This figurine celebrates the most famous part ever played by William Sydney Penley (1852-1912), usually known as W.S. Penley (1852-1912) in the farce Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas, which opened at London's Royalty Theatre in December 1892. It shows Penley as Lord Fancourt Babberley, or 'Babbs', disguised as Donna Lucia d’Alvadorez, the aunt from Brazil - 'where the nuts come from'. The first figurine was made especially for Brandon Thomas; this model was introduced by Doulton in 1914. Two other versions were made but all were withdrawn by 1938.

Penley, a boy chorister at the Savoy Chapel, made his first stage appearance in 1875 in the original production of Trial By Jury, but made his name in 1884 as Reverend Robert Spalding in The Private Secretary at London's Globe Theatre. Penley was associated with this part until 1892 when he produced and starred in Charley's Aunt at Bury St. Edmunds. It was staged at the Royalty Theatre in London that December, and transferred to the Globe (now the Gielgud Theatre) in 1893. It was a huge success, achieving the record-breaking run of 1466 performances. Several different posters and souvenirs were produced during its run.

Royal Doulton began in Lambeth, London, in 1815 when John Doulton manufactured ceramic items such as stoneware bottles and sewer pipes. The Victorian revolution in hygiene and sanitation ensured its success, and Doulton later produced tableware and commemorative items. The firm expanded in 1882, purchasing a factory in Burslem in the Staffordshire Potteries area, and adding porcelain to its production two years later. It was granted a Royal Warrant in 1901. The Lambeth factory closed in 1956.