Elvis Cridlington

David Jones

Rob Lee

The Lothian Buses Hub *[recreation]*

John Alderton (original series version)

Steven Kynman (CGI Series version)

Jerry Lee Cridlington (*cousin*)

**Elvis Cridlington** is one of the firefighters at the Pontypandy Fire Station. He has also been assigned the position of station mess manager.

## Biography

Elvis Cridlington was born and raised in Pontypandy by a single mother. Growing up, he always dreamed of being a firefighter and upon completing his high school education, he began his firefighter training at the Newtown Fire Academy.

Upon completing his training, he returned to Pontypandy and joined the Pontypandy Fire Service.

His cousin, Jerry Lee Cridlington is also a firefighter and is based at the Newtown Fire Station.

At the start of Series 1, Elvis is a rookie firefighter and the newest member of the Pontypandy Fire Station. He started his career as Fireman Sam's apprentice and throughout the original series he picked up on a lot of finer points of the job such as realising firefighters do more than just putting out fires (moving telephone pole in The Kite).

Elvis drove Jupiter for the first time in the Series 1 episode Camping and drove it in three further episodes during the original series.

In Series 3, Elvis was shown to have a crush on visiting firefighter Penny Morris. From Series 4 onward, his crush on Penny is gone.

Throughout this Series 5, Elvis showed a tendency to not pay attention in training drills and unlike the rest of the crew, he lacked awareness on fire hazards. For example, in A Real Live Wire, he nearly throws water over a burning TV without turning off the power first being stopped by Sam in the nick of time.

By Series 6, Elvis is now a perfectly competent firefighter as shown in the opening episode of Series 7 Blow Me Down where he completes a rescue on his own for the first time by rescuing Station Officer Steele from the Flood's roof.

His relationship with Sam is shown to have evolved into a good friendship, however Elvis does still count on him for a lot of safety advice and firefighting tips. During *The Great Fire of Pontypandy*, Elvis risks his own life by leaping across to save Sam from getting hit by a burning branch showing he would do anything for the people he cares about. For this self act and guiding the people of Pontypandy out of the forest, Elvis accomplishes his dream of earning **The Medal of Outstanding Bravery** (which is the highest honour available to any firefighter in all of Wales). However more importantly to him he earns the respect of his mentor/best friend who calls him "a true hero".

In the Series 8 episode To Outfox a Fox, Elvis earns his advanced driving certificate and is now able to legally drive any vehicle belonging to the rescue service.

Elvis who had been an avid fan of Rock'n'Roll from his childhood and plays the guitar. In Series 6 it is revealed that he and Mike Flood have formed their own band. Since then the two put themselves forward to play whenever the opportunity rises and Elvis is regularly seen trying to come up with new song ideas (generally about the happenings around the fire station). In the Series 3 episode “Brass Band” it is also shown that he plays the trombone.

Having kept their relationship under disguise as close friendship all this time, in the Series 9 episode Norman's Big Fossil Adventure, Penny inadvertently reveals it to Sam and Station Officer Steele by kissing Elvis after he admits that he tried to save Penny's job by getting himself fired. Since then they have continued their relationship whilst maintaining a high standard of professionalism at work.

Following the recruitment of two new members (Ellie and Arnold) in Heroes of the Storm, Elvis takes on a more senior role within the fire service and starts acting responsibly. Whilst Sam was away rescuing Penny and the children from the old mines, Elvis is tasked with being the leader to is able to successfully prepare Pontypandy for a hurricane. As a result of his success, Elvis earns the respect from all his fellow citizens that he truly deserves.

In the first few Series, he is often shown to get in trouble with Station Officer Steele for showing up late for work, getting his reports soggy and messy and other mishaps. Regardless of this, it is shown in Steele Under Par that Elvis has a great deal of respect for his commanding officer. As the series progressed and Elvis matured as a firefighter, the two developed a strong bond and even spend time together sharing some common. One of Station Officer Steele's proudest moments was seeing Elvis risk his own life to save Sam and he exclaimed "Well done young Cridlington, I won't forget that!" showing that he is truly proud of Elvis.

## Personality

Elvis may seem over excitable and childlike (traits that can sometimes get him into trouble with the strict and stoic Station Officer Steele) but don’t be fooled, Elvis is a brave and fearless Firefighter. His prowess with launching Saturn (the Fire Station’s Incident Support Imaging System) is undisputed, his skill with sticky foam is second to none and he is a demon with a Floppy Shovel.

## Trivia

* Elvis is named after the singer Elvis Presley, whom he idolised as a child and even styled his hair upon.
* He used to be the youngest firefighter until Arnold McKinley join the fire service in Heroes of the Storm.
* Despite his position as the station's cook, Elvis has no culinary skills at all. Due to this and his clumsy nature, he very often ends up burning the food. Because of this, Sam prefers to have Bella Lasagne prepare sandwiches for him over eating Elvis's cooking.
* Elvis may have been afraid of heights as demonstrated in Pontypandy Extreme and Model Plane, but in later episodes he seems to be over it.
* In The Break-Up, he is shown to have a talent for juggling flaming torches.
* He is the secondary driver of Jupiter.
* He did not become a lifeguard until Norman's Ark.
* In the episode Elvis Sings the Blues, it is revealed that Elvis owns a cat.
* He still has to drive Bessie, Hydrus, Titan and Juno.
* In a Twitter Q&A, Steven Kynman revealed that Elvis was his favourite character to voice out of the show.
* In France, the surname is Portillon instead of Cridlington.
* Elvis is the main operator of Saturn.
* Elvis was Phoenix's only driver during series 13.
* Elvis is the only firefighter who drove Jupiter in all the Fireman Sam movies.
* Elvis and Sam are the only firefighters to drive Jupiter 2000 in Set for Action!
* Elvis is the only firefighter who drove Jupiter 2000 in a real emergency.
* Elvis is the only firefighter who does not drive Jupiter in the Spin-off Series. This wouldn't happen until the Road Trip series.
* When recreating Elvis, TLBH gave him a new Mess manager Uniform which looks like his original uniform, but with yellow replaced by red, and blue replaced by yellow. He would later wear it in "Sleeping Minnie".

## Official Awards and Honours

* Medal of Outstanding Bravery (The Great Fire of Pontypandy)
* Best Dog Trainer in Pontypandy (Trophy) (Floodlights)
* Bake Off! Winner (Bake Off)

## Series Elvis drove Jupiter

* Kerwhizz series
* Roary The Racing Car series
* Fifi and the flowertots series
* Mickey and the roadster racers series
* Quack Pack Series
* Paw Patrol series
* The Rocketeer series
* Sooty series
* PJ Masks series
* Postman Pat series
* It is revealed in the Roary The Racing Car Series that Sam can paint.
* It is revealed in the Fifi & the Flowertots Series that Sam can easily cause a flat tyre when driving too fast up a steep hill.
* It is revealed in an audiobook read by Simon Young that the Sensational six, Toodles and Quoodles are part of Sam's very own rescue team.
* It is revealed in the Roary The Racing Car Series that Sam is not too keen on vegetable fuels.
* In Sleeping Mickey, Sam is shown to be Tap dancing shy or just dislikes Tap Dancing.

## Quotes

* *Great balls of fire!* (UK) (He shares the exact same quote with Quoodles)