00:00 It came about, the Vice Chairman phoned me up and said, "We've got a new costume."
00:11 We used to have an old, horrible look, but, "We've got a new costume and we're looking
00:17 for somebody stupid to wear it."
00:19 He said, "And we've come up with you."
00:22 [Music]
00:44 I think I'm the only mascot that doesn't dance, doesn't sing.
00:48 I've got no move, they go, "Oh, give us a move."
00:52 I haven't got any moves.
00:54 I'm the only mascot that speaks.
00:57 So that way, I've spoke to hundreds and hundreds of people here.
01:03 It's just, well, they're memories, my memories as well.
01:07 When times are good and, yeah.
01:11 Does the duck have a voice or is it just your voice?
01:13 It's my voice.
01:14 I've tried one of those quacking things, but the only decoy is the gun for people who
01:20 shoot ducks.
01:24 But it only quacked and I nearly swallowed it anyway.
01:28 So...
01:29 [Duck quacking]
01:30 [Music]
01:48 When the fans are freezing to death in January, I love it.
01:55 I must be the warmest person, apart from the players.
01:57 I must be the warmest person in the club.
02:01 In summer, it's quite horrendous.
02:07 [Music]
02:12 So highlights from a career, Simon, what do you remember most?
02:16 I remember the year 2000, just because we went up and it was party time all over Preston.
02:25 It was fantastic.
02:27 To be part of the club, then it was tremendous.
02:33 Lots of highlights, some for the right reasons, some for the wrong reasons.
02:39 Lots of people think I've been sent off many times and I haven't.
02:45 I've been escorted off by the club stewards and once by the police.
02:54 That's when I knew I was in trouble.
02:56 I went, "Oh Lord, it's Tim Flower.
02:59 We were losing 6-0 in two-legged league cup.
03:06 First leg at Ewood Park, we battled us 6-0.
03:10 Second leg here, we're 6-0 down.
03:14 So I wandered down to Tim Flower's goal in the second half and I put my arm on his goalpost
03:20 and he told me to go away in no uncertain terms.
03:24 You can imagine, and he was shouting at me and I thought, "Oh, I've got him riled."
03:30 So I started jumping up and down and he's going, "Go away, go away."
03:37 And we scored.
03:39 And he went berserk.
03:41 He got the referee, the referee went off.
03:45 I was like, "Oh."
03:48 And four policemen started walking round and I thought, "Oh no, I am in trouble now."
03:56 Next morning I was in the boardroom at 9 o'clock.
04:06 An Arsenal game, 1999.
04:12 We must have been in the FA Cup that we drew them in and obviously they're flying high.
04:20 We're in Division 3 and we scored.
04:26 Well at the time, when I was still quite a young spring duck, I used to do the dine fly
04:35 on the floor.
04:37 And Curtin Owen jumped on top of me, then somebody else, and then they all piled in.
04:46 I was going, "Blammy, this hurts."
04:52 They were suffocating me basically.
04:54 And then I thought, "Oh, it's live on Sky, carry on lads."
04:59 Yeah, just it.
05:02 This is brilliant.
05:04 That picture went all over the place.
05:08 And it's like, I have 15 minutes of fame every now and again.
05:14 And that was one of my 15 minutes of fame.
05:27 So troublemaking is definitely high up on the...
05:30 Only for fun.
05:32 Yes.
05:33 If you think it's funny, have a think about it, then go for it.
05:38 Just think, "How much is this going to get me into trouble?"
05:41 And then go for it.
05:42 You were going to tell me about managers.
05:44 Any favourites?
05:45 Simon Grayson, mainly I think just Wembley 2015.
05:54 But he was very approachable.
05:57 Oh, Craig Brown.
06:00 He was lovely.
06:01 He was a really nice man.
06:04 And of course, David Moyes.
06:07 John Beck, for not football reasons, off the field, community-wise, John Beck was fantastic
06:15 for the community.
06:18 The players will do whatever the community department wants.
06:22 As long as it's after training.
06:25 I got a phone call.
06:35 Would you please bring the duck to my brother's funeral?
06:41 I drove down there and I parked further away from the house.
06:46 And the person behind me, his brother's sister came.
06:49 "Oh, fantastic you're here.
06:51 Oh, that's really good."
06:54 I said, "You have told your mum and dad, haven't you?"
06:56 He said, "No, we're going to make it just a surprise."
06:58 I went, "No, get back in that house and tell them."
07:03 The last appearance I made with the costume on, I walked a bride down the aisle of the
07:16 church.
07:17 Well, I don't know any other mascot that's ever done that.
07:21 And of course, you famously did the ice bucket challenge as well, didn't you?
07:27 The ice bin challenge, yeah.
07:30 There's no way that was an ice bucket challenge.
07:32 How was that?
07:36 Wet.
07:39 And also, quite nice.
07:41 No, it was a nice day.
07:44 It was like, oh, that's...
07:45 There's talk about them not replacing you, but they're replacing the duck with something
07:56 else.
07:57 Any ideas what it should be?
07:59 I've been putting them behind me actually.
08:03 I always...
08:04 Perhaps Sir Tom the Plumber.
08:08 So you've got to do the phone character costumes with Sir Tom's head.
08:14 He can have a bag full of sweets instead of jewels.
08:19 And he can carry a wrench around with him that he can hit the kids over the head with.
08:24 And yeah, that's a big good one.
08:27 How did you get on with Sir Tom?
08:31 I've done some appearances with him, and he could never quite get his head around me.
08:38 We opened a supermarket, and as we're walking around, I'm putting whole cheeses in people's
08:47 trolleys.
08:48 And if anyone turned their back, I was loading more stuff in trolleys.
08:52 And he just couldn't...
08:54 He was just walking around shaking his head.
08:58 Last year, I found myself in intensive care in Liverpool.
09:15 I hadn't got any oxygen.
09:19 I got a fan visit in the morning.
09:22 This young lady said, "Oh, they've told me you're here.
09:27 Is it OK to go and tell me mum and dad?"
09:30 "You can tell them what you like."
09:33 "That's bloody nil!"
09:56 Tell me, Simon, what you'll miss most about your job here.
10:01 The fans.
10:03 The banter.
10:04 I really...
10:05 I like to get stuck into people.
10:06 You know, like, say to some kids, for instance, "Oh, is that your dad?"
10:12 "Yeah, yes, yeah."
10:13 "Isn't he ugly?"
10:14 "Oh, where do we go and tell mum?"
10:15 "Oh, I don't know.
10:16 I don't know."
10:17 "Oh, I don't know."
10:18 "Oh, I don't know."
10:19 "Oh, I don't know."
10:20 "Oh, I don't know."
10:21 "Oh, I don't know."
10:22 "Oh, I don't know."
10:23 "Oh, I don't know."
10:24 "Oh, I don't know."
10:25 "Oh, I don't know."
10:26 "Oh, I don't know."
10:27 "Oh, I don't know."
10:28 "Oh, I don't know."
10:29 "Oh, I don't know."
10:30 "Oh, I don't know."
10:31 "Oh, I don't know."
10:32 "Oh, I don't know."
10:33 "Oh, I don't know."
10:34 "Oh, I don't know."
10:35 "Oh, I don't know."
10:36 "Oh, I don't know."
10:37 "Oh, I don't know."
10:38 "Oh, I don't know."
10:39 "Oh, I don't know."
10:40 "Oh, I don't know."
10:41 "Oh, I don't know."
10:42 "Oh, I don't know."
10:43 "Oh, I don't know."
10:44 "Oh, I don't know."
10:45 "Oh, I don't know."
10:46 "Oh, I don't know."
10:47 "Oh, I don't know."
10:48 "So, you're saying you're not going to carry on with the duck, so I presume the uniform's
10:51 yours, the costume's yours, what are you..."
10:54 "I would like to think so, yes."
10:55 "What are you going to do with it?"
10:57 "When I get buried or cremated, I want to wear it in an open cask.
11:03 Well, you won't see the dead person inside it, will you?
11:06 You'll just see the duck."
11:07 "It's a fantastic club and fantastic fans to be a part of, and I just hope that over
11:32 the years I've given the fans what they want."
11:36 "Thank you."
11:37 "Thank you."
11:38 "Thank you."
11:39 "Thank you."
11:39 "Thank you."
11:45 "Thank you."
11:46 "Thank you."
11:47 "Thank you."
11:48 "Thank you."
11:49 "Thank you."
11:49 "Thank you."
11:50 "Thank you."
11:50 "Thank you."
11:55 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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