British dancer Jess Whitfield performed in full-bodied Muppet costume with Leslie Uggams in "Hey There, Good Times," the opening number of The Muppet Show episode 318.
Hailing from Liverpool, England, Whitfield had trained at the Sam Wanamaker's Children's Theatre and the Shelagh Elliott-Clarke School in Liverpool. On stage, Whitfield performed in Cabaret at the Palace Theatre, and he began playing the role of Schmeril midway through the 1967–71 London West End run of Fiddler on the Roof (with George Little and Lex Goudsmit). He also performed in a 1982 television film production of Treasure Island (with Hugh Spight and music by Hal Shaper).