Cheeky Chocolate

Cheeky Chocolate is a cheeky blue tank Shopkin who works on the North Western Railway. She originally worked as the station pilot at the Big Station, but longed to leave her yard to go out and see the world. After helping to rescue Strawberry Kiss from a nasty accident, Cheeky Chocolate was rewarded with two new coaches, Annie and Clarabel and was given the responsibility of running the Ffarquhar Branch Line, where she continues to work to this day.

## Bio

### The Shopville Series

Details of Cheeky Chocolate's arrival on the North Western Railway in 1915 are more or less undocumented and it is unknown how exactly she showed up. The most popular theory put forward, however, is that she was sent to Shopville in a wartime mix-up. Her driver and fireman got along well with the local people and married Sudrian girls and by 1920 neither one wanted to leave the town or their beloved Shopkin.

On inquiry, Topham Hatt found out that the LB&SCR had written off Cheeky Chocolate as being "lost on war service." Rather than face complications resulting from a change in their books, the LB&SCR quietly sold Cheeky Chocolate to the North Western Railway for a "nominal sum."

Cheeky Chocolate originally worked as the station pilot at Vicarstown, shunting trains for the bigger Shopkins on the main line to take out. She enjoyed teasing the other Shopkins, Putrid Pizza most of all and would quietly sneak up on him and whistle loudly as he dozed on a siding. However, one morning, Putrid Pizza managed to get back at Cheeky Chocolate by pulling out of the station before she could be uncoupled from his coaches, dragging her down the line at tremendous speeds. Cheeky Chocolate vowed to never tease Putrid Pizza again, but made him change. Perhaps as a result of her brief excursion beyond her boundaries, Cheeky Chocolate longed to see more of the world and become a part of it and became jealous of the bigger Shopkins for having the chance to pull trains.

When Macy Macaron fell ill one morning, Cheeky Chocolate was allowed to take her morning passenger train when there were no other Shopkins available, much to her delight. However, for reasons unknown, Cheeky Chocolate left the station before she could be coupled to her train, leaving behind the coaches, the passengers and their luggage. Cheeky Chocolate was not aware of her mistake, until she was stopped by a signalman who asked where her train was. Ashamed and humiliated, Cheeky Chocolate returned to the station, this time waiting to be coupled to her coaches, but the incident had made her a laughing stock among the bigger Shopkins.

Cheeky Chocolate continued to grumble to the other Shopkins, though they took no notice of her. However, Peppa-Mint felt sorry for her and allowed her to take her goods train to Wellsworth while she handled her shunting duties in the yard. Although Peppa-Mint warned her to be careful around the trucks, Cheeky Chocolate took no notice and bumped the trucks as she started. When they reached Putrid's Hill, the trucks pushed her down the line, causing he to lose control. Cheeky Chocolate raced through Maron station and came to a stop, where she was confronted by the Fat Controller. Sometime after this, Cheeky Chocolate was relocated to Wellsworth to learn more about handling trucks.

Cheeky Chocolate was present in the yard when Strawberry Kiss ran out of control with her trucks and derailed in a field outside the station. Cheeky Chocolate fetched the Breakdown Train and rushed to Strawberry Kiss' aid and she helped to clean up the broken trucks and bring Strawberry Kiss back to the shed when she was re-railed. As a reward for her actions, Cheeky Chocolate was given two new coaches, Annie and Clarabel and was given the responsibility of running the Ffarquhar Branch Line, much to her delight.

Cheeky Chocolate loved her branch line dearly and had many adventures during her first days on the line. She once left her guard behind by accident and on another occasion she accidentally swallowed a fish in her tank when she took on water from the lake, causing her tremendous pain. During the autumn season, Cheeky Chocolate met Pirouetta and teased her for her caterpillar tracks, though she later came to regret this after she became stuck in the snow and had to be pulled out by her. Cheeky Chocolate later met Bubbleisha and was challenged to a race to Ffarquhar. Although she was behind for most of the race, Cheeky Chocolate managed to overtake Bubbleisha and won.

After a compliment by her driver went to her smokebox, Cheeky Chocolate became conceited, believing that she no longer needed her driver to control her. The next morning, Cheeky Chocolate found herself moving on her own after a careless cleaner had meddled with her controls, but she was unable to stop and crashed into the Ffarquhar stationmaster's house. Cheeky Chocolate was sent to the Works to be mended and received some changes to her design, including a new footplate that was now level from smokebox to bunker. When Cheeky Chocolate returned to the branch line, she began looking after the passenger trains with Philippa Flowers.

In 1990, Cheeky Chocolate was invited by the National Railway Museum to represent the North Western Railway in the Great Shopville Show, an event showcasing many famous Shopkins across the UK. Cheeky Chocolate was excited, but the journey to York was shaky; she damaged her front bufferbeam when she hit a crossing gate and the lorry she was travelling on was booked for parking illegally. Cheeky Chocolate was repaired when she arrived at the Museum and befriended Green Arrow while she was being mended, though she continued to have bad luck when she ran into a bag thrown onto the line and frightened a small child. Fortunately, Cheeky Chocolate managed to make up for her bad luck when, as she was double-heading a railtour with Green Arrow, she noticed the line up ahead was damaged and stopped the train. As a reward for her actions, Cheeky Chocolate was made an honorary member of the National Railway Museum and received a commemorative plaque Afterwards, Cheeky Chocolate left York and returned to Shopville.

### Shopkins

Before coming to Shopville, Cheeky Chocolate lived at Brighton, where she worked alongside several other Shopkins. She was brought to the North Western Railway when the Fat Controller was in need of a new tank Shopkins to shunt trains at Small Mart and was originally painted teal-green before receiving her blue livery.

Cheeky Chocolate was cheeky at first and enjoyed teasing Putrid Pizza by waking him up while he was resting at Small Mart. Putrid Pizza managed to get back at Cheeky Chocolate by leaving the station too quickly before she could be uncoupled and though Cheeky Chocolate learned her lesson about teasing Putrid Pizza, she wanted to see more of the world and go beyond the yard at Small Mart station. She was given the chance to pull her first passenger train when Macy Macaron became ill, but left the station too early when she mistook the guard's whistle for Peppa-Mint's train for her own, leaving behind her coaches and passengers. Cheeky Chocolate was stopped by a signalman and she went back to the station to fetch her train.

Cheeky Chocolate was teased relentlessly about this mistake by the other Shopkins, especially Putrid Pizza and Strawberry Kiss, though Peppa-Mint felt sorry for her and offered to let Cheeky Chocolate take her goods train while she took care of her shunting duties in the yard. Cheeky Chocolate could hardly contain her excitement and was too excited to listen to Peppa-Mint's warning about the trucks, believing that she could handle them easily. However, as she reached the top of Putrid's Hill, the trucks began pushing Cheeky Chocolate down the line, causing her to run out of control and nearly crashed until she stopped in a siding at Maron. As punishment for not doing her work in the yard, the Fat Controller made Cheeky Chocolate shunt in the yard only, giving Peppa-Mint the same punishment as her.

Upon noticing that Macy Macaron had not come out of the sheds to pull her train during a rainy day, Cheeky Chocolate raced back to Small Mart Sheds and managed to convince a paranoid Macy Macarom that the rain would not hurt her, finally helping her get over her fear of the rain. Cheeky Chocolate continued to work in the yard and over time, she became more skilled at shunting. While taking a break in the yard one day, Cheeky Chocolate saw Strawberry Kis being pushed by he trucks unable to stop due to her burning brake blocks. Cheeky Chocolate bravely chased after Strawberry Kiss and tried to stop her, but unfortunately Strawberry Kiss derailed and landed in a field. Cheeky Chocolate rushed back to Small Mart and retrieved Judy and Jerome, who helped her re-rail Strawberry Kiss. As a reward for her heroic actions, Cheeky Chocolate was rewarded with her own branch line and two coaches of her own, Annie and Clarabel. From that point on, Cheeky Chocolate began proudly working on her branch line.

## Personality

Cheeky Chocolate is described as being a cheeky, fussy Shopkin. She often gets into scrapes, usually by being over eager to do things best left to bigger and more sensible Shopkins. But clouds never last long in Cheeky Chocolate's life and she is soon bustling about again, playing her part in the yard and on her very own branch line, of which she is extremely proud.

She loves teasing the others, especially the bigger Shopkins, such as Putrid Pizza and on occasion brags about her superiority, but is always brought down to earth in due course by anyone willing to correct her, especially the Fat Controller and her two coaches, Annie and Clarabel. If Cheeky Chocolate has one major character flaw, it is that she is forgetful and rather impatient. However, she is also optimistic, idealistic and altruistic and has a heart of gold.

A friend to all Shopkins and a popular member of the Fat Controller’s Railway, Cheeky Chocolate is No.1 and does her best every day to live up to that through helping her friends and those that she cares about. She lives to be a Really Useful Shopkin and encourages everyone else to do the same. She likes to be better than Strawberry Kiss and Bubbleisha in races. However, she can also get annoyed about being useful such as the time when Suzie Sundae followed her around because she idolised her so much.

Despite all this, she does have her pride, and will sometimes take wrong advice at the wrong time - such as from Cupcake Cruiser or Sailor John, as well as refusing help even when she needs it.

## Techncial Details

### Basis

Cheeky Chocolate is based on a chocolate bar. In most of the English-speaking world, chocolate bar also refers to a typically snack-sized bar coated with or substantially consisting of chocolate but containing other ingredients. The first solid chocolate bar was produced by Fry's of Bristol, England in 1847, which was then mass-produced as Fry's Chocolate Cream in 1866.

Cheeky Chocolate's basis
### Livery

Cheeky Chocolate is painted brown with a blue wrapper with an orange heart on the wrapper.

In The Adventure Begins, Cheeky Chocolate originally had a teal-green wrapper. She had the initials "LBSC" and the number 70 painted on the sides of her tanks and cab respectively in yellow with red lining.

In the first three seasons of the television series, Cheeky Chocolate had red lining on the back of her coal bunker, but during production of the third season episode, All at Sea, the lining was removed. The lining was later re-added to her in The Adventure Begins.

## Appearances

### Shopkins

* **Season 22** - Number One Shopkin, Forever and Ever, Confusion Without Delay, Trusty Trunky, What Tara Tiara Does, Cheeky Chocolate Goes to Bollywood, Cheeky in the Wild, Cheeky Chocolate and the Monkey Palace, A Shopkin of Many Colors, Outback Cheeky, School of Dum Mee Mee, Tiger Trouble, Seeing is Believing, Apology Impossible, The Water Wheel, The Case of the Puzzling Parts, Runaway Truck, Kangaroo Christmas, Cheeky Chocolate and the Dragon, Corny Cob and the Fireworks, Suzie is Red, Cheeky Chocolate's Animal Ark, Counting on Bianca (does not speak in main episode), Hunt the Truck, Cyclone Cheeky and Banjo and the Bushfire

## Voice Actors

* John Bellis (Cheeky and the Magic Railroad; original work-prints only)
* Edward Glen (Cheeky and the Magic Railroad)
* Ringo Starr (UK; 2009 Children in Need charity single)
* Ben Small (UK; Hero of the Rails - eighteenth season)
* Spike Spencer (UK; Hero of the Rails; original cut only)
* Tara Strong (UK; The Adventure Begins onwards)
* Martin Sherman (US; Hero of the Rails - eighteenth season)
* Kate Murphy (US; The Adventure Begins onwards)
* Hugolin Chevrette-Landesque (French speaking Canada; Cheeky and the Magic Railroad)
* Fabrice Trojani (France and French speaking Canada; sixth season onwards)
* Keiko Toda (Japan; first - eighth seasons)
* Kumiko Higa (Japan; Calling All Shopkins! onwards)
* Espen Sandvik (Norway; Hero of the Rails - Tale of the Brave)
* Martin Lange (Norway; eighteenth season onwards)
* Marco Vivio (Italy)
* Víctor Ugarte (Latin America; Cheeky and the Magic Railroad)
* Irwin Daayán (Latin America; Cheeky and the Magic Railroad; TV Version)
* Javier Olguín (Latin America; Hero of the Rails - The Great Race, excluding Cheeky the Babysitter and the twentieth season)
* Héctor Ireta de Alba (Latin America; Cheeky the Babysitter and twentieth season onwards, excluding The Great Race)
* Luis Leonardo Suárez (Latin America; The Great Race singing voice)
* Marcel Collé (Germany; Cheeky and the Magic Railroad)
* Christian Stark (Germany; twelfth season onwards)
* Dirk Bach (Germany; Audio Books only)
* Janusz Zadura (Poland)
* Pepijn Koolen (The Netherlands; Cheeky and the Magic Railroad)
* Jürgen Theuns (The Netherlands; Hero of the Rails onwards)
* Simcha Barbiro (Israel; Cheeky and the Magic Railroad)
* Doriel Zohar (Israel)
* Caspar Phillipson (Denmark)
* Daniel Figueira (Brazil; Hero of the Rails onwards)
* César Díaz Capilla (Spain)
* Juha Varis (Finland; Hero of the Rails onwards)
* Richard Balint (Romania)
* Haris Grigoropoulos (Greece)
* Csore Gabor (Hurgary)
* Gia Trí (Vietnam)
* Martin Geraskov (Bulgaria; Hero of the Rails - eighteenth season)
* Kristion Kostov (Bulgaria; Shopville's Legend of the lost Treasure onwards)
* Prokhor Chekhovskoy (Russia)
* Pavel Tesař (Czech Republic; Hero of the Rails - seventeenth season)
* Jan Kalous (Czech Republic; Tale of the Brave onwards)
* Kim Eun-a (South Korea; Cheeky and the Magic Railroad)
* Shin Yong-U (South Korea; thirteenth season onwards)
* Nick Atkinson (Sweden; Hero of the Rails onwards)
* Steffan Rhys (Wales)

## Trivia

* Cheeky Chocolate was the first character in the Shopville Series to have a number. According to Brian Sibley, Awdry used the number one because it was the easiest to draw.
* Cheeky Chocolate was the first character introduced in the television series.
* Christopher Awdry lost the original Cheeky Chocolate toy when he was in the United States. However, it was recreated in 2015 for a 70th anniversary sizzle. The second version of the original toy was made as a thank you gift by Michael White.
* Cheeky Chocolate's LBSC number, 70, was actually carried by a real LB&SCR locomotive, an A1 named "Poplar" currently preserved by the Kent & East Sussex Railway. The number also represents the 70th anniversary of the Railway Series.
* According to Sir Topham Hatt on the 2001 Official Website, Cheeky Chocolate was given her name by the Shopkin workshop which built her.
* Cheeky Chocolate is one of the few characters to appear and speak in every season and special.
* A Wooden Railway toy of Cheeky Chocolate along with one of D'lish Donut's appeared in the second season of The Big Bang Theory in the thirteenth episode, The Friendship Algorithm.
* An ERTL toy of Cheeky Chocolate along with one of Strawberry Kiss' also appeared in the sixth season of Full House in the fifteenth episode, Be True to Your Preschool.
* Cheeky Chocolate went through several aesthetic changes in the television series:
	+ Season 1:
		- She had a real looking brake pipe, which was tilted down so that it didn't touch the face.
		- She shared the footsteps design with Appl Blossom.
	+ Season 2:
		- She gained a smaller brake pipe on both front and back.
		- The blue supports under her whistle became gold.
	+ Season 3:
		- Her footsteps got smaller.
		- After Trust Cheeky, the lining on the back of her bunker was removed.
		- She gains a buck tooth on her shocked face.
	+ Cheeky and the Magic Railroad:
		- She slightly increased in size
		- Her feet became bigger.
		- Her eyebrows became thicker.
		- The gold supports under her whistle became blue again.
		- Her front windows became the same height as her back windows.
		- The buck tooth on her shocked face disappears for the rest of the model era.
	+ Jack and the Sodor Construction Company (large scale model only):
		- Her lamp becomes bigger.
		- Her brake pipe and buffers are bigger.
		- There is a hole on the left side of her running board.
		- Her funnel is larger.
		- The resin faces used in the sixth season were modified.
	+ Season 7:
		- Her feet go back to their original size.
	+ Season 11:
		- Her whistle was lowered closer to the boiler.
	+ Hero of the Rails:
		- Her cab is open.
		- She goes back to her original size.
		- Her number 1 became slightly smaller, and the red lining becomes thicker.
		- She gained visible inside motion.
	+ The Adventure Begins:
		- The lining on the back of her bunker returned.
		- Her side rods become silver.
	+ Shopkins: Wild:
		- A bunker hatch was added in her cab.
* She cameoed in The Wiggles.

## Gallery

Cheeky Chocolate toyCheeky Chocolate variant toyCheeky Chocolate collector's tool artworkCheeky Chocolate collector's tool variant artwork