Bertha
Good Ol’ Bertha!
The titular main character of the show. She is the best machine at Spottiswood and Company and has worked there for over 50 years.
Tropes:
- Absurdly Elderly Mother: She is fifty years old and has a robot son.
- And Your Reward Is Parenthood: In the first episode, she makes Tracy’s robot design, simply because she was programmed to do so after completing an order of jigsaw puzzles. Don’t worry, Bertha is a loving mother to TOM.
- Aside Glance: Bertha does this to the camera, usually at the beginning or the end of the episode.
- She would also sometimes give a small wave to the viewer. Just a classic Fourth Wall break.
- Beeping Computers: Bertha’s computer does this. Do I even need to explain further?
- Birthday Episode: “Bertha’s Birthday Party” has the Spottiswood staff and TOM throwing Bertha a party to celebrate 50 years of her being in the factory. They even made a cake that looks exactly like Bertha!
- Cyber Green: Bertha is indeed a big green machine AND runs on an ‘80s computer.
- Do-Anything Robot: She is not technically a robot, though she can make anything you programme her to do.
- Flo: Bertha can do anything.Nell: Anything. Best machine in the factory.
- Gentle Giant: Bertha might be big, but she can pick up and pat TOM on the head ever so carefully.
- Machine Worship: The entire Spottiswood staff to their own extent admire her hardworking and remarkable personality.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Averted. She is nowhere near evil - just mischievous at times.
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Remade and Improved: As stated by Mr Sprott in “The Tea Nurse”, Bertha has been modernised over the years. Whilst we are not sure what exactly is changed about the machine, it has been theorised by fans that Bertha was originally steam powered in the ‘30s.- Since the rise of technology in the ‘80s, we can assume that Bertha had recently been installed with a computer and that she no longer runs on steam.
- Sleeps with Both Eyes Open: She has arms and eyes, yet no eyelids?
- Sick Episode: In “The Big Sneeze”, Bertha catches a cold.
- Troll: To Mr Duncan in “More Speed, Less Work”. When Mr Duncan tries to explain his changes in the factory to Mr Willmake and Mr Sprott, she takes his clipboard AND his stopwatch from him. Maybe that taught Mr Duncan a lesson on not to mess with the factory’s regular structure?
Ted Turner
Voiced by: Roy Kinnear
Ted is Bertha’s machine operator.
Tropes:
- Alliterative Name: Ted Turner.
- Blue Means Smart One: Ted is indeed smart enough to know how to use Bertha’s computer.
- Clipboard of Authority: Out of the four factory fellows that work alongside Bertha, Ted is the one in charge out of all of them. He is also the one that usually types something on Bertha’s computer to tell her what she needed to do.
- Labcoat of Science and Medicine: Averted. Ted is no doctor or scientist, but he does operate a factory machine. That counts, right?
- Machine Empathy: Ted is one of the many people that has a strong connection to Bertha. He can even tell if Bertha is excited or angry.
- Mentor Archetype: To Roy.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Ted's long chin, high moustache and sideburns make him look an awful lot like Bruce Forsyth. He even sounds like Brucie.
- Overalls and Gingham: Ted wears a blue gingham shirt with denim overalls for work.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Whilst the colours of the two are switched, Ted is a quick thinker and has the more exaggerated accent compared to Roy’s keen yet slow manner and his soft/quiet voice.
Roy Willing
Voiced by: Roy Kinnear
Roy is Ted’s young apprentice and the assistant machine operator to Bertha.
Tropes:
- Bizarre Taste in Food: Roy likes putting peanut butter and cornflakes together in a sandwich. No, we are not making this up.
- Diagnosed by the Audience: One of the most popular Bertha theories is that Roy could possibly be autistic, mainly due to the fact on how he is the most quiet and shy out of the entire staff.
- Now, autism would’ve been very hard to diagnose in the ‘80s since there isn’t as much information on the disorder as it is nowadays. Essentially, autistic people back then were either diagnosed later on in their life or they were not diagnosed at all.
- We can assume this is the same for Roy and that he is ‘masking’ which is when an autistic person hides their autistic traits in order to fit in with society. Wow.
- Dreaming of Things to Come: While we don’t know if he’ll actually become one, in “The Big Order” after Roy finishes putting labels on the boxes, he decides to sleep on some crates and has a Dream Sequence about being the manager of Spottiswood.
- Machine Empathy: Roy is extremely fond of Bertha. The merchandise even consider them to be best friends.
- We can also link to TOM as well, since these two interact with each other a lot in the factory.
- Meaningful Name: He is ‘Willing’ to help out on the factory floor. See what we did there?
- Named After Someone Famous: Somewhat downplayed. We still don’t even know if Roy is named after Roy Kinnear.
- Overalls and Gingham: At work, Roy wears a red gingham shirt with overalls, complete with a matching jacket and hat. How stylish.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Roy’s soft and passionate oni to Ted’s louder and professional oni.
- The Apprentice: He is indeed the apprentice.
Nell and Flo
Nell
Flo
Voiced by: Sheila Walker
Nell and Flo are the two packers and stackers that work on the factory floor. Nell packs. Flo stacks.
Tropes:
- Character Tics: Nell typically fluffs her hair with her hand.
- Hair-Contrast Duo: Flo’s curly blonde hair to Nell’s straight black hair.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Nell and Flo are often seen together, so fans of the show like to head canon them as partners.
- They even share a song together in “The Best Machine Competition”.
- Left Your Lifesaverbehind: Flo loses her purse in “The Windmills”, which causes her to be late back for work. It is unknown if she found her purse in the end, but the staff did give her all the money that was in that money box.
Panjit Singh
Voiced by: Roy Kinnear
Panjit is the factory’s forklift driver who delivers goods Bertha makes into the dispatch department.
Tropes:
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Fake Nationality: Creator/Roy Kinnear did all the male voices in the show when it first aired in the 80’s, and back then it would have been fine for a non-Indian actor to play an Indian character. Now, we know Kinnear means well and Panjit is still a good character but…yikes. - Token Minority: Panjit is the only Indian member of the entire staff and wears a turban (most likely because of religious reasons).
Mr Duncan
Voiced by: Roy Kinnear
Mr Duncan is the foreman at Spottiswood and Company who watches over the factory floor.
Tropes:
TOM
TOM (Standing for Talk Operated Machine) is Bertha’s robot son and helper at Spottiswood and Company.
Tropes:
Mrs Tupp
Voiced by: Sheila Walker
Mrs Tupp is Spottiswood’s ‘tea nurse’ (the tea lady and a nurse).
Tropes:
Mr Sprott
Voiced by: Roy Kinnear
Mr Sprott is the chief designer.
Tropes:
Tracy
Voiced by: Sheila Walker
Tracy is the assistant chief designer, who also created TOM.
Tropes:
Miss Mc Clackerty
Voiced by: Sheila Walker
Miss Mc Clackerty is the manager’s secretary who is typically seen typing.
Tropes:
Mr Willmake
Voiced by: Roy Kinnear
Mr Willmake is the manager in charge of Spottiswood and Company.
