Medical condition may explain Mr Punch's temper

David Bryson, teaching fellow at Derby University, thinks Mr Punch - famed for beating wife Judy with a stick - is so foul-tempered because he suffers from acromegaly, a condition where you make too much growth hormone.

Mr Bryson thinks the puppet, whose shows have been accused of encouraging domestic violence - leading to calls for it to be banned - resembles patients diagnosed with acromegaly, the symptoms of which are large hands and prominent facial features.

His research suggests the volatile character, whose legendary catchphrase was "That's the way to do it", is a caricature of an acromegalic.
"We laugh at Mr Punch's antics without thinking about his origin. Why does he have a large nose and a prominent chin? What is the reason for the hump on his back and large paunch?", Mr Bryson said.

The researcher reached his conclusion after tracing the roots of Mr Punch back to Roman times.

He discovered the character originated as either a country bumpkin called Maccus, or comic servant called Bucco that developed into Pulcinella, a character from the Italian 'maschere' - or masked characters used in plays.

Pulcinella was first introduced in England after the restoration of Charles II, who gave patronage to performances by actors in 1672. A revival in he 1790s led to the preservation of Mr Punch as a glove puppet.

To support his argument Mr Bryson makes the following points:

Cartoonists have a tendency to 'acromegalise'.

Attention has been previously drawn to the resemblance between Pulcinella and acromegaly.

Over-exaggerated features in Mr Punch include enlarged lower jaw and hooked nose - the symptoms of acromegaly.

Acromegalics have fingers shaped like sausages, which are often used in Punch and Judy sketches.

Early sketches of Punch include a large paunch, another feature of the condition.

There could be a link between Punch hitting people on the head and debilitating headaches acromegalics suffer from.

Clinicians used to refer to patients with the condition as displaying 'Punch-like' features.

He added: "The history of Mr Punch has been the institutionalisation of a caricature. Continual reinforcement has entrenched the caricature so that it has taken on a life of its own beyond its origins."