Bob the Builder 'used to spread Net Zero propaganda' as children's TV icon returns for E.On solar power advert

Bob the Builder has returned to screens for the first time in 15 years to bolster the Government's ambitious Net Zero target in an advert for energy company E.On. The TV icon, voiced by the original actor Neil Morrissey, tells how after a trip to Australia he decided to learn new green skills at the 'Net Zero training academy'.Bob said he had learned how to fit solar panels, connect home batteries and install low-carbon heating to help 'with the switch to clean power'. 'So Bob, can we fix it?' a fellow student asks, to which Bob replies: 'Yes we can!'The advert then finishes with a message from E.On. It read: 'To build a future powered by clean energy we need to invest in people and green skills. Find out how E.ON is solving the green skills challenge.'But critics of the Government's plan to achieve clean power by 2030 were unconvinced by the campaign.Reform UK chairman Lee Matthews said Bob the Builder had been turned into a 'woke commissar of climate', who was 'flogging the same Net Zero propaganda that's sent energy bills through the roof in the homes he used to build'. Bob the Builder has returned to screens for the first time in 15 years to bolster the Government's ambitious Net Zero target in an advert for energy company E.On The TV icon, voiced by the original actor Neil Morrissey, tells how after a trip to Australia he decided to learn new green skills at the 'Net Zero training academy' But the advert did little to convince critics of the Government's goal to achieve clean power by 2030, with 95 per cent of electricity generation from clean sources.He continued: 'This country doesn't need another army of Net Zero specialists.'It needs builders, plumbers and sparkies who can actually keep the lights on.'Send Bob back to his proper trade.'Shadow Energy Secretary Andrew Bowie MP was also scathing of the advert. He said: 'Can Bob the Builder fix Labour's energy policy? He'd have his work cut out. Families don't want Net Zero propaganda from cartoon characters, they want cheaper bills.'Rather than creating skilled jobs, Labour are shutting down North Sea production, which not only has thousands of oil and gas jobs, but also costs the very companies best placed to develop the green technology and train the workers Britain will need. Kill the North Sea, and you kill the green workforce of the future with it.'If we are serious about cleaner power, we should open up grid connections to competition, breaking the monopoly on building new transmission lines, and letting businesses fund their own connections. And unlike Labour, we would cut bills now through our Cheap Power Plan which puts affordable, reliable energy first.'Nostalgic viewers were quick to share their thoughts on the advert online, with many who grew up watching the American version stunned by Bob's British accent. Neil Morrissey (pictured) voiced Bob the Builder from the show's launch in 1998 until 2011 Bob said he had learned how to fit solar panels and connect home batteries at the academy He also learned how to install low-carbon heating to help 'with the switch to clean power''I don't ever recall Bob the Builder being British,' one wrote on X. 'Bob the Builder was created by Keith Chapman, a British designer, and the show was created in Manchester,' another explained. 'I don't know what the yanks have been watching but this is hilarious.'A third wrote: 'They're now rolling out Bob the Builder to promote Net Zero! Here he is standing in front of a 'Net Zero Training Academy'. 'I think we'd all rather see Bob with a wrecking ball smashing through that thing!'Explaining his lengthy absence, Bob said he had put down his tools and taken up yoga before embarking on an eye-opening trip to Australia.After seeing how clean energy was being rolled out in Australia, Bob returned to the UK determined to learn green skills.As part of the campaign, E.On Next spoke to 250 members of the UK's energy workforce about the transition to clean power. It said research found that more than a third of the group believe the UK needs more people with green skills to install solar panels and home batteries. Bob was pictured holding a 'Daily News' newspaper with a story about green skillsAt the same time, it found 89 per cent agreed that greater investment and closer collaboration between government and industry are needed.An equal proportion say that upskilling the existing workforce will be just as important as attracting new talent to meet future demand.Helen Bradbury, Chief People Officer at E.On UK, said: 'Bob the Builder has always inspired people to solve problems and build things that matter. Today, those same qualities are needed to help deliver the UK's transition to clean power.'By embracing green skills and fronting this campaign, he's a shining example of how we can make new energy work for everyone. If we invest in people's homes, we can build a new energy system from the ground up. 'One that uses low-carbon, connected technologies like solar panels and batteries to put customers back in control of their energy use and lower their bills. 'Just last year, our project in Coventry showed that households can save an average of £255 a year when a home battery is paired with a time-of-use tariff.'There are wider benefits across the country. Products like solar panels and batteries help reduce pressure on the network, improve energy security and create jobs.'The Daily Mail has contacted Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh, Tory energy spokesman Andrew Bowie and Tory shadow transport minister Greg Smith.