Elmo checks into The Furchester Hotel

When you interview Elmo, there are always a few things to keep in mind.

He’s only three so he has no concept of being on television or this strange thing called puppetry. Secondly Elmo always refers to Elmo in the third person.

This was my third interview with the world’s most famous three year old (this time confined to a phoner), and the first joined by his cousin Phoebe Furchester-Fuzz.

Elmo is staying with Phoebe and her family on an extended holiday, helping out at The Furchester Hotel.

Joining them are Cookie Monster, monster hotel owner Funella Furchester and her loving husband, Furgus Fuzz. Their adventures feature in a new series for 3-6 year olds screening on ABCKIDS (ABC2).

Phoebe: “It’s quite big and it’s the only monster hotel with a one and a half star rating. We get all kinds of guests, animal, vegetable, mineral.”

Elmo: “We have a pool. A nightclub, a skate park. Then we have another pool. And a third pool. And then we have a beautiful garden. And then a fourth pool.”

Phoebe: “And a skin-whitening lounge.”

Elmo: “That’s very popular.”

Accommodating the guests is a daily challenge, which presents the troupe with plenty of problem-solving tasks. How do you disguise a pony who checks in for a quiet break? Where is the perfect place to put a very fussy plant? What happens when Super Rock appears and needs a new superhero cape?

Elmo: “It’s not limited to just monsters. We have penguins, wolves, chickens. It’s very eclectic.”

Phoebe: “It’s mayhem! The wolves and the chickens are really badly behaved when they get together.”

With their Sesame Street credentials, naturally there have some big name stars come to stay too.

Elmo: “We had Ed Sheeran, One Direction, Sir Ian McKellan. Lots of great people.”

Extra security was obviously required for the day One Direction came to visit. But Elmo is hoping his friendship with Michelle Obama will translate to a 5 star booking.

Elmo: “She’s more than welcome to stay if she likes, but she hasn’t been yet. Elmo was just with the First Lady during Easter. She was wonderful, and she did enquire about the hotel, but she hasn’t been herself. So come on over, give Elmo a call!!!”

And while Aussie designed Peter Alexander made some “very comfortable” pyjamas on Sesame Street, there’s no word yet if Aussie best buddy Rove McManus will check in. So Elmo is extending an open invitation.

Elmo: “That would be wonderful. Hey Rove, come on by!!!” (laughter)

Phoebe: “We have many more monster rooms than the Hilton. We have nesting rooms for chickens, cave rooms for hibernating bears. We can cater for anyone so I challenge the Hilton to cater for hibernating bears.”

Elmo: “That’s right!”

But so far we’ve avoided the big question, so before there are any elephants (literally) in the room, how is Cookie Monster behaving?

Elmo: “He tries but he’s most difficult sometimes. He’s delivering the food but he’s usually in charge of eating other people’s food. So we’re trying to help him along.”

It figures. You can catch The Furchester Hotel weekdays at 7.30am and 4.30pm on ABCKIDS or on ABC KIDS iview.

Or just check them out next time you’re in the merry olde town of London. Tell ’em TV Tonight sent you.

Phoebe: “We’re quite famous, really.”

Elmo: “We’re kind of a big deal!” (laughs)