Alfonso Bonzo
Encyclopedia
Alfonso Bonzo is a 1986 children's book by Andrew Davies
and a 1990 children's television mini-series adapted from the book by the author. The series starred Alex Jennings
as Alfonso Bonzo and Scott Riley as Billy Webb.
Billy Webb is a young boy who likes to swap
things with his school mates. He meets Alfonso Bonzo, an "Italian exchange student" who also has a talent for swapping things (thus his self-description: he is an Italian student who exchanges things). Alfonso offers Billy a variety of temporary swaps to demonstrate his abilities: Billy's boring old dog for a greyhound that does ballet, the wonky Webb family television for a new model with a button that lets the viewer become part of the action, Billy's battered schoolbag full of unfinished homework for a brand new schoolbag containing a file folder that magically produces finished homework... but each swap has disadvantages as well as advantages, and Alfonso Bonzo cuts an increasingly sinister figure as he leads up to one last swap, this one for keeps.
The TV series later had a spinoff called Billy Webb's Amazing Stories
, featuring Billy's further (non-Alfonso-related) adventures.
Andrew Davies (writer)
Andrew Wynford Davies is a British author and screenwriter. He was made a Fellow of BAFTA in 2002.-Education and early career:...
and a 1990 children's television mini-series adapted from the book by the author. The series starred Alex Jennings
Alex Jennings
Alex Jennings is an English actor whose roles have included Charles, Prince of Wales in The Queen .-Early years:...
as Alfonso Bonzo and Scott Riley as Billy Webb.
Billy Webb is a young boy who likes to swap
Barter
Barter is a method of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. It is usually bilateral, but may be multilateral, and usually exists parallel to monetary systems in most developed countries, though to a...
things with his school mates. He meets Alfonso Bonzo, an "Italian exchange student" who also has a talent for swapping things (thus his self-description: he is an Italian student who exchanges things). Alfonso offers Billy a variety of temporary swaps to demonstrate his abilities: Billy's boring old dog for a greyhound that does ballet, the wonky Webb family television for a new model with a button that lets the viewer become part of the action, Billy's battered schoolbag full of unfinished homework for a brand new schoolbag containing a file folder that magically produces finished homework... but each swap has disadvantages as well as advantages, and Alfonso Bonzo cuts an increasingly sinister figure as he leads up to one last swap, this one for keeps.
The TV series later had a spinoff called Billy Webb's Amazing Stories
Billy Webb's Amazing Stories
Billy Webb's Amazing Stories is a 1991 CBBC mini series, continuing the story of Billy Webb, a character in the book the series was based on, Alfonso Bonzo....
, featuring Billy's further (non-Alfonso-related) adventures.