BUBBLE UK: British Ventriloquist Paul Zerdin announces UK Tour AND a new character

For those not in the know, Paul Zerdin is a British ventriloquist who won the 10th season of “America’s Talent”. Paul has gained much success after winning the reality TV contest show, including a Vegas special performance called “Mouthing Off”. His characters include the youthful Same, cheeky pensioner Albert, the whiny baby, and game show host Alasdair Rimmer.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about Paul; he certainly has great voice throwing skills, but his characters leave a lot to be desired, he rehashes gags done before (and better) by other ventriloquists, and he relies a tad too heavily on technical gimmicks. However, he’s garnered a loyal audience, and we can at least praise him for bringing ventriloquism into the modern mainstream.

Recently, Paul announced one of his new characters, called Secret Agent, on the ITV talk show “This Morning”. I didn’t get to see Secret Agent in action, but the puppet looks noticeably different to Zerdin’s other characters:

Zerdin’s characters tend to be very puppetry and cartoony in design, but Secret Agent has a very detailed broad appearance, one more reminiscent to a Spitting Image caricature than Kermit the Frog. It’s a bold move, which indicates that he’s up for experimenting with the aesthetics of his puppets.

I can’t confirm what Zerdin’s voice for this new character sounds like, but I’m not getting my hopes up too high, as Zerdin has a habit of doing the same voice for most of his puppets. Sure, he is capable of altering his range, but I don’t like how his baby voice sounds like a clone of Sam. Maybe Secret Agent’s voice sounds refreshingly new? It’s possible, but there’s always a chance it’s just a retread of Albert or Alasdair.

But Secret Agent wasn’t Paul’s only breaking news, as he also announced a UK Tour called “All Mouth”, which zip zags across the country! From the far north of Newcastle to the down south of London. It’s quite impressive how many cities he plans on doing his act in, and there’s a high chance that he’ll be performing near you; if you reside in the UK. Not only will this tour showcase Secret Agent for the first time, but also two other characters yet to be announced.

If you’re skeptical about seeing Paul in person, especially after reading my own criticisms, then maybe watch a few of his “America’s Got Talent” performances on Youtube (I’ve linked one below the article), and make your own decision on whether he is worth seeing live. I mean, while I’m not a big fan, I can see that he’s won the hearts of many.