Hacker T Dog

Hacker The Dog[1] (born 27 October[2][3]), more commonly known as Hacker T Dog, is a Border Terrier[4][5] dog puppet who appears on the CBBC television channel in the United Kingdom.[6] He is described as being born and living in Wigan, Lancashire.[7][8] He is the half-brother of Dodge T Dog and is the son of Mrs T Dog, with a father never mentioned or seen. He is voiced by puppeteer Phil Fletcher.

Hacker T Dog
CBBC, Scoop & Hacker Time character
First appearanceScoop (2009)
Created byNeil Sterenberg
Portrayed by
In-universe information
SpeciesBorder Terrier
GenderMale
OccupationPresenter
NationalityBritish
Birth date27 October
OwnerDigby Digworth (Scoop)

Development

Hacker was introduced as a character in the CBBC television programme Scoop, performed by Andy Heath. Hacker used to be an unintelligible dog. The character became popular, and began to appear as a weekday presenter at the CBBC office in May 2009, with the puppetry and voice now being performed by Phil Fletcher. His "half-brother" Dodge T Dog joined the following year. In July, he began presenting on weekdays with Scottish comedian Iain Stirling.[9] He presented with Stirling until his departure in 2013, when they began presenting with Chris Johnson.[10]

In 2011, Hacker was given a solo presenting role on a separate chat show titled Hacker Time.[11]

The character took a hiatus from CBBC in April 2014. During his absence, numerous guest presenters filled in for him during his usual weekday afternoon slot. Hacker returned temporarily on 24 May 2014, before making a permanent return on 18 June 2014.

A 2016 clip in which Hacker deadpans to host Lauren Layfield "We're just normal men... We're just innocent men", prompting Layfield to break character and laugh while Hacker continues to deadpan, resurfaced in 2022 and went viral.[12][13][14] While some assumed the clip had context before the exchange, Fletcher later explained that there was none, and he just ad-libbed the line to make Layfield laugh.[13]

Hacker is very fond of television presenter Sue Barker and mentions her often.[15][16] In 2009 Hacker was the mascot for the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship.[17][18][19][20]

Hacker is known for saying ‘cockers’ - a Northern term for ‘mate’.[21]

In other media

Hacker, Barry Davies and Amberley Lobo provided CBBC commentary on the Russia v Belgium match at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Hacker appeared on an episode of Celebrity Mastermind in December 2016, his specialist subject being the Pet Shop Boys. He came in second place, losing to television chef Paul Rankin.[22]

A Hacker T Dog plush puppet was released in 2015 and made by Kidz Kreations, and sold in Argos and The Entertainer.

Social media

Hacker gained an official Twitter account in 2014, which as of March 2021 has over 42,000 followers. An Instagram account was eventually created in April 2019, followed by an official YouTube channel. These social media channels are run by both Phil Fletcher and the BBC social media team.

Television

The character has appeared in the following roles:

YearTitleNotes
2009–2011ScoopMain role
2009–presentCBBC HQChannel presenter
2011–2016Hacker TimeNamesake presenter
2013, 2016Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up
2014Wimbledon 2day
2015Wimbledon
Hacker's Birthday Bash: 30 Years of Children's BBCMain role
2015–2017The Dog Ate My Homework5 appearances
All Over the PlaceAppears in cutaway segments recorded in the UK
2016Horrible Histories: Gory GamesContestant
Hacker's Olympic RundownMain role
Celebrity MastermindContestant; 2nd place
Hacker's CrackersMain role
Zig and Zag's ZogcastsAppears in episode 17
Art NinjaAppears in 4 episodes from series 2-5
2017BBC Election Wrap
2017–2019Saturday Mash-Up!Presenter
2018Remotely FunnyContestant
2020Pointless CelebritiesContestant; children's TV special

See also

References
  1. Dog, Hacker The [@HackerTDog] (4 January 2017). "The 'T' in my middle name stands for 'The' #NationalTriviaDay" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 March 2023 – via Twitter.
  2. Dog, Hacker The [@HackerTDog] (27 October 2016). "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY COCKERS! RETWEET IF YOU WISH ME A HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LIKE IF YOU THINK I'M HANDSOME! #ThursdayThoughts" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 March 2023 – via Twitter.
  3. Dog, Hacker The (9 October 2020). "GET TO KNOW ME TAG | HACKER T DOG". Archived from the original on 27 November 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2023 – via YouTube.
  4. "The Children's Media Conference". Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  5. "Radio Times". Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  6. "Awards Database – The BAFTA site". Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  7. "Wigan News :: wiganworld". 2012. Archived from the original on 10 November 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  8. https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/joinin/cbbc-hq-presenter-profile-hacker Archived 21 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine Hacker's Profile - CBBC. Retrieved 17th October 2020.
  9. "CBBC – CBBC Stars". BBC. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  10. "Website". Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  11. "CBBC – Hacker Time". BBC. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  12. "Lauren Layfield: 'Normal men, innocent men' and me - The Big Issue". 27 June 2022. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  13. "I Interviewed the 'We're Just Normal Men' Puppet on Zoom". www.vice.com. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  14. "A CBBC dog saying 'normal men, innocent men' has become the internet's favourite meme". indy100. 26 April 2022. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  15. "BBC Sport – Hacker's The Dog's Wimbledon quest". London: BBC. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  16. "BBC SPORT | Tennis | On the hunt for Sue Barker". BBC News. London: BBC. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  17. "Wimbledon japes from CBBC's Hacker the dog – Liverpool Daily Post". 2012. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  18. "BBC Sport – Tennis – Hacker & Dodge come to Wimbledon". London: BBC. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  19. "BBC Sport – Tennis – Wimbledon day 11 as it happened". BBC News. London: BBC. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  20. "Today at Wimbledon – Dave Cheeseman | Cameraman & Picture Editor". davecheeseman.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  21. https://www.wigantoday.net/news/hacker-t-dog-invites-stars-wigan-719276 Archived 17 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine Wigan Today. Retrieved 17th October 2020.
  22. https://metro.co.uk/2016/12/19/hacker-t-dog-almost-won-mastermind-and-everyones-fallen-in-love-with-him-6333612/ Archived 19 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine Metro. Retrieved 17th October 2020.
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