Parker goes under the hammer

The original puppet of the all too imitable Parker, faithful manservant to the fab Lady Penelope, is expected to fetch up to £40,000 at auction.

Parker, the lugubrious, immaculately besuited butler, appeared in all 32 episodes of Gerry Anderson's cult Sixties TV series Thunderbirds, and it comes as no surprise to learn that of all his puppet productions - among them The Adventures Of Twizzle, Fireball XL5, Captain Scarlet - Thunderbirds remains Gerry's favourite series, and Parker his favourite character.

Indeed, this puppet is from his own personal collection.

Parker is being sold with his original body and a puppet control and can be reassembled as a fully working marionette.

Lady Penelope, also to be auctioned, is a replica cast made for a TV commercial (hence her lower estimate of £12,000-£14,000). Oh my word, she has a ladder in her stocking. Parker!

You rang m'lady?

... At The Movies, Tue 31 Jul, 7pm, Fleetwood Owen at Planet Hollywood, 13 Coventry Street, W1 (ticket reservations and bids: 020-7563 5400).