Dot & Dab fixings

Looks like a Multi Monti. Excellent fasteners. Need to pick the right sized masonry drill, you can go quite close to the edge of a brick if necessary. You can also get away with removing and replacing them a few times (handy for example on a trellis if you repaint the wall).

Presumably because they are secure when not tightened against the wall they don't pull the plasterboard back?

Bill

Absolutely the best

Agreed, I wasn't particularly advocating these for plasterboard in general although they would work for dot and dab so long as you go through the dot! I think they do need to be under tension to make a secure fixing, if not they would wobble especially if used for something like a swivelling TV bracket.

Others I have noticed (but not used as I have no D&D walls here)

the DeWalt ones though.

The TV bracket acts as a giant washer & spreads the load.

Although MultiMonti's and even concrete screws can apply a lot of load, so you do have to have a certain amount of "feel", depending on the size of the back plate(s),

Yup. I've used rigifix & still have some for critical use but they aren't cheap!

Also used "concrete screws" (like a finer threaded version of the multimontis) successful, cheap & available in some long lengths if needed. As they're fine threaded you can set them "just so" to avoid distorting the pb.

Last one I did for a mate was a new build & the TV wouldn't hang against the wall, it kept creeping out on the multi angle bracket. Turned out the wall was not vertical - out 8mm over the height of the bracket 300mm? FFS!