Sarah Burgess is Phoebe

Sarah Burgess is a puppeteer, actress and vocal artist whose roles include Trixie on the television series Lazytown, the voice of Stingy for the UK version of Lazytown, Brassy in the CBeebies series Space Pirates, puppeteer on the West End production of Doctor Dolittle and performing as an actress and puppeteer in many productions for the Little Angel Puppet Theatre in the UK. Her most recent role has been as animatronic operator for the T-Rex on the hit European tour of Walking With Dinosaurs.

What made you decide you would like to become a puppeteer?

I was working as a prop assistant on 'Wizadora' and the puppeteers were such a great bunch. They had so much fun that I decided to give it a go and I got a bit obsessed with it after that!

What was your first role?

My first ever role was the Tortoise in the production of the Little Angel's 'Talkative Tortoise', one of their touring productions. Later, my first TV puppet role was as Trixie in Lazytown, filmed in Iceland and was hugely exciting!

How long have you been a puppeteer?

About 17 years. Every job has been so different and I've loved them all.

How would you describe the character you play in The Furchester Hotel?

I play Phoebe who is a very cool character to play. She's fun loving and essentially a child but she has a great ability to be calm in a crisis and to figure out the solutions to a lot of the problems the family face. She has a special fondness for her cousin Elmo and they have a great time together in the hotel.

What is your character like to work with?

The puppet itself is beautiful. It's wonderfully made by the Jim Henson workshop and is a dream to perform with. Phoebe's character is so much fun and I love being her.

Is it easy to switch between being you and the character?

Oh, yes, of course. Personality-wise she is actually quite different to me and in real life I'm less of a monster!

Tell me about the set of The Furchester Hotel – how did you find the raised set?

The set was just incredible. I've never worked on a set that's so detailed. The hotel lift has proper brass lift buttons and the garden has topiary bushes trimmed in the shape of monsters. Even the wallpaper in the hotel had a unique pattern, designed especially for the show, made up of monster faces. The raised set made the puppeteer's job so much easier enabling the characters to fully interact with the set and made working with such a large cast possible.

What kind of things do The Furchester Fuzz family get up to at The Furchester Hotel?

They have all kinds of crazy events that they put on at the hotel. My favourite was the day the hotel was turned into a bobsleigh course, starting in the bedrooms and ending in the lobby. It looked amazing.