The Basil Brush Show is a spin-off of the original 1960s–1970s BBC series featuring the glove puppet fox Basil Brush, but it features an entirely new cast with none of the original actors returning.

The show frequently breaks the fourth wall, with characters referencing the fact that they are on a studio set, and some episodes even involve the show's cameramen and crew directly in the storyline.

Basil Brush is voiced by Michael Winsor, who is credited on the show as 'Basil's Personal Assistant' rather than as a voice actor.

The character Mr Rossiter, the landlord of the flats, is named after actor Leonard Rossiter, who famously played landlord Rupert Rigsby in the sitcom Rising Damp.

Madison's full introduced name is 'Madison Square-Gardens', a reference to the famous New York venue Madison Square Garden.

Anil's Café is depicted as serving consistently bad food, a running joke explained in-universe by Basil, who tells Anil it's used simply because 'it's the only other set we've got'.

In the episode 'Camping', it is revealed that the character Anil wears a wig, has a glass eye, false teeth, and a prosthetic wooden leg.

The show spawned spin-offs Basil's Swap Shop and Basil's Game Show, a remake of the classic Multicoloured Swap Shop, presented by Basil Brush alongside Barney Harwood and produced by the same company, The Foundation.