Burke and Blair

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""We don't sit around in our breakers yard watching our staff turn old boats into scrap. Do we, Mr. Blair?"/"Always on the look out for who's next to go. That's our business. And O.J.'s top of our list.""

— Burke and Blair talking to Captain Star, Quarantine

Burke
Blair
Background Information
First appearance	Quarantine (TUGS)
Last appearance	Ghosts (TUGS)
Voice Actors
Voice actors	Burke Nigel Anthony (UK) Hideyuki Umezu (Japan) Pauli Virta (Finland) Blair Sean Barrett (UK) Mitsuaki Madono (Japan) Elise Langenoja (Finland) Paul Dobson (Salty's Lighthouse)
Overview
Name	Burke and Blair
Nicknames	Mr. Burke (Burke) Mr. Blair (Blair)
Gender	Males
Nationality	British
Technical Details
Vessel	Tugboat
Type	River Tug
Power type	Steam
Fuel type	Coal
Company	The Scrap Yard
Owner(s)	Unknown

Burke and Blair (known formally as Mr. Burke and Mr. Blair) are notorious, dark-hearted scrap dealers and scavengers. They work up river at the Breaker's Yard.

Bio

In Quarantine, Burke and Blair try to convince Captain Star that one of his tugs (O.J.) is ready for scrap, but their deal fell through when Captain Star hears that O.J. saved Ten Cents from being quarantined outside of Port for 40 days.

Behind the Scenes

Their names and occupations are an obvious reference to Burke and Hare; known as the Edinburgh corpse dealers from 1827-28. Whereas Burke and Hare secretly murdered people and sold them as corpses, Burke and Blair legally deal in scrap metal.

Unlike Sea Rogue/Bluenose and Boomer/Sea Rogue's Uncle, the production crew made both Burke and Blair have their own separate models so they could appear on screen at the same time. Their models were originally used before completion as the Pirate Tugs while lacking detailing such as lifeboats.

Their faces were both sculpted by former Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends modelmaker, Jeremy King. The eyes are static, and no electronics are inside of these models.

In Salty's Lighthouse, they are depicted as movie producers under the names of Mr. Boffo and Mr. Socko.

Appearances

Episodes

• Quarantine
• Ghosts (do not speak)

Books and Annuals

• Treasure Hunt
• Mistaken Identity (do not speak)
• O.J.'s Bad Day

Salty's Lighthouse

• Black Out (cameo)
• Salty Come Lately (cameo)
• Taking My Turn (cameo)
• The Last of the Red Hot C-Gulls (cameo)
• Sound Off
• Big Birthday Bash (cameo)
• Stop the Music (cameo)

Trivia

• Their names and profession as scrap dealers are a reference to real life serial killers, Burke and Hare, who would sell their victims' bodies.
• Although based on the same tugboat, the two of them have very different facial features. Blair has a grey mustache whilst Burke has no mustache at all. Burke has square shaped glasses and Blair's are round. Burke has a wider nose where as Blair's nose is long, narrow and straight.
• The logo on the sides of their stacks shows two B's arranged back to back, resembling their names.
• Even though they were renamed in Salty's Lighthouse to Mr. Boffo and Mr. Socko, their original names on their hulls are still visible.
• Their models were sold to The Star Tugs Company (formerly The Star Tugs Trust), their models were intact except for Burke (who is currently missing his glasses). However Burke did have his glasses prior to the sale.
• They are two of four tugs with faces that haven't tooted their hooters, the other ones being Boomer and Sea Rogue's Uncle.

Quotes

""If that's your attitude, you fork out for engine and refit."/"See if we care.""

— Burke and Blair after Captain Star refuses to sell O.J., Quarantine

Up River

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* Television Series only | ** Annuals only