by 
Orville the duck has been left lost for words after the sad death of his friend and business partner, Keith Harris.
Those closest to the green duckling believe that the creature is so stricken with grief as to perhaps never speak again.
“We’re all very worried about him” said Wilma Reed, Orville’s diaper changer for the last twenty years,.
“Ge hasn’t really moved at all since the news. He just sits and stares out the window in silence with that sad facial expression of his.”
“I tried throwing some bread for him but it just kind of hit him in the face and bounced off.”
Orville and Harris brought delight to countless children and adults alike in a showbiz career spanning several decades, even garnering a private gig for a 3 year-old Prince Harry, at the request of Princess Diana.
But with the passing of Keith Harris, it’s now unclear what the future has in store for the young Orville.
“We’re looking at his options” said Orville’s agent, “We’re looking at getting him onto the insurance advertising circuit.”
“If that irritating little meerkat can make a living out of it, then should be a breeze for a seasoned professional like Orville.”
“But I’ll admit it won’t be the same without Keith…those two together were unstoppable, apart from that one week when Orville had bird flu and another week when Keith broke his hand, which for some reason meant that he couldn’t sit down and chat to a bird with an unexplained gift of speech.”
Fiona Duggan, the attending nurse looking after Keith when he finally passed, claimed to have heard the last words uttered by Orville.
“He just whispered ‘don’t go’, and then as Keith passed away, Orville’s head just kind of dropped a little, as if his soul had gone with him.”
