Someone who's good at doing other people's voices: Rory Bremner, Steve Coogan, Chris Barrie, Mike Yarwood.

haha! i knew the impressions thing would come back to haunt me.

my vote for basil's replacement voice goes to Matt Lucas of Shooting Stars, etc

I don't like Matt Lucas. It's hard to say exactly why, but he has always struck me as a complete git.

Bill Haslam's company "Boom Boom Ltd" bought the rights to Basil from Ivan Owen's family two years ago, in order to ensure his return to the screen without troubling the ill Ivan Owen. A new puppet has been created, though the original survives in a case at the family home in Cornwall - no-one has ever been allowed to use it, because they believed that no-one can operate it like Ivan. The articles I've seen to date (there have been quite a few) indicate Basil's new series is about to start, but the identity of the actor voicing him is top secret. Daresay we'll find out soon enough...

The original Basil lives in a case?

The world is a very depressing place...

..and Chris Evans lives in a twenty-bedroom countryside mansion.

Depressing indeed....

>The original Basil lives in a case?
>
>The world is a very depressing place...

Imagine what it's like in there, all dark.
And lonely. Nothing to laugh at and say 'boom boom.'

Run run Basil
Run run run
Gotta run for an hour
Then say "Boom Boom!"

Hey in the pouring rain...

.......where the smell of terror brings a thousand idents! idents!