rodge's precise origins were never gone into (the young children who were the programme's target audience had not been around for Podge's own introduction years before, after all, so it didn't really matter), but he possessed the same "vanishing" power Podge did, as well as the same fondness for Scent of Man and taste for