Hacker The Dog, more commonly known as Hacker T Dog, is a Border Terrier dog puppet who appears on the CBBC television channel in the United Kingdom. He is performed by puppeteer Phil Fletcher.
Development and history Hacker was introduced as a character in the CBBC television programme Scoop, performed by Andy Heath. Hacker is the unintelligible non-spoken sidekick of Digby Digworth, as the two attempt to try and find a news scoop but chaos ensues along the way.
After the character became popular, Hacker was added as a weekday presenter at the CBBC office in May 2009, with the puppetry and voice now being performed by Phil Fletcher. Hacker from that point gained a much more noticeable characteristic, having a much more comedic and sarcastic personality and he now spoke in full words. These characteristics were added to the character within the second and third seasons of Scoop as well. In July, he began presenting on weekdays with Scottish comedian Iain Stirling.
In 2010, Hacker's "half-brother" Dodge T Dog joined the presenting team on CBBC, while Hacker went off to film the second series of Scoop.
In 2011, Hacker was given a solo presenting role on a separate chat show titled Hacker Time, where he interviews television personalities and other CBBC stars. The series lasted six seasons from 2011 to 2016.
In 2013, following Iain Stirling's departure from CBBC, he and Dodge began presenting with Chris Johnson.
The character took a hiatus from CBBC in April 2014 to film Series 4 of Hacker Time. During his absence, numerous guest presenters filled in for him during his usual weekday afternoon slot. Hacker returned temporarily on 24 May 2014, before making a permanent return on 18 June 2014.
A 2016 clip in which Hacker deadpans to host Lauren Layfield "We're just normal men... We're just innocent men", prompting Layfield to break character and laugh while Hacker continues to deadpan, resurfaced in 2022 and went viral. While some assumed the clip had context before the exchange, Fletcher later explained that there was none, and he just ad-libbed the line to make Layfield laugh.
On 17 July 2025, it was announced that Hacker would become the forty-fourth presenter on Blue Peter beginning in September.
Hacker is very fond of television presenter Sue Barker and mentions her often. In 2009 Hacker was the mascot for the Wimbledon Championship.
Hacker is known for saying "cockers" – a Northern term for "mate".https://www.wigantoday.net/news/hacker-t-dog-invites-stars-wigan-719276 Wigan Today. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
In other media Hacker, Cel Spellman and Amberley Lobo provided CBBC commentary on the Russia v Belgium match at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Hacker appeared on an episode of Celebrity Mastermind in December 2016, his specialist subject being the Pet Shop Boys. He came in second place, losing to television chef Paul Rankin.https://metro.co.uk/2016/12/19/hacker-t-dog-almost-won-mastermind-and-everyones-fallen-in-love-with-him-6333612/ Metro. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
Television The character has appeared in the following roles: Year Title Notes 2009–2011 Scoop First appearance 2009–present CBBC Office/CBBC HQ Channel presenter 2011–2016 Hacker Time Namesake presenter 2013, 2016 Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up 2014 Wimbledon 2day 2015 Wimbledon Hacker's Birthday Bash: 30 Years of Children's BBC Main role 2015–2017 The Dog Ate My Homework 5 appearancesAll Over the Place Appears in cutaway segments recorded in the UK 2016 Horrible Histories: Gory Games Contestant Hacker's Olympic Rundown Main roleCelebrity Mastermind Contestant; 2nd place Hacker's Crackers Main roleZig and Zag's Zogcasts Appears in episode 17Art Ninja Appears in 4 episodes from series 2–5 2017 BBC Election Wrap 2017–2019 Saturday Mash-Up! Presenter 2018 Remotely Funny Contestant 2020 Pointless Celebrities Contestant; children's TV special Andy and the Band: Live at Home! 2022 Andy and the Band Appears in episode: "BBC Shutdown" 2024 Birthday Party in the CBeebies House 2025 Blue Peter Presenter
See also Scoop Hacker Time Andy Heath (puppeteer) Phil Fletcher Warrick Brownlow-Pike Sue Barker List of CBBC presenters List of Blue Peter presenters
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