The Wombles have moved to reassure distraught children who thought they saw Orinoco sever his own head.

The incident came as DJ Simon Mayo interviewed the Christmas number one hopefuls live on Radio 2 on Tuesday, December 13.

Parents complained when live webcam footage appeared to show Orinoco remove his head and reveal he was actually songwriter Mike Batt dressed in a costume.

However, a chastened Mr Batt yesterday revealed he took to the stage in an emergency Womble costume after the real Orinoco sounded “completely puffed” during the performance.

Writing on his blog, he said: “Luckily, I carry a fancy dress Womble costume with me to all Womble appearances, so if the real Orinoco is too puffed out (because he is the fat one, and hardly does any exercise) I can run in, like a substitute in a football match, and take over, which is what I did.

“We managed to get the real Orinoco off, during a cut in the camera coverage, and he was given oxygen and some nettle tea.

“I jumped on stage and took over, just for the goodbye bit. When Simon cued an Amy Winehouse record I asked if we were clear and was told that we were – whereupon I took my ‘head’ off. Little did I know that one camera was still ‘live to air’.

“Anyone watching would have seen that THE OTHER WOMBLES DID NOT TAKE THEIR HEADS OFF. Why? Because they are real.

“So, kids, that’s how your mum and dad might have thought the Wombles weren’t real. Tell them you know the truth. It was their manager, Mike, saving poor Orinoco from falling over because of the heat in the studio!”

Bookmakers William Hill currently give the Wimbledon Common natives 66/1 odds of being the Christmas number one, behind, the Military Wives Choir, Little Mix, Nirvana, Damien Rice, Arianne Morgan, The Smiths and Chas n’ Dave featuring Karl Pilkington.