Character Hire in Scotland

The Fun Gang led by top kids entertainer Gerry Ogilvie provide Children's Events, Parties and Shows.
Gerry has been in entertainments since he was a teenager and has performed on kids TV shows, made records, holiday camps and pantomime all over the UK. They are getting ready to do LIVE SHOWS again and can't wait for when restrictions will be lifted!

What do you need to know from an organiser in order to provide a comprehensive quote?

We can provide a fully inclusive quote if you can tell us your DATE - TYPE of EVENT - WHERE IT IS.
These are the main things we need to know and it doesn't make much difference in the number of children or if it is indoors or out. We can then use our vast experience and give you a firm price. We include everything ie Travel - Prizes - Setting-up time. We include everything and also we don't just give out sweets - our prizes are good prizes and ALL children receive a book from our leader Gerry Ogilvie who is also a children's author.

What advice would you give to a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?

Always ask what experience they have. Make sure they have professional insurance. Ask if they have a risk assessment. Ask what are all the things they provide in their show. Do they have spare equipment in case of failure? Do they arrive nice and early? Ask all of this!

Please tell us a little bit about how and why you started the business.

I am Gerry Ogilvie and my company is called The Fun Gang. I started as a teenager on children's television at Granada TV in Manchester. I have many years of experience as entertainments manager in holiday camps - top pantomime - I made records - appeared with many big names. I now run my variety show and include loads of things, puppets, disco, magic, science experiments, dancing, singing songs, madness and loads of fun (and go-kart races if there is time). We have many 5 Star reviews and I turned my business into a Social Enterprise which means we also put on FREE shows all over the UK for children who never have parties or have very little fun in their life. We do shows and parties for everyone.

Please tell us about a booking you've had through Add to Event, how did it go? Would you recommend us to others?

There are so many to choose from and I just love them all. One example was we did a big party for over 100 hearing-impaired children in Edinburgh and those kids loved every minute. They had as much fun as all children do at all our shows. We do most shows in Scotland but also lots in Newcastle, Sunderland, Carlisle and the North. We always make sure all the kids are joining in equally as some can be shy at first and others would love to be DOING the show. It's so good to see that wide range of personalities and how they develop over the space of a couple of hours. We bring them out of themselves and they love the puppets and the mayhem that occurs. Also, we get plenty of adults involved which the kids really love. We also have a children's creative writing programme online and all children are welcome to continue with us on that and develop their writing and reading skills.