Yes, Benny was based on Doberman and the actor who played Doberman did Benny's voice. Some interesting stuff in here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Cat
Not sure about Bowen, that's hard to say. Morison obviously didn't fancy him at all and seems to have been proved right so far. You may be right but, as always, it's hard to pinpoint why some players make it while others, who are seemingly just as talented, fall away.