"Castle Duckula, home for many centuries to a dreadful dynasty of vicious vampire ducks - the counts of DUCKULA. Legend has it that these foul beings can be destroyed by a stake through the heart, or exposure to sunlight. This does not suffice, however, for they may be brought back to life by means of a secret rite, which can be performed once a century, when the moon is in the eighth house of Asparagus. The latest reincarnation did not run according to plan...".

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The star of this show and, if he had his way, any show, Count Duckula has come a long way since his first appearance as a guest villain in Dangermouse. In this incarnation, he is the last in a long line of evil Transylvanian vampires, reincarnated by ancient black magic. Unfortunately, when the necessary rite was performed, a bottle of ketchup was accidently used instead of blood. This led to the Count being born again as a completely un-evil vegetarian vampire, with a love of hot cocoa, choccy biccies and the other nice things in life. Duckula gets annoyed by the pressures of his position - scaring the peasants, being a scourge on the land etc., and refuses to carry out any vampiring duties. All he really wants is money, fame and a normal life (the normal life of a star, that is), although these things constantly elude him. He does at least get to escape from the gloom of Transylvania regularly, for Castle Duckula has a built-in teleport mechanism, allowing the Count to transport it anywhere he wants. It returns home automatically at Dawn, Eastern Transylvanian Standard Time, frequently leaving Duckula and co. stranded somewhere.

Did you know?

• His favourite food is broccoli, usually in a sandwich.
• Like all vampires, he has no reflection, but he's not harmed by sunlight. Although he can't fly or turn into a bat, Duckula can teleport himself from place to place in a puff of smoke.
• The Count has a huge family, mainly consisting of aunties, uncles and cousins.
• The Duckula family motto is "Per Ardua ad Sanguina", which loosely translates as "Work hard to get blood".
• In France, Duckula is called Mordicus, a pun on the French verb "mordre" meaning "to bite" (wow, I feel like such an anorak knowing these things!).
• Most likely to say "Igor, per-lease!" or "Naaaaannny!!"

Duckula's faithful retainer, this elderly vulture has served the Count's family for many centuries. A thoroughly evil fellow himself, Igor is apalled at the Count's current incarnation, and works hard to convert him back to the old ways - substituting his vegetable juice for blood, offering to bring him village maidens etc. Duckula, of course, is having none of it, and often threatens Igor with the sack (he has actually sacked Igor and Nanny a few times). On the plus side Igor is very faithful to the Count in times of trouble, as he considers it his sworn duty to protect members of the Duckula clan, no matter how useless they may be.

Did you know?

• Evidence from various episodes suggests that Igor is well over 600 years old (he's very well preserved!).
• He has 13 siblings.
• Igor was voiced by the late Jack May, best known as Nelson Gabriel in long-running bucolic radio show "The Archers".

Duckula's nanny (duh) and housekeeper. Like Igor, she seems to have been with the family for many years, although goodness knows what she did back when the Count was evil. A huge old chicken with her right arm permanently in a sling, Nanny has a big heart, but a tiny brain. She has little or no concept of opening doors, and cheerfully crashes through walls to reach her destination. Fiercely protective of the Count, she fusses over and mothers him as if he were a baby, calling him her little "Duckyboos".

Did you know?

• Nanny can produce virtually anything from her sling, from breakfast cereal to a pot of piping-hot tea.
• She is incredibly strong, and has been known to lift up cars and washing machines with one hand. Naturally, Duckula lives in fear of her bone-crushing hugs.
• Never eat or drink anything prepared by Nanny. She bakes rock cakes that are denser than real rocks, and brews home-made Sarsaparilla that could take your head off.
• Nanny is called NouNou in France and Emma in Germany.
• Most likely to say "I'll get it!"

Self-proclaimed and self-obsessed "greatest wampire hunter in ze vorld". An eccentric German goose who has dedicated his life to ridding the world of the scourge of Duckula (he chooses to ignore the Count's harmless nature). He's also an inventor, and has made many quantum leaps in the field of vampire hunting technology - although not all of them forwards. Can usually be seen spying on Castle Duckula from his dirigible or hot air balloon. Luckily for Duckula, Von Goosewing's pretty rubbish at what he does, and his schemes usually backfire on him somehow.

Did you know?

• Goosewing has an imaginary assistant named Heinrich.
• According to Marvel's Duckula comic books, he lives with his attractive young niece, Vanna. This was totally made up for the American market, as there's no evidence of this in the TV show.
• His first name is apparantly Otto.
• Some of his more notable inventions include the vampireometer (beeps and flashes when vampies are near), a depressed metal monster, an invisibility ray, a giant flying vacuum cleaner, and a garlic-firing gun made out of bagpipes and moose antlers.

Dmitri (green) and Sviatoslav (blue) are two wisecracking clockwork bats, who live in the ancient cuckoo clock that controls Castle Duckula's teleporting mechanism. Their usual role in each episode is to pop out of the clock and tell an excruciating joke or two.

The Narrator
Begins and ends every episode with his characteristic doom-laden tones. Unlike the narrator in Dangermouse, this one plays it completely straight. Point of interest: Most likely to say "Goodnight out there.... whatever you are!"

The Crow Brothers
Ruffles (the leader), Burt, Junior and the unnamed other one are four shifty thieves who regularly have their sights set on the contents of Castle Duckula. Point of interest: The name Ruffles is a pun on Raffles, the gentleman thief of British literature.

Gaston and Pierre
Two French crooks whose sneaky plans are frequently interfered with by Duckula and co. Point of interest: Through the magic of cartoon evolution, these two changed names and species and eventually became Victor and Hugo.

The Egg
A supervillain with a grudge against the world, because he never hatched out of his egg.

Towser
Castle Duckula's resident werewolf. Never seen on screen.

Hawkeye Soames and Dr Potson
World's greatest detective, with the world's most sychophantic assistant. Like Inspector Gadget, he solves crimes by accident rather than design.

Lots and lots and LOTS. Some things I can remember are:

• At least 15 books, including a joke book
• Plush and plastic toys
• Duvet cover and curtains
• Photo album
• Comics
• Stickers and stationery
• Wrapping paper and greetings cards
• Board game and jigsaws
• Mugs and an eggcup
• Candy
• Clothing, including a Duckula costume
• Videos and cassettes
• Children's chewable vitamin tablets (I kid you not)

Currently, you can get Duckula on VHS and DVD, released by Pearson TV. The older videos are pretty easy to find second-hand too, as are the books.

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