From TES issue 11 (September 2001)

Series 3/4/5/6/8. Level 1/2/3.
MOTLEY
  Knightmare's second jester was played by Paul Valentine. Because of his somewhat infrequent appearances, it is easy to forget that Motley was on Knightmare for a very long time. His total of five series is second only to Hordriss's six and Treguard's eight, and his time on the programme actually spans a longer period than Hordriss's, even though he appeared in far fewer episodes. Motley was introduced to us in the first episode of series 3 and was last seen in the final episode of series 8. As Treguard implied during Motley's first appearance, he was a direct replacement for Folly. Motley wore red and yellow garments as opposed to red and green, and he had no face-paint like Folly's. He filled Folly's role in series 3, giving clues about which door to take and so on, but developed into a fully-fledged character as the programme progressed and developed itself. He is the only character to have missed a series and then rejoined the cast.
 
As we saw his character develop through series 3-6, it became clear that Motley was something of a cheeky rogue who did not necessarily like jestering that much, but found that it was the only thing he was good at. He was good-hearted and friendly to dungeoneers, though, and clearly feared both Mogdred and Lord Fear and wanted to see them defeated. Motley was attracted to many of Knightmare's female characters during his time on the programme, often making for a scene of gentle comedy, as he tended to choose to try and woo those ladies who would sooner kill him than listen to his profession to love them. He tried to woo Gundrada in series 4, Gwendoline in series 5, Sidriss in series 6 and Stiletta in series 8. This led to him facing the threats of being cut into pieces, shafted with an arrow, perforated by throwing-knives, and actually being shrunk to the size of a mouse. However, he also had a firm friendship in series 3 and 4 with Mellisandre, who may have actually been his lover.
  In terms of meetings with dungeoneers, Motley was always friendly and helpful. Unlike Folly, however, he could be serious and level-headed when the need arose. Motley could be useful for giving spells, passwords and combinations if the dungeoneer pleased him. Ways to do this included solving a riddle, freeing him from the stocks [SEE: pillory] or a magic playing-card, persuading Sidriss to remove the spell she'd used to shrink him, or chucking pigeon droppings over him to release him from his statue-like state. Telling a joke was another way to please him, as he readily admitted that his act wore thin as time went on. Motley's most frequent appearances are found in series 3 and 4. It is a shame that most of Paul Valentine's time was taken playing Sylvester Hands in series 5 and 6, leaving Motley a total of only seven of the thirty-one episodes in those two series. His reintroduction in the first episode of series 8 was very pleasing. He appears in four out of the ten episodes in this series, the last one being episode ten, where he again falls victim to Sidriss's erratic magic.
 
Fear Factor: 2 He scared a pooka once.
Killer Instinct: 0 100% dungeoneer-friendly.
Humour Rating: 10 It comes with the job.
Oscar Standard: 9 Possibly not as convincing as Hands, but one of my favourites.

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