Kids’ TV favourites Bodger And Badger are to return for a one-off special in opposition to the badger cull.

The iconic BBC series from the 1990s featured the madcap antics of mashed potato-loving Badger.

Show creator, Brighton-based Andy Cunningham, better known as Bodger, has made a YouTube episode where Badger becomes unwittingly involved in the controversial cull.

Andy said: “For a long time Badger and I didn’t think the cull would really happen. The idea of people roaming around at night shooting at, and whatever they say, very likely wounding badgers, just seemed too barbaric to be true.

“But when we heard this cull was really going to go ahead, Badger and I thought we ought to do something, because the case for culling just doesn’t add up.”

Culling has been licensed for a six-week period in the six months from June 1. Some 5,000 badgers are set to be killed in two pilot culls in west Gloucestershire and west Somerset.

When Andy contacted Horsham-based animal charity Care for the Wild the idea for a new Bodger and Badger special was hatched.

Andy said: “The idea is that while Badger and I are having a holiday in Somerset, Badger gets an invitation from the British Government to take part in a local all-night shooting adventure, which we assume must mean paintballing.

“Badger decides to use something else, and I’ll give you a clue...it’s not mashed banana.”

Philip Mansbridge, chief executive of Sussex-based Care For The Wild, said: “The episode is typical Bodger and Badger with all the slapstick you’d expect, but the satirical edge to the comedy is very strong.”

To watch the video and find out more about the campaign against culling visit www.careforthewild.com/badger.