TV FAVOURITE Basil Brush has netted a Southampton entrepreneur a cool £2 million.

Millionaire Bill Haslam has cashed in just two years after buying the rights to the loud-mouthed puppet.

Now the man who also owns the city's Way Out West amusement centre in Ocean Village has sold Basil on to entertainment company SKD Media, which has links with the Duchess of York's Budgie the Little Helicopter creation.

But as well as a TV comeback for the popular puppet, Mr Haslam revealed that a new family of characters is set to help propel Basil back into the big time.

Since buying up the furry fox, who was a hit with millions of kids in Britain and around the globe, the businessman has been busy working behind the scenes master-minding the character's new TV show.

Under the deal with SKD, he will join the company with the brief to develop Basil merchandising.

But Mr Haslam pledged there would be no major changes to Basil's character famous for his "Boom! Boom!" catchphrase.

"He is quintessential English and he will remain that way. We will be creating new characters who will be part of the Brush family.

"We hope he will be back on the screens some time in the new millennium."

The businessman is certain the show will be hit for both children and adults.

"Our TV screens are full of American children's programmes and I became particularly concerned when my kids started pick-ing up an American accent from watching satellite television," he said.

"In the past Basil Brush has been a big success in many countries around the world including Canada Jamaica and Japan. He had a cult following from students and in Scandinavia - he even has his own fan club on the Internet."

Basil's new side-kick to follow Derek Fowlds and Rodney Bewes has yet to be revealed.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.