Mike Batt in plea to Wombles fans after standing in for Orinoco

Musician Mike Batt has asked fans to forget he was a Womble after viewers saw him take off an Orinoco head following a performance by the furry eco-warriors on BBC Radio 2.

The band, who scaled the charts in the mid-1970s, were playing on the Simon Mayo Show, which was being broadcast live on the web.

Batt, who also wrote the hit song Bright Eyes for Art Garfunkel, was shown taking off a furry head at the end of the song.

Writing on his blog, he said he was only standing in for the real Orinoco because he was “puffed out” after an earlier performance.

Batt describes himself as “friend and manager to the Wombles”.

He wrote: “Luckily, I carry a fancy dress Womble costume with me to all Womble appearances, so if the real Orinoco is too puffed out (because he is the fat one, and hardly does any exercise) I can run in, like a substitute in a football match and take over – which is what I did.

“We managed to get the real Orinoco off, during a cut in the camera coverage, and he was given oxygen and some nettle tea.”

The group – Orinoco, Bungo, Great Uncle Bulgaria, Wellington and Madame Cholet – had four Top Ten hits with songs such as Remember You’re A Womble.

They also starred in a TV series narrated by the actor Bernard Cribbins.

Batt added: “Anyone watching would have seen that the other Wombles did not take their heads off. Why? Because they are real.

“I was the one who did it, because I was taking Orinoco’s place in a fancy dress costume made to look like a Womble.”