Gnu - You'll have to excuse me, I realise that this thread is really for former colonials, but there has been too much said here about 'little elves' for a Yorkshireman to put up with. Tetley's Tea Folk are loosely based on a caricature of a Northern Person (meaning the North of England, which usually equates to Yorkshire and Lancashire). So they have Northern accents, wear flat 'ats and, of course, know everything there is to know about making tea. (And everything else - you can always tell a Yorkshireman, but you can't tell him much.)

The senior one is called Gaffer (which equates to 'Boss')and is probably voiced by Brian Glover (former wrestler turned actor) who is a standard voice-over used when a Yorkshire accent is required. It was a source of great pride to Yorkshire folk that when the National Theatre put on the Mystery Plays, God was played by Brian Glover in a proper Yorkshire accent. Which just went to confirm everything that Yorkshiremen have known for years!

And as for mistaking our tea for our beer! One's brown and warm and the other is ... oh right, I see now!

I'd be interested to know what accents the Tetley Tea Folk have in Canada and the USA. Are they regionalised? 'Cos then you'd know the Tea Capital of Canada and the USA.

Actually I prefer coffee, and I drink tea with a slice or two of fresh ginger, but don't tell anyone else in Yorkshire, or I'll be drummed out - forced to run the gauntlet of flat 'ats, set upon by whippets and finally publicly stoned with stale meat pies.

Les