4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
'I was a huge children's TV star in the 1990s but now people recognise me for something very different'
Many kids in the 80s and 90s grew up with T-Bag, but now a whole new generation is growing up with one of it's characters
For a generation of kids growing up in the 1980s and '90s, John Hasler was a household name, instantly recognisable as the mischievous magical-tea-brewing-sidekick 'T-shirt' in the hugely popular CITV series T-Bag. Yet while the iconic colourful attire and whacky plot of the show is a distant memory for many, Hasler's voice is still heard by millions - although not as you might expect.
His breakout show first aired in 1985 when he was just 11-years-old. It followed a witch-like character who obtained magical powers from drinking the special drink but is incapable of brewing it properly, in-steps their assistant T-shirt who does it for them in return for a share of their magical powers.
The series would usually begin with T-Bag trying to increase her power and to stop her, the girl in the series would have to collect artefacts from across space and time before T-bag could find them.
Despite his role working for the "baddie" T-Shirt acted as more of a hero, sneaking behind his boss often helping the girl to foil his boss's plans.
He was the only actor to be in all nine seasons of the show, first being a young boy before growing up to be a teenager that towered over his witch-boss.
Long after T-Bag brewed its last magical potion in 1992, Hasler has become somewhat famed for his work as a voice actor in TV and shows across the UK, lending his voice to a whole host of characters you may have heard but would have never related back to T-Shirt.
Despite no longer being a routine of a Saturday morning, Hasler's career has taken him from the fictional Pride Lands of Africa to voicing a beloved train.
For many younger fans today, unaware of the magical time-travelling adventures captured on T-Bag, Hasler is the voice bringing Thomas the Tank Engine alive for English audiences around the world in the widely popular Thomas and Friends.
Speaking to Red Carpet News on playing Thomas, Hasler said: "Thomas is an enduring character so it makes it even more pressurised to play the lead role, you think 'oh my gosh lots of people have loved this character for a long time' and to take on the mantel is an extreme privilege."
But his performances aren't kept to the tracks, Hasler has also made his mark on the stage, voicing the beloved meerkat Timon in the hugely successful West End adaptation of The Lion King, touring around the UK voicing the iconic animal original played by Nathan Lane.
The 51-year-old also appeared in the teen-drama the Renford Rejects as well as classic BBC soap Casualty. He continued his voice work after joining the cast of Fireman Sam in 2012, voicing Sam's nephew James Jones.
