Bob the Builder / Characters

A list of the characters in Bob the Builder.

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Team Bob

Bob the Builder

Bob The Builder

Actors: Neil Morrissey (UK 1998-2012), Rob Rackstraw (UK 2007-2012 Only For Live Shows) William Dufris, (US 2001-2005) Greg Proops (US 2005-2007), Marc Silk (US 2007-2012), Lee Ingleby (UK 2015-Present), Colin Murdock (US 2015-Present), Takuma Suzuki (Japan)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bob_6.jpg

Can we fix it?

The main protagonist and a General Contractor and head of his own construction yard based in Bobsville (original series) & Spring City (2015 series). A very passionate man who always shows determination to get the job done and to encourage everyone else.

Affectionate Nickname: His parents call him "Bobby".
Alliterative Name: Bob the Builder.
All-Loving Hero: He's very kind and loving to everyone around him, even his machines, whom he cares for greatly.
Generation Xerox: He's the third generation in the family to be a builder—his father was a builder, and so was his grandfather.
Lethal Chef: This is true in the 2015 reboot.
Mr Fix It: It's kind of in his job description.
Nice Guy
Papa Wolf: In "Muck's Sleepover", he went to go find his cat, Pilchard, in the dark without a second thought rather than wait until morning to find her.
Sick Episode: "Wendy's Busy Day"
Strong Family Resemblance: He and his twin brother, Tom, look like younger versions of their father, Robert.
Team Dad: He cares for his team like they're family.

Wendy

Actresses: Kate Harbour (UK 1998-2012) Lorelei King (US 2001-2012) Joanne Froggatt (UK/US 2015-present) Sagit Shamir (Israel original dub) Neta Shachar (Israel (JimJam dub) 2015-2017) Talya Barkay (Israel (JimJam dub) 2017-2018) Rinna Paatso (Finland, original dub), Nina Kumagaya (Japan)

Let's do it then!

The deuteragonist, Bob's business partner who runs the office and keeps the business in order, and often organizes tools and equipment. She is also seen doing construction work in many episodes.

Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She has blonde hair and is very loving.
Implied Love Interest: To Bob. He even kissed her on the cheek once, but nothing has been confirmed.
Mrs. Fix It: She's just as good at fixing & building as Bob.
Team Mom: Like Bob, she cares deeply for the machines as proven in "Wendy's Busy Day" after Dizzy gets stuck in some concrete.
Tomboy: She is a construction worker.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Enjoys wearing dresses outside of work and regularly goes to the hairdressers to get her hair done
Tomboyish Ponytail: Her usual hairstyle.

Scoop

Actors: Rob Rackstraw (UK 1998-2012) Alan Marriott (US 2001-2009) David Menkin (US 2010-2012) Blake Harrison (UK/US 2015-present) Ricardo Silva (Latin America) Tal Brosh (Israel; original dub) Shauli Halevi (Israel; JimJam dub; 2015-2017) Ido Bialik (Israel; JimJam dub; 2017), Antti Pääkkönen (Finland; original dub), Masayoshi Satō (Japan)

No prob Bob!

A yellow backhoe loader and the leader of Bob's machines. He was the first machine acquired by Bob.

Bad Liar: Given that he's normally very honest with Bob, he struggles to do the contrary.
Big Brother Mentor: Becomes this to Benny in "Project Build It".
Character Catchphrase: "Can we fix it?"
Cool Big Bro: To Benny.
She's a Man in Japan: He's a female in the Polish and Swedish dubs.
Team Dad: He plays this role to the younger machines such as Dizzy.
The Leader: He's the de-facto leader of the machine crew whenever Bob isn't around.
Took a Level in Dumbass: His personality in the 2015 reboot counts as this as he became more child-like compared to his original persona.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He gains Lofty's fear of heights when his attempt to see "the whole of spring city" from the top of a skyscraper goes disastrously wrong.

Muck

Actors: Rob Rackstraw (UK; 1998-2012), Lachele Carl (US; 2001-2009), Sophie Aldred (US; 2010-2012), Paul Panting (UK; 2015-present), Vincent Tong (US; 2015-present), Shauli Halevi (Israel, original dub and 2017 JimJam dub), Uri Dror (Israel, JimJam dub; 2015-2017), Jukka Rasila (Finland, original dub), Takayuki Yamaguchi (Japan)

I love being mucky!

The Big Guy: By far the strongest of Bob's machines, and useful for hauling materials.
Hates Baths: Likes to be dirty, and dislikes being washed.
Red Is Heroic: Red paint.
She's a Man in Japan: Although all the machines change gender in at least one dub, Muck is most famous for this as he's female in the US dub of the original series.
Tomboy: In the American dub at least.
Took a Level in Dumbass: In the 2015 reboot, he is very idiotic.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He/she's very afraid of the dark.

Lofty

Actors: Neil Morrissey (UK: 1998-2012) Sonya Leite (US: 2001-Early 2005), Emma Tate (US: Late 2005-2012) Steven Kynman (UK: 2015-present), Richard Ian Cox (US: 2015-present), Francisco Colmenero (Latin America), Dan Shatzberg (Israel: original dub and 2017 JimJam dub), Omer Rosenblum (Israel, JimJam dub: 2015-2017), Antti Pääkkönen (Finland, original dub), Toshitaka Hirano (Japan)

Uh, yeah! I think so.

A blue mobile crane. He tends to get scared, always thinking he can't do things that he can, and lacks confidence.

Adaptational Personality Change: In the 2015 reboot, he is much more confident, sarcastic, and bossy.
Blue Is Heroic: Blue paint.
Character Catchphrase: "Uh, yeah, I think so!"
Cowardly Sidekick: He can be frightened easily, and has trouble believing in his own abilities.
Eek, a Mouse!!: The only thing that frightens Lofty more than anything is mice, which sends him racing for the hills. If he mistakes anything for a mouse, expect him to make a speedy getaway.
Lovable Coward: He is a scaredy-machine, but he gets the job done anyway.
Odd Reaction Out: Lofty is usually the only one not to say, "Yes, [word] can!" in response to the show's many "Can [word] [verb] it?" questions. He will hesitantly say, "I think so" instead.
Shrinking Violet: He is very shy.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He's very afraid of different things depending on the series.
- In the original show, he fears heights. And mice.
- In the 2015 reboot, he hears and dislikes lifting very heavy objects, which can cause his boom to break.

Roley

Actors: Neil Morrissey (UK 1998-2012), Maria Darling (US 2001-2005), Lorelei King (US 2006-2012), Marcel McCalla (UK 2015-present), Ian James Corlett (US 2015-present) Ernesto Lezama (Latin America), Shauli Halevi (Israel (original dub and 2017 JimJam dub), Omer Rosenblum (Israel (JimJam dub) 2015-2017), Timo Tuominen (Finland; original dub), Hidenari Ugaki (Japan)

Rock and roll!

A road roller who loves to make up songs and frequently spins his eyes when he is excited.

Adaptational Personality Change: In the 2015 reboot, he is a huge perfectionist.
Character Catchphrase: "Rock and roll!"
Character Tics: He spins his eyes when he's excited.
Demoted to Extra: He barely appears in the 2015 reboot.
Mellow Fellow: Usually laid-back unless a problem props up.
The Perfectionist: In the 2015 reboot, he is fussy and obsesses over everything being perfect.
She's a Man in Japan: He's female in the Swedish dub.
You Don't Look Like You: Out of all the machines in Bob's crew, he was changed the most, as he's a completely different model of roller in the 2015 series. (Originally loosely based on a Diesel road roller, now he looks like a Compactor Vibromax VM115D.)

Dizzy

Actresses: Kate Harbour (UK; 1998-2012), Maria Darling (US; 2001-2005), Lorelei King (US; 2006-2012), Sarah Hadland (UK; 2015-present), Claire Corlett (US; 2015-present), Rozi Rabinowitz (Israel, original dub), Tamar Halevi (Israel, JimJam dub; 2015-2017), Einat Azulay (Israel, JimJam dub; 2017), Tomoko Ishimura (Japan)

An orange tilting-drum concrete mixer. Dizzy is portrayed as one of the youngest vehicles in Bob's building yard. She is eager, curious, and easily excitable.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dizzy_2.jpg

Brilliant!

The Baby of the Bunch: She's the youngest of the Can-Do Crew.
Commonality Connection: She and Roley are good friends because they both like music.
Demoted to Extra: She hardly appears in the 2015 reboot.
Genki Girl: She's very peppy and happy most of the time.
Kid-Appeal Character: Although all the machines are this to some extent, Dizzy takes the crown for being young, energetic, and largely adorable.
Plucky Comic Relief: Tends to be the silliest of all the machines.
The Smurfette Principle: In the original UK dub at least. In other dubs, she's not the only female member of Bob's Machine Team.

Pilchard

Actress: Kate Harbour

A cat owned by Bob. She is considered to be part of the team, though can often be found distracted or asleep whenever she is actually needed.

Tropes:

Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Pilchard is a blue cat.
Cats Are Mean: Downplayed, Pilchard can sometimes get up to mischief, but she never deliberately tries to interfere with Bob & the team.
Team Pet: Serves as this to the Can-Do Crew.

Other Characters From Both Series

Farmer Percy Pickles

Actors: Neil Morrissey (UK 1998-2012), William Dufris (US 2001-Early 2005), Vincent Marzello (US 2005-2011), Toshitaka Hirano (Japan)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/farmer_pickles_bob_the_builder_96.jpg

Alliterative Name: Percy Pickles.
Deep South: Farmer Pickles speaks with a southern accent in the US dub of Project: Build-It and Ready, Steady, Build!.
Put on a Bus: He, along with Travis and Spud, disappeared in the reboot. However, Farmer Pickles returned to the series in 2018.

Mr. Bernard Bentley

Actors: Rob Rackstraw (UK 2000-2012; US: Late 2005-2012), Alan Marriott (US 2001-Early 2005), Nick Mercer (UK 2015-Present) Ian James Corlett (US 2015-Present), Hidenari Ugaki (Japan)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2018_10_07_at_32243_pm.png

Alliterative Name: Bernard Bentley.
Benevolent Boss: Or rather Benevolent Inspector. While Mr. Bentley makes sure that a job is being done to the correct standards, he is not, at all stingy. In fact, he is actually a firm but fair man.
Bumbling Sidekick: He is this to Mayor Madison in the 2015 reboot.
Jerkass to One: It's suggested in some episodes that he doesn't like Spud due to Spud's naughty behavior and constant hindering in Bob's projects.
Took a Level in Dumbass: Big time in the 2015 reboot, where he's reduced to a bumbling buffoon whenever he's around Mayor Madison.
Undying Loyalty: He often says to Bob, "I can always rely on you." This shows how much he trusts Bob and his team.

Original Series Only

Spud

Actors: Rob Rackstraw, Alan Marriott

A scarecrow in Farmer Pickles' fields. He's a bit of a nuisance, but he's got a good heart.

Big Bad: When he's more mischievous, he is the main antagonist and the one who causes the most problems.
Character Catchphrase: "Spud's on the job!"
It's All About Me: He is always like this.
Jerkass: He is mischievous and obnoxious.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his mischievous and troublesome nature, he does care for everyone.
Kick the Dog: He made fun of Lofty for being afraid of heights in "Lofty to the Rescue".
Laser-Guided Karma: He'll often suffer from this for all the trouble he causes.
Pet the Dog: Has a few moments.
Those Two Guys: Often seen with Travis.

Travis

Actors: Rob Rackstraw (UK 1998-2011) Alan Marriott (US 2001-2008), David Menken (US 2010-2011)

A turquoise tractor on Farmer Pickles' farm.

Only Sane Man: Can be the voice of reason when Spud is around.
Those Two Guys: Often seen with Spud.

Bird

A Dog Named "Dog": He's a bird named Bird.
Interspecies Friendship: He's a bird who's best friends with Roley, a steamroller.

Benny

Character Catchphrase: "Unreal, banana peel!"
Kid-Appeal Character: Very cheerful, childish, and young compared to the Can-Do Crew, reflecting the target audience.

Tom

Actors: Stephen Tompkinson (UK); Rupert Degas (US)

Bob's twin brother, a zoologist who lives in the Arctic Circle

Dudley Do-Right Stops to Help: The reason he misses the boat to the Mainland is because he stopped to help a deer reunite with its father.
Friend to All Living Things: Befitting a zoologist, he's very protective towards all animals.
Strong Family Resemblance: He and Bob are twins, so they look exactly alike. Dizzy can't help but lampshade that Tom looks just like Bob.

Robert and Dot

Actors: Richard Briers (Robert; UK), June Whitfield (Dot; UK); Vincent Marzello (Robert; US), Lorelei King (Dot US)

Bob and Tom's parents. Robert was a retired builder until he came out of retirement to take over the Bobsville building yard in the ''Project: Build It" series while Dot took over Wendy's job as secretary

Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The machines refer to them as "Bob's Mom and Dad".
Strong Family Resemblance: Robert looks like Bob and Tom but with gray hair.

2015 Series Only

Tiny

Ironic Name: His name is Tiny..., he is a skyscraper crane.

Shifter

Only Sane Man: Sticks to point and makes it clear.

Conrad

Actors: Brian Cox

Big Bad: Of Mega Machines: The Movie and, for that matter, the first actual villain in the series.
The Bully: To Bob.
Hate Sink: It seems he was made to be as despicable as possible. And boy, does it show!
Jerkass: To his machines.
Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: For a children's series featuring live machines he really stands out as being the vilest, as he started a flood so he could ruin Bob's good name and threatens to scrap his machines if they don't do his bidding.

Characters / Bob the Builder