From TES issue 23 (September 2003)

Series 5. Level 1/2.
SIR HUGH DE WITTLESS
Sir Hugh was one of the very few actual knights in Knightmare. Mark 'Lord Fear' Knight donned his red surcoat and trusty broadsword. Sir Hugh rode a white horse called Neddy, of whom he was very fond.

The curse laid upon this lone hero - apparently by Hordriss after an altercation - was a compulsion to go around rescuing people, whether or not they needed or wanted to be rescued. This included dungeoneers, which is why Treguard described the spellbound knight as a "well-meaning hazard" on one occasion. Woe betide the dungeoneer who actually let Sir Hugh rescue them, as he would undoubtedly have delivered them back to Knightmare Castle and the quest would be judged a failure:

"I'm going to rescue you; I'm going to take you all the way back where you came from, what about that, eh?" - Sir Hugh.

So, how did the dungeoneers avoid this fate? Sir Hugh's first appearance with Sarah in level two was the character's introduction. Sarah explained to him in no uncertain terms that she really didn't need rescuing, and managed to satisfy the spellbound knight by agreeing to be escorted further into the level. This escort proved useful, as Sir Hugh prepared to face a goblin hunting party as Sarah exited from the next chamber. When Gwendoline and winning dungeoneer Ben encountered Sir Hugh in the forest, Gwendoline threatened Sir Hugh. He promptly rescued her by picking her up and hauling her off, leaving Ben to continue on his way.

Later in the series, dungeoneer Alex used a HERO spell to call on Sir Hugh when he was accosted by Skarkill. Alex really did need rescuing on this occasion and Sir Hugh performed the job admirably, sending Skarkill firmly on his way. Sir Hugh's last appearance was in the final episode of the series, when he was involved in a very incidental scene with Kelly II and Sylvester Hands. Hands contrived a story about how Kelly had attacked him, so Sir Hugh rescued Hands from Kelly by carrying him off, just as he had earlier done to Gwendoline. It was a pretty pointless scene, but good for a giggle I suppose. Anyway...

Fear Factor: 4 He certainly intimidated Skarkill with no trouble.
Killer Instinct: 2 Not physically, but if he'd "rescued" anyone...
Humour Rating: 5 Serious in himself, but clearly had a high comedy value.
Oscar Standard: 7 Dare I say a slightly tongue-in-cheek performance?

login to vote