Captain Pugwash The pompous but likeable captain of the
Black Pig. Although he boasts of being the "bravest buccaneer", he is actually quite cowardly and stupid. His greed often gets him into trouble. Nevertheless, he usually wins the day – either with the help of Tom the Cabin Boy or by sheer luck. Despite being a pirate, he is rarely seen committing any acts of piracy.
The Mate/Master Mate/Mr. Mate A somewhat dopey character, who has a tendency to use
malapropisms and to mispronounce common words. He has a teddy bear in his bunk and is quite mild-mannered. It is not entirely clear why he is the mate, as he does not appear to have any authority over the rest of the crew. He was present in the first ever Pugwash story, in which he was depicted as being constantly sleepy. Pugwash's adenoidal pronunciation of Master Mate's name appears to be the main source of the
urban legend about characters' sexually suggestive names.
Barnabas The most aggressive of the pirates, but in reality just as harmless. He is quite rebellious and grumpy, and is perhaps marginally more intelligent than Willy, the Mate or the Captain. He was not present in the 1998 series.
Willy A simple sailor from
Wigan. He appears to be the youngest crew member (apart from Tom). He is against using violence, and has been the crew's saviour on occasion (more by luck than by design).
Tom the Cabin Boy Tom is the most intelligent and resourceful member of the crew, the only one who can cook and the only one who can actually sail a ship. The rest of the crew also found they were unable to operate without Tom, after he left with the captain when the crew mutinied. Tom is an expert
concertina player, and part of his repertoire is "The Trumpet Hornpipe" (the
Captain Pugwash theme). He was portrayed with a
Home Counties accent in the first television adaptation, and with an Irish accent in the 1998 series.
Cut-Throat Jake Captain Pugwash's fearsome arch-enemy, captain of the
Flying Dustman (a pun on the
Flying Dutchman combined with a reference to the occupation of
dustman). When he is not scheming to bring about Pugwash's downfall, he is a rather more competent pirate than his enemy, and always seems to have plenty of treasure. He speaks with a stereotypical
West Country accent, and is easily recognisable by his eye patch and enormous black beard.
Characters added in the 1998 series •
Jonah This character replaced pirate Barnabas, who was in the earlier series. His catchphrase is "No good will come of this, mark my words!" Jonah appears to be of
Jamaican origin. He is the tallest of the crew so he often hits his head on the ceiling of the ship's lower deck. He is also one of the strongest of the crew as he is the
Black Pig's
carpenter. •
Governor of Portobello This character lives at the top of the island in a mansion covered in vines. He talks very quietly and his head of guard, Lt. Scratchwood, usually acts as a megaphone. He is deeply in love with Donna Bonanza and attends to her every need. •
Donna Bonanza An infamous opera singer who is the love of the Governor of Portobello and has her own group of security guards. She owns a cat named Franco. •
Toni Tom the Cabin Boy’s best friend, who works for barber Betty, and has dreams of becoming a member of the
Black Pig. •
Dook A member of Jake’s crew who somewhat resembles Barnabas, but is less aggressive in the 1998 series. This character appeared in the original series, but was never named. •
Swine An Australian pirate who works for Jake. He almost always has a mug of grog in his hand. Like Dook, he appeared in the original series but was unnamed. •
Stinka A Mexican who works for Jake, who sometimes finds him annoying. Again, this character was unnamed in the earlier series. •
Jake’s Mum The mother of Cut-Throat Jake, who serves as the
Flying Dustman’s cook. •
Lieutenant Scratchwood Toddington The voice for the governor and the law for the town of Portobello. In charge of the guard and collecting taxes, he also spends his time chasing thieves. •
Rook Portobello’s merchant, who sometimes works for Cut-Throat Jake.
Libel case regarding double entendres In 1991 the
Pugwash cartoonist John Ryan won retractions and settlements from
The Sunday Correspondent and
The Guardian; the newspapers inaccurately claimed that the BBC took the series off the air owing to some character names being
double entendres. ==Pugwashisms==