Going to read this so I get it right because it's important to
me. The recipient of this year's
Lifetime Achievement Award is Spike Milligan.
Jonathan. Jonathan is, is nudging me and
tweaking me. So we, we must, we must push on.
I I have little to say except to to speak of Spike, a man whose
contribution to British culture is incalculable.
Since the Second World War in which he served, Spike Milligan
has been central to the development of British comedy.
One might almost say our actual sense of humour.
Everyone in this room knows that in comedy, very little is truly
original. Spike's work is part of that
very little. His novels, his extraordinary
memoirs, his work in radio and in television was like nothing
that went before. But much of what came after owes
him an enormous debt. I first saw Spike play live at
Guildford Civic Hall when I was 12 years old, about the time I
read Pecoon and Adolf Hitler, My Partner's Downfall and all the
wonderful work, and I've been a fan ever since.
And it is for me a very great honour to have been asked to
present Spike with his award tonight.
The I was going to say about bloody time.
Can it really be 30 years ago? Could we ever have been so
young? If you're listening to this on
the day of release then yes, it really was 30 years ago. 4th of
December 1994, The 5th Annual British Comedy Awards, hosted by
the man who can never get his tongue around as ours, Jonathan
Ross. Mention the British Comedy
Awards to people of a certain age and if they remember them at
all, then it'll typically be for one of two things.
Junior and Clary tearing Norman Lamont, a new one
metaphorically, and a year later, Spike Milligan calling
the man who would be King Prince Charles, not Sean Connery, a
little grovelling bastard. So I thought it might be fun to
revisit the 94 Comedy Awards. Obviously we'll lean quite
heavily into that moment, which was, with hindsight, the result
of nerves spikes, natural impishness and quite a large
quantity of Chateau Television Centre 92.
But I want to look at the show as a whole and see who won what,
who must out and examine the coming of The Young Turks on the
British comedy scene. You Coogan, you Morris, you're
Iannucci and so on. And while the show's categories
are bound with crowd pleasing fares such as Absolutely
Fabulous, Red Dwarf and Knowles House Party, who now remembers
the likes of Blue Heaven, The 10 Percenters and To Look Back at
the Future. Joining me to do a deep dive,
friend of the show, John Ortey Mulligan Nut, massive comedy fan
in general and host of Behind the Stunts podcast.
And Gary Roger Co, host of The Sitcom Club podcast and someone
for whom the epithet Comedy Scholar should be applied.
Now John and I watched the full show.
Gary did not. I asked him to come and get cold
with no preparation, as I wanted to run through the awards with
him and see who he fancied his winners that year, and generally
put some of the more obscure or forgotten nominees back into
context. John and I talked about the show
in general and Spike in particular, and what follows is,
I hope, an interesting and entertaining chat where you can
expect to hear at least passing references to the likes of
Rebecca Front, Angus Dayton, Andy Hamilton, Richard Wilson,
Jack D, Maureen Lipman, Roy HUD, Josie Lawrence, Joe Brand, Rory
Bremner, Tracy Ullman, Timothy Spall, Gregor Fisher, Jennifer
Saunders, Chris Evans, Paul Whitehouse, and many, many, many
more. Oh, and meatloaf, we mustn't
forget meatloaf. I think Jonathan Ross is
probably still receiving therapy for that encounter.
Well, meatloaf and Mr. Blobby, maybe.
Anyway, here it is. Hope you enjoy it.
I always watch the Comedy Awards every year when I fail up until
about I think even like the late 2000s, I think it would have
been before all like the the, you know, the issues started
where, you know, one year Jonathan Ross wasn't there when
you live in telemise it so on, so on, all that kind of stuff.
But even well into the 2000s, yeah, I kind on watching it.
But the 90s, it felt like it had a vibe to it.
It was like, OK, this isn't an ordinary kind of award show.
This is something a bit different.
The very first year, 1990, it sort of was a traditional award
show, was hosted by Michael Parkinson and it was a much more
sort of, I suppose you would say, respectable affair and like
a trust. A light light end.
Yeah, a sort of traditional theatre sort of setting.
They weren't around the dinner tables anything like that.
There was no so booze going on during the show itself.
Yeah. Annoyingly, the one I didn't see
I've never seen it is 1991, Jonathan Ross's first one
because I believe he had a bit of A to and fro with Jeremy
Beadle that night. Oh, right, I.
Think Jeremy Beadle was promoting something he was
involved in with, was it Jetty caught circus or something like
that and he was in like full sort of what do you call it,
what's looking, what was it Colombo gets dressed up as?
Oh, is the circus the ring marks?
Yes, yeah, exactly. Yeah, Beatle was in that sort of
attire and yeah, he had a bit of a back and forth with Ross, but
I've never seen that one. BBC put Planes, Trains and
Automobiles on opposite and I opted for that that night so.
Yeah, enough. I was living in Bangor in North
Wales when this, the 1994 Comedy Awards went out and I was living
in AI, was in a flat, a student flat.
And I know that I spent that Christmas on my own, first and
only Christmas I've ever spent totally on my own because they'd
all gone home for Christmas and all my friends were students.
There was no one left. So I spent that Christmas.
We had one TV in the house and it was in the kitchen, the
communal kitchen. So anyway, I, I do remember
watching it, but I don't remember anything apart from
Spike's Bet basically. But I in my head, I was on my
own watching it in this freezing cold kitchen because the central
heating wasn't working properly and, and the kitchen, one of the
windows was like a hole in it. So the big, you know, December
draft. Even before you said the central
heating wasn't working, I just for whatever reason, I imagined
that you were watching any cold room.
I did. If you suddenly said yeah, there
was a roaring log fire at a lovely comfy armchair and oh, it
was bliss. No, it it wasn't going in that
direction. It was definitely cradling,
cradling a large Brandy in my hand.
No, I was set because we had we had my memory is we had a like
one of those Formica top tables in the kitchen and like a wooden
bench that you'd sit on. So my memory is I was set on
this uncomfortable wooden bench in the freezing cold watching
this tiny television for 2 1/2 hours because I think it it went
from about it, it overran this show.
What did you have for Christmas dinner?
I think I've said to you in the past, Gary, my idea and I'm
saying that I'm whispering this because I do have family in the
house. It my idea of bliss one year
would just be have just to have Christmas on my own.
Just one, you know, just one Christmas on my own, you know,
But I my, my memory of that time was that it was not quite as
idyllic and I didn't have much money at all.
I don't think I had Christmas dinner per SE.
I probably just had like a Bernard Matthews Turkey roll
thing or something. Yes, Yeah.
Yeah, I was going to say, did they ever actually do?
They must have done Christmas themed Pot Noodles at some
point, probably. When was it that Peter Baynham
was advertising them? Was that rendered by that
period? Yeah, it would have been.
Yeah. Yeah, that's right.
That would have been around that time.
But I was all, all about the Pot Noodle in the mid 90s for sure.
Because it was it wasn't nutritious, but it was
affordable. And it it was quick.
It was quick. Yeah.
I remember feeling very sorry for myself.
But. But there you go.
Put a dampener on the conversation.
Never. There.
Well, no, but The thing is that, I mean, the British Comedy
Awards I always associated with Christmas because it was always,
it was always close to Christmas, but it sort of felt
like that was the official sort of start of the festivities.
I'm not sure how close they ever quite got to Christmas.
I don't think it was ever, I don't think it was ever like
under a week or so. I think it may be the maximum
was maybe like 7 days removed or something like that.
But yeah, it felt like, oh, we are now.
Yeah, this is the start of the the holiday season.
Here comes the Comedy Awards. Brilliant.
And it's going to overrun and it's going to be raucous and
it's going to be foul language. And there's always that
excruciating point where they bring on the representative of
the sponsors each year. And they did that running gag
about how they would give them like a rapturous response each
year. Everybody would be up and
cheering and what have you. Because basically they're saying
this guy is paying the the the the tab at the end of the night.
But it's crack on it is wade through the the the deep waters
of the. Waist high in comedy.
Waist High in Comedy. The 5th Annual British Comedy
Awards presented by Jonathan Ross.
He mentions during this that he'd done stand up, which I
which I didn't know at some point, only briefly, but that's
right. Yes.
And later on, the he went into chat shows.
But originally, and I think I'm right in saying that there was
like there was Michael Aspel, there was Michael Parkinson, who
were doing similar types of awards before this arrived,
because this only arrived in 1990, didn't it?
Yeah. But, and obviously leading up to
before Jonathan Ross, there was a certain degree of expectation
of professionalism and, and decorum, I suppose.
Yes, the the one thing the show is lacking is is huge quantities
of decorum. They're not queuing up outside
the bags of it, are they? It's just you take it as you see
it. But it it was probably at the
time it was a breath of fresh air getting this slightly
anarchic style of presenting. Yes.
To our screens. And he's and, and looking
through the credits, he, he's written a great deal of this as
well, you know. That threw me because because
I'm a big fan of Danny Baker. Yeah, don't get me wrong, not
everything, but I, I do recognize and and admire Danny
Baker's writing. And he used to write for
everybody for these comments on these kind of shows.
And I could. And I'm watching this whole 2/2
and 1/2 hour, whatever it is extravaganza, and I'm listening
to Jonathan Ross's lines and his carefully rehearsed ad libs, and
I'm thinking, God, that's Danny Baker.
So Danny Baker and you see the end credits and no, it's written
by Jonathan Ross and Jez Stephenson.
Jez Stephenson, Yeah, Yeah. Do we know much about him?
Not I looked up on IMDBI, think he he's like writer for hire on
all sorts of things. Like, what's that thing, A big
bad quiz of the year or something, right?
Must be a big friend of Danny Baker's then, because it did
sound a lot like him, didn't it? It did.
No, no, you're lost. This is completely wrong.
We finished in here. There's nothing more of quest.
Look, do you want me to show you the way that you're wanting?
The Comedy Awards come through with me.
They want to pull this apart now.
There are people with families to go home to.
They can't hang about here all night.
It's all finished. We've done the quests you move
back now we're in Studio 2. It's not very often actually
that 2 live programmes on ITV come out of side by side
studios. So we'll we'll walk out of here.
That's studio three. We're just going past that.
Don't think there's a Michael Hill production coming out of
that programme. Nope.
Over here. This is where you want you want
Studio 1, the British Comedy Awards.
You've lost your way. Loads of famous faces in here.
You actually get Envision Continuity, the recording that
you and I have seen. But then, man of the moment,
Philip Schofield. Yes, on the set of of a program
I'd completely forgot about called Schofield's Quest.
Yes, less said about Schofield's quest.
I think the better long term his quest then and now very poles
apart, I imagine. Oh yeah, and with with his
original, with his original hair colour as well.
And absolutely. And and doing that sort of
direct to camera. Oh, you've what are you looking
for? Oh, you've come in the wrong
door. No, you want this one over here.
Oh, good. You know.
Yes, yeah. I think the conceit is that
Schofield's quest was the the programme on before, right.
And then he takes us from the set of Schofield's Quest along
right along the corridor to Studio One at London Television
Centre. And, and the first person we
see, the first celebrity we see is Michael Barrymore.
And I'm, and I'm watching this, I'm thinking Phillip Schofield
and Michael Barrymore. Who, who next?
Is it going to be Rolf Harris? In the same room.
Who'd have thought? Yeah, it's, and of course the,
the, the, the lovely voice over of Steve Jones, who was always
responsible for, for those type of, you know, when the camera's
panning across the audience, he said, oh, this Michael Barrymore
and Smith and Jones are here and there's Lily Savage over there
and all that sort of stuff just leading up to the intro before
Jonathan Ross comes on stage. Yes.
And then he said. And there's Gregor Fisher, you
know, AKA Rabcine Asbet and just out of shot, his interpreter to
his left. Yes.
Who was that written by? Steve?
Did you ad Lib that one in a very popular?
There's also, if blinking, you'll miss him, there's a quick
glimpse of Chris Langham. All these people that at the
time were allowed to roam freely around the television centre.
Jonathan Ross, within what, I don't know, 20 seconds of his
opening monologue, there's a pubic hair joke.
So. Straight in with the good stuff.
Yeah, he says. He says about the audience.
He says last time this lot we're here, it was for an audience
with Jimmy Tarbuck, but this time they're here to enjoy
themselves. That was quite nice.
And they're, they're making a statement as far as the look of
the whole thing is concerned. The opening titles?
Union Jacks, Bulldogs. You know they're.
And dogs in waist coats, no less.
Yes. So that if you didn't realise it
was the British Comedy Awards, you'd definitely realise it
after the title and then bursting into song.
Not the dogs. Jonathan Ross bursting into
song. And singing Luck Be a Lady
tonight out of all of the tunes that.
With these dancers dressed as as dice, as cards, and 1 is a slot
machine. Yeah.
Yeah, it's it. 94 It was of its time, wasn't it?
It's like something out of a Simpsons fever dream that luck
be a lady tonight. Luck be a lady tonight.
Luck If you've ever been a lady to begin with.
Luck be a lady tonight. A lot.
Let a gentleman see. Oh yeah, how nice a day you can
be. I know the way you've treated
other guys you've been with. So luck.
Be a lady with me. And I noticed there there's a
mention of Clive Anderson talks back early on and, and there's a
shot of Clive Anderson and, and he actually gets a whoop from
the audience. So but but.
Wasn't a lot of whooping in those early categories, was
there? No, but spoilers.
Poor old Clive walked away empty handed at the end of the
evening. I mean, it looks as though also
that this awards was tagged onto the back end of a very leisurely
lunch. Possibly.
There's plenty of plenty of bottles on the table and they
said they've had a bite to eat beforehand.
So he didn't get so empty. I mean, he probably went home
quite full I imagine after all of that.
But. Well, you know, Joe, I spoke to
him earlier this year. He had this to say.
So you all sat at the table. You had to be there early in
order to get there, you know, in assembled for the cameras and so
forth. And at your table you might have
a bowl of crisps and some nuts and an almost unlimited amount
of drink. And you put a lot of comedians
egos clashing in the room there. There was always a lot of
shouting out and Chai iking. I think Jonathan Ross I think
pretty well always presented them.
And we were, you know, comfortable in those
circumstances. But it it, it was always a noisy
affair and I think deliberately getting people to behave
slightly too badly I would say. But I'm probably a bit being a
bit prissy about it. I think if there was slightly
less people shouting out abuse at each other it would probably
be more respected. Award ceremony.
And this, of course, this is the first award since the infamous
Julian Clary Norman Lamont Comedy Awards of the year
before. Which which did get another
mention this evening on this particular occasion if you
remember. A couple of times.
At one point, Jonathan, halfway through some monologue, shouts
out Where's Julian? It wasn't in the room, I don't
think, was it? No, it wasn't.
Perhaps not invited back on this.
Well, I'm sure, absolutely, I'm sure Norman Lamont absolutely
wasn't in the room. The first award of the evening
was the award for the best ITV sitcom.
I guess makes sense because it's an ITV show presented by
Geraldine Somerville from Cracker, who I vaguely remember,
and Neil Pearson from behind between the lines at the time
and and Drop the Dead Donkey, Jonathan said to Geraldine
Somerville. Guess you didn't come by mini
cab tonight and I had to look that up.
Does does that mean anything to you?
Because I've got a real big laugh from the audience and
groans from the audience it. It actually doesn't.
I'm I'm presuming it's going to be related to some sort of news
story or or something that. Well, I thought that, but it was
specifically directed towards her, right?
And I looked up and sure enough, the month before, so N94, she'd
been front and centre in an episode of Cracker called Men
Should Weep. In which her character got raped
by a cab driver, right. And I guess it must have caused
quite a bit of controversy at the time.
Or at least, you know, it's in the papers.
The nominees. Gary Yes, the surgical spirit
time after time. Yes.
And the 10 percenters? Okey, dokies, now let me think.
OK, so I should, yeah, I should point out because we would,
obviously we discussed this before recording today and I had
deliberately not looked up any of this information to do with
1994. I was, I was hugely into comedy
in in the mid 90s and there was just so much of it because there
were, there were still new sitcoms on almost every night.
You have the the, the Friday Night Comedy Zone on BBC 2.
They have, yeah, the equivalent on Channel 4 on Friday.
There's just so much of it and and now it's like, yeah, can we
know if maybe spaced out a bit better?
Very years, maybe had like two or three nights and then just
kept it going. But I'm fairly sure I know the
answer to what won the following year, because the following
year, one of my favorite ITV sitcoms written by Simon Nye.
Is it legal with Oh yeah, Imelda Staunton and Patrick Barlow in
the solicitor's office started and I think that one the
following year. But 94 of those free shows I'm
I'm actually, I may regret this, but I'm going to go for the 10
Percenters, which I think was Grant and Naylor of Red Dwarf
fame. And I don't remember seeing a
great deal of the first series. I did see the second series,
which was to use the popular phase of the time and it was
quite popular, especially in the mid 90s move to a less
competitive slot. But the first series I think
managed to to to sit and it's in it's position for the whole run.
But I'm, I'm going to go up with the 10 percentage, yeah.
Was that who was in that? Was that?
Oh, that was what do you call them?
Clive Francis. Clive Francis.
That's right. Yes, that's right.
Yeah. And and we've talked about time
after time previously. Bryan Conley.
Yeah, Bryan. Conley and Samantha Beckinsale
crim ROM com I suppose you'd call it.
And surgical spirit was the What was her name?
That was the Nicola. What was her name?
Nicola McAuliffe. McAuliffe, that was it.
Yes, that was it. Yeah, and.
Duncan Preston. Duncan Preston.
That's it. Yeah.
OK, Well, the winner was time after time.
Oh, right, there you go. Which ran for two series I
believe. Yeah, 1994 were not the year of
Outside Edge as well. I would have thought that was
that would have been in there. We, we might come to that, to
that. Okie Dokies was was Brian Conley
from Brian Conley show? Was he in attendance to pick up
his? Watch Yes.
And he went up on stage. Samantha Beckinsale was also
there, but she didn't go up on stage.
I don't quite know why, right? And Bryan Connolly said getting
the award should bump his money up a bit.
Well, I mean like he's being honest.
I have no recollection of the 10 percenters.
I have no recollection of Time After Time at all.
Oh, I do. I Do you remember that?
I don't remember seeing that at all.
I remember watching Time After Time at the time.
Right. Don't think I particularly
enjoyed it, although I've I've always had a soft spot for Bryan
Connolly. I don't know why, even though
you know he's that traditional cheeky chappy performer that
your grandma likes. Yes, that's true.
I, I, I didn't mind Brian Conley, so I didn't mind time
after time at the time, but it more or less vanished from my
memory. Yeah, it's not, it's not sort of
left. It's indelible.
I mean surgical spirit, I remember.
Vivid. Oh yes.
And some fabulous comic turns in there.
And some great. Very well written.
I'll tell you which politician was in the room and and at at
the time of recording. Sadly, he's literally just just
passed through this veil of tears.
John Prescott. Yeah, he was presenting, wasn't
he? He was, he was presenting the
award for top Channel 4 presenter.
OK. And we're not talking,
obviously, Jon Snow or anyone like that.
I guess it's comedy presenter nominations.
Clive Anderson for Clive Anderson talks back.
Yeah. Chris Evans for Don't Forget
Your Toothbrush and this is stretching it.
Gabby Roslin for the Big Breakfast.
OK, well, I'm going to say straight away, I, I presume it's
Chris Evans. It was, yeah.
Because I mean, that's he was, he was at the not, not
necessarily the height of his palm because I think he did he
take over the Radio One breakfast show, I think maybe in
95. Yes.
But yeah, so yeah. But yeah, toothbrush.
But I and I actually never watched ever thought episode of
that, but I knew it was a huge hit obviously so.
I remember watching it. I enjoy.
I didn't I I grew to to dislike Chris Evans to a degree, I guess
because he became so ubiquitous maybe or full of sort of
believed his own height. But I remember enjoying
toothbrush. I'd like to think the last last
year when I got this award and gave it away rather foolishly to
Gabby, who's now got it proudly on her mantelpiece, that it was
for the Big Breakfast. But this year I think it's for
Don't Get Your Toothbrush or I'd hope it's for Don't Get Your
Toothbrush. And I'm very proud of this show.
And a year ago today in the Space Studio, we did the first
pilot for Don't Get Your Toothbrush, and we didn't think
it was going to be any more Don't Forget Your toothbrushes
after that first pilot. But there were.
And when that pilot happened, I've got to tell you that there
were two people who've who had countless sleepless nights,
Seamus, Cassidy and Michael grade well, I believe they're
sleeping rather well now. So thanks to my team, who I'm
very proud of. They're all over there.
I won't mention them because they all know who they are and
that's the important thing. Thanks to Michael and Seamus,
and thanks for watching. John Prescott attempts to make a
gag. Obviously he's been rehearsing
it over and over and over again and he still manages to fumble
at whatever the gag is. I didn't.
I didn't make a a note. No, I didn't make a note of it
either. But Jonathan says it, it sounded
like a joke. It had the, it had the sound of
a joke. So that's all right then.
So. Segwayed into into, read the,
read the names on the card, that sort of thing.
Politicians trying to make gags. These, these, it, it never
really comes off, does it? It's always, it's like sometimes
when politicians are guests on Have I Got News for You?
Yeah, very occasionally make it the odd backbencher is quite
witty and happy. But a lot of time it's just yes,
it it doesn't sit easily. Or it's or it's someone like
Dennis Skinner and you just want to say just shut up.
Yes, stop talking. Yeah, I detected and he wasn't
there, I don't think in the audience.
I detected a little bit of Rory Bremnophobia on Jonathan Ross's
part. There's a few little cracks at
Rory's expense. Yeah, I didn't see him in there.
Was was he nominated later on? I.
Think he was. He was.
He had a few nominations. Yeah, he got a couple of
nominations later on, didn't he? Again, is this the monologue or
is is this the actual written word that he's come up with?
Or is he having that moment off the cuff where he's just trying
to divert for a moment while the auto queue just catches up with
where he was in the, you know, there's a moment and maybe he
has thrown out a jibe here and there.
But it did, I suppose it did sound a bit as though it's a
good job Rory's not here. But now Rory's going to win a
win a category. I noticed later on in the
evening when they're showing clips of nominees for certain
category and they showed a clip from Rory Bremner's then current
series. It was.
It was the. The weather thing, wasn't it
the. Yeah, Well, hang on.
This is the thing, right? So getting back to politicians,
he's you've got Roy Bremner. And at first I thought is that
is he, is that him doing John Smith, former Labor leader who
by the way had only recently. Died.
That's right. No, I I'm pretty convinced it
was Ian McCaskill, but. Yeah I know, but at first I was
well for the 1st 20 seconds I was convinced because it's baldy
head glasses, Scottish accent and I just thought that's.
But yes, I I my suspicions should have been aroused by the
fact he was standing in front of a large weather map, I suppose.
Let's use visual props here. Some of the presenters were were
people like who was ubiquitous at the time that do you remember
you cannot walk past the tabloid newspaper in 1994 or 1995
without seeing Anthea Turner. Anthea Turner, you know.
And for she turned up with Keith Floyd to present an award.
Yeah, yeah. Keith.
Keith Floyd, who's clearly didn't want to be there and but.
He very rarely wanted to be anywhere unless he had a fairly
decent. Bar unless it was an off
license. An off license near.
Him They're presented the award for top theatre variety
performer. Oh.
Blamey nominations or nominees are Michael Barrymore, Ken Dodd
and Billy Pearce. Oh, OK.
Now if my erstwhile partner on the second club tilt was with
us, he would point out that Billy Pierce is Mr. Pantomime in
Bradford and I presume still is to this day.
Yes. But I'm going to say in this
case, because Ken, no, Ken Dodd, he that was the year I think
that he had an audience with and he was having something of a
renaissance in his popularity at that time off the back of that.
But I'm probably going to say, I'm probably going to say
Baddimore, Billy. Pearce.
Oh ah, get on him. Ken Dodd will give you 6 weeks
back then you know he'd turn up. He would do three hours quite
happily and that we told we've got to close, you know, people
are going home and he's still going.
Billy Pearce seemed like a, it wasn't even like a newcomer
category. He was straight in as, as top
theatre entertainer. So very interested about the
categories and the way in which the nominees are numbered.
It's a. It's a.
Peculiar group, isn't it? Billy Pearce reminded me that
because he's got that mullet. He reminded me a bit of do you
remember that? Do you know that guy?
He's always on TV now on social media and he's he's always
complaining about the guy. Pimlico Plumber's bloke.
You know that guy. Yes, yes.
He's had lots of work done and he's got this, this ridiculous
head of hair that's it's clearly synthetic.
Certainly not, it's certainly not natural.
It's the hair, it's the teeth. It's Botox.
You know, he runs a plumbing company.
I think that's the he's a. But he's always on, he's always
on news programmes talking about the average working bloke.
How would he, you know? But nonetheless, there, there is
a distinct similarity. I I know exactly who you mean.
And yes, his act was always quite odd as well, because it
was sort of on the back of Don. That's not the greatest phrase
on the back of Duncan Norvell. I was going to say, but that
chase me, chase me. But that sort of thing, you
know, So there's, there's a great deal of feminine feminine
about him. And, and he managed to beat
Barrymore and Ken Dodd. Well, I'll tell you.
Next we have the award for Top TV Comedy Actor presented by
Maureen Lippmann. Because again, again, this was
before the show was over running.
They let they gave her, they let her tell this interminable joke
about Bill Clinton when she was. So she's presenting the award
for top TV comedy actor. And in a totally unrehearsed
fashion, Jonathan Ross asked her if she knows any jokes about
politicians. Presumably expecting her to go
no. Do you?
No, but she piled on. No, I'm here to read out the
nominees. Thank you, Jonathan.
But no, she So she goes through this story about this joke about
Bill Clinton, who's in big trouble now.
I looked up that was well before Lewinsky, so God knows what he
was doing right in in in December 1994, I mean.
Probably in trouble for playing saxophone too often.
Could you stop that and actually do a bit of presidenting?
Please put that down. Tell you what though, he looks
like pretty George Washington now compared to.
Doesn't. Look, the new guy does he?
But she I'm not going to, I'm not going to, I'm not going to
repeat the joke because it's a bit weak.
But anyway, the nominees are Gregor Fisher for Rapsy Nesbitt,
Timothy Spall for Outside Edge. Hey, there you go, and Stephen
Tompkinson for Drop the Dead Donkey.
I don't know why, but I'm inclined to lean towards Stephen
Tompkinson for this. And you'd be right.
Oh, it was. Now where was now let me think
because Donkey started in 90 I believe and ran till I think 98
and I was watching I watched the the I think they'll watch the
full series in 94 because it was absolutely out it's height then
I was really enjoying it. Can I shock you?
I don't think I've ever watched a full episode.
For some reason it just never appealed to me at the time.
I'm sure it was very good. Tompkinson came up and basically
said that it gave him as much of A as much of A shock as Julian
Cleary gave Norman Lamont the year before and and nicely he he
gave special thanks to Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin,
obviously the writers. Then Jonathan Ross made this
doom laden diatribe about the sun collapsing, the world ending
and making everything futile and maintenance.
And then he announced the next award which was the award for
best Channel 4 sitcom presented by Linford Christie.
Lots of mentions of slow motion shots of him and Lycra OH.
Yeah. And then of course, you know,
with the so you have the the Norman a month thing, the year
before the Julian Cleary thing and then coming out to present
best Channel 4 sitcom. And again Jonathan says Anthea
Turner. Now obviously she'd been out
already, but there was some issue with Linford Christie who
was presenting, yeah and was, you know, stuck in traffic or
whatever. Anyway, he arrives and and then
Jonathan then decides right and dives into a few nob gags, you
know, believe the bloke alone, which I've just watched his
documentary not too long ago. He's harrowing stuff.
He's had this for years, you know, in the, as far as the
media is concerned, the the, the whole phrase lunch box, I think
just changed meaning overnight. Because.
Paul Linford. Linford, let me, can I, can I
deal with something here if you don't mind, if this is OK?
Because you are, of course, Britain's perhaps one of our
favorite and our foremost sports personalities.
No doubt about that. You are a fantastic individual.
You are a man gifted beyond belief.
And I just wonder, in terms of your popularity overall, how
much do you attribute to that and how much of those slow
motion shots of you in life were jumping over her?
And while we're at it, God bless life, right?
I'll put it right up there with the wheel.
I don't know about you. Never mind that, mate, the
nation wants to know. 5050 Linford Christie Ladies and
gentlemen, who needs Anthea Turner when we've got you right?
I didn't mean that. I never had an opinion either
way, really, about Jonathan Ross until I could take him or leave
him. Until I was really, really
annoyed by Saxgate. Oh, the radio fit.
Absolutely. Yeah, him and dickhead.
That's it. That's right.
Timothy Claypole from Rent A Ghost.
What's his name? Russell Brand.
Yes. Ringing ringing Andrew Sachs and
leaving a voicemail message about his granddaughter and
stuff. I just thought how pure oil?
Don't worry, absolutely. No, you won't.
You won't get away with it. You know, it's radio, you clown.
Anyway, that's what. Happened.
Yeah, yeah, I think a lot of and then then the apology
afterwards, you know, which was even less heartfelt, I think.
Yeah, So I always think there's that story.
I'd like to think it's true that Jonathan Ross, David Williams.
This is a joke, isn't? It it sounds like the beginning
of a joke. Jonathan Ross, David Williams
and A and other, I don't know who, possibly even Russell
Brand. It might have been.
I'm not sure that I've got. Certainly it was Jonathan Ross
and David Williams. They went to see Morrissey live.
He was playing in London. Oh, sorry, correction.
He was supposed to be playing in London, but he'd got wind of
someone was selling selling sausages 3 miles down the road
of the of the the venue. So he decided he wasn't going to
perform. So you had this, this arena full
of people that have paid to see Morrissey and it's clear he's
not coming on. And so the, the, the, the
crowd's getting a bit ugly. And so the story goes, Mrs.
Williams and Ross decided to, hey, you know, we're, we're
entertainers. Let's Why don't we go up on
stage and entertain? The audience.
Great idea lads, off you go. Yeah, and if I was to use the
phrase, three dozen bottles of piss flung their way instead of
image with that conjure up in. Your well, there there there is
an opinion that would suggest that they deserved every drop of
that, you know, but but for being in the same post code as
everybody else. But yeah, well, this is it.
There's a very famous the as it was, it was download festival
now, but it was Monsters of Rock, it was the Van Halen.
I think we're playing and there's a big sign on the on the
stage and it's still there now when they have it up there, just
in case these new bands don't understand.
But it says do not drink anything thrown on stage.
And a big bottle of Jack Daniels was thrown up on stage.
And when you look at the photographic evidence, you
realise it looks nothing like Jack Daniels.
Your man took a big swig of it. And then, well, that was that
was the gig gun, you know, more sense out of that.
Oh dear. So, so it's it's best Channel 4
sitcom. Do you want to have a guess at
the three nominees? OK.
So I think maybe was it in this final year by this point,
because Norman Beaton, I think died maybe that year or the year
after. I think Desmond's still been
going at that time. Yes, I presume the job of the
donkey itself would have been That's another can.
You make it a hat trick. Sitcoms mid. 90s OK, I'm
probably going to be wrong about this but I'm going to throw in
Somewhat forgotten now, but I think it got free series
dressing for breakfast. No, no, I don't remember that.
Who was in that? OK, Holy aired, wasn't it I
think. Oh, I liked her.
And what was that Tom Bell said? Hope it rains.
That's right. That's right.
No, it was blue heaven. Oh, Frank Skinner, Yes.
Yeah. Who scooped it?
I think they'll be dropping the donkey.
Absolutely, absolutely. And this time Guy Jenkin
accepted the award and apologized for Andy Hamilton not
turning up, but said he never does.
He remains too balanced a human being to ever turn up to these
affairs. And and Jonathan Ross says
afterwards, what does that, what does that make us?
Jeffrey Dahmer's cellmates? So that was quite good.
Now, arguably after Spike, the most memorable moment of the
night was the next award, or at least the next presenter of the
next award, which was Meatloaf. Oh, yes, I remember that.
Yes, yeah. I, I, I, I think, I think, I
think substances had been. Maybe, but I, I got the
impression that it was more sort of, I got the impression that it
was, it was less like he'd been on the, you know, the, the old.
Marching powder. Yeah, although Shepard Fountain,
but I I get the person. He was just trying to do a skit.
He was trying to do something that didn't quite come off.
He. Was trying to throw Jonathan
Ross and largely succeeding. Like be a lady tonight.
Wait, child. Which is OK.
Wait, just wait. Oh man.
Oh oh, OK OK. My train.
Was late coming into Waterloo. I'm really sorry.
OK OK. Did I miss the number?
You wacky Americans, I I don't know.
There's no stopping you, is there?
Wow. Well, you come calm.
Hello, darlings. How are you doing?
Excuse me? How are you doing?
I just told you. My train was late coming into
Waterloo. Jonathan you, He's a singer,
Stadium, that kind of thing. Did it not seem bizarre to hear
him say the words Cilla Black for Blind Date?
He was struggling to say that, wasn't he?
Yeah, it is. It is very strange.
Cilla Black for blind Date and and never really got through
Bruce Forsyth, did he? No, or play your cards right or
Bruce Forsythe, play your cards right as it was back then.
It's a pretty silly, wasn't there that that would have been
a good, that would have been a bit of a sing along, bit of a
karaoke thing happening. And also I'm.
Sorry, but the dashboard light. I know the category is ITV
Entertainment presenter. That's stretching it.
I would argue for Blind Date. I would say it's certainly not
comedy. Do tap dance.
Just get on with it. What do you make Michael
Barrymore for? Barrymore.
He's really good at that yo stuff.
Cilla Black for the blind date. He's not going to do it again.
OK. And here we go.
I have to say this the correct way.
Bruce Forsythe for the Bruce Forsythe play your cards right.
That's. The one talking.
I know that's it. I'm going to say yeah, I'm going
to say Bali Moore. Yes, for any perennial winner of
that award in the theater. He gets huge applause.
And this is the year where he's been in the tabloid press quite
a bit for being in rehab for drug and alcohol issues.
And he, you know, he leads into that.
He doesn't try and shy away from it.
He's he's quite open about that said, you know, where have I
been since we last met? He says to the audience, gets a
huge warm response from that, you know, and he's also playing
off Meat Loaf quite well. The two of them almost kind of
like gang up on Jonathan Ross to a degree.
He sings a song which it it. It appears to be improvised, but
I'm sure it wasn't thanking Marcus Planton do.
You think Marcus Plant? No.
Well I think at the time he was. Was he the director?
What? Whatever title he had as, as
head of the ITV Network Centre, which had been established the
year before and it was intended to get rid of the old sort of
feudal 5, you know, company bosses butting heads around a
table once a week. So a system of choosing which
companies we're going to get the programs on the air.
So it was, it was sort of the beginning of the, the, the
gradual consolidation of the the ITV network.
Well, Marcus planted in the room because you do see a a shot of
him kind of smiling and grimacing at the same time.
And, and Barrymore's song essentially is him saying I did
another series of the bloody show you wanted me to make, but
I'd like a different series, please.
And then Hawking himself to the BBC, Yes, which it was quite
amusing and and it it was a reminder of how big and how
popular Barrymore was. Yes.
Because I'd forgotten. You do forget, don't you?
I might because at that time I'm not sure what his his contract
status would have been with ITV. But you mentioned Brucey there
about being nominated for player cards, right?
And that was Brucey's, they overlapped a little bit, but
that was his final year at that time at the BBC.
And they would have been in the process then of getting a new
presenter for the Generation game.
And I presume then if Ballymore had been available to, to top
up, then he might have been in the frame or exactly that role.
But as of course, as things worked out then he he stayed at
ITV for his remainder of his career.
Yeah, at the at the top of the show as well.
I forgot to mention there were two awards that viewers were
asked to vote. So they were asked to phone in
10 PA minute. Yeah.
And they were the categories were award for best
entertainment series and award for best comedy series.
OK. And I don't quite know why, but
halfway through the evening they decided to announce the the
results of one of those two categories and the the the
second category they left till the end.
So I don't quite know why they did that.
I, I, I don't, I don't know. I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm sort of
assuming maybe it's to do with how they would have collated the
phone votes and to try and collate 2 lots of them by the
end of the show might have been a bit of a strain.
So I'm not sure if maybe it was to make things easier for that
process. OK, well, so this is where it
started to go wrong because Jonathan Ross said, OK, so we're
going to announce the award for the best entertainment series.
And he announced the winner and then the winner.
And I'm not going to say who the winner was at this stage, but
the winner approached the podium and then Jonathan Ross said, oh,
sorry, I meant to announce the other, the winner of the other
category. So so he started again and he
announced the winner of the award for best comedy series.
As I say, as as voted for by the public phoning in, I'll give you
the categories, the all new Alexis Sales show, the
day-to-day, the man from Auntie Murder most horrid 2 and Rory
Bremner. Who else?
So of those five, who do you fancy?
OK, now this is a tricky 1 because these phone votes can
sometimes they could be a bit sort of misleading sometimes
because if you've got like a devoted fan base of one specific
show, they can all get behind their show and then the rest of
the public, their vote is sort of more evenly spread and not
naming any names, but do just happen to recall Doctor Who
winning best ever bloody BBC drama in the history of
everything in such a vote in 1996.
I think it was and thinking so, OK, so I don't think as
deserving as it would have been, I don't think that the
day-to-day would have had such a a mass sort of phone pole
support probably going to go with the man from Auntie, in
this case, BBC One. That would have been.
I'm going to go with Ben Elton. Yeah.
OK, well, the winner murder most horrid.
Oh. OK, with Rory Bremner very close
behind. Basically, day-to-day got 15% of
the vote and Dawn French wasn't there, so Jonathan Ross accepted
it on her behalf. The next award was Top male
comedy performer presented by Michael Winner.
Nominees were Rory Bremner for who else?
Oh, sorry for Rory Bremner, who else?
Steve Coogan for knowing Me knowing you, which gets a big
cheer from the audience when that's announced, and Paul
Whitehouse for Smashy and Nicey. End of an area. 1994 was a
phenomenally good year for comedy, wasn't it?
But you wouldn't think so from There's not enough nominees in
these categories. Yeah, but just all these, all
these different programs and and specific shows that were maybe
one series or in this case this matching nicely a single program
all from the same year. This is amazing.
Yeah, I'm, I'm torn between Bremner and Coogan, and I'm
going to say Bremner, Coogan. Oh, I was going to go Coogan.
Now, Coogan's not there. He's in New York, he's filming
out. They say he's making a film.
I checked. He probably would have been the
film, which I've I've vaguely heard of, called The Indian in
the Cupboard. Right.
But he was presented with his award by the novelist Jackie
Collins for some reason. Right.
And he. Yeah, he was.
Yeah. Very gracious, very young, fresh
faced Steve Coogan. Of course you are.
Steve, congratulations. Thank you very much, Jackie.
Thank. You, Steve, Jackie, thanks for
this. Remind me to give you a
complimentary copy of my live video.
Oh yeah, and I'll have to give him a bloody help.
With the kids, right? Plug plug.
I'll read that in the trailer anyway, thanks very much, James.
And a lot of people say that awards are divisive and elitist,
and then you win one and you think, no, they're not They're
great. Anyway, you've you've thanks.
I'd like to thank very quickly Jan Murphy, my agent.
I'm Andrea Nucci, Patrick Marber, Henry Normal, Rebecca
Front, Dave Schneider, Du McKean and, oh, loads of other people.
They know who they are. I'm missing England.
I'm missing old, bloody old Father Thames.
It's crazy out here. But listen, I'll catch up with
you later, OK? Thank you very much.
Thank you. Next was well as Jonathan Ross
announced it the Foregone Conclusion Award, but
technically the award for Best Comedy Film for 1994.
OK. Oh, of course.
Yes, Yeah. OK, OK, got it.
Yeah, and the person to present it was a Montserrat K by or
carbite Carbi, you know Montserrat.
Oh yes, she's fed you out. With Barcelona, yeah.
So I'm sure you're right, you know ahead of me here as to, you
know, one of the nominees. I was just on BBC last week for
Weddings and a Funeral but I'm I'm really intrigued as to what
the other nominations were. I'm not going to try and guess
because I've been here for a while.
No Shortcuts, which I've heard of it, but I couldn't tell you
who was in it. And I think this is Woody Allen
Manhattan murder mystery. Oh, right, yes.
So who do you think? Who do you think won?
I'm going to hazard a guess that we're going to see Richard
Curtis on the stage. We are Richard Curtis, Mike Yule
and somebody else whose name I didn't catch.
And Curtis just looks like a schoolboy in a tuxedo.
He's so. Yeah.
Next. Sorry I'm racing through this,
Gary, but we've got a few to to get through.
So award for for top TV comedy personality presented by Mariela
Frostrop and the nominees Joe Brand, Rory Bremner, Steve
Coogan. OK, in this case, I'm going to
go with Rory Bremner. Steve Coogan again.
Oh. So did Jackie Collins give him
the award again? Yes, right.
And he said Mum make room on the
mantelpiece. I'm coming home at this point.
Jonathan Ross gives an update on the viewers vote for the best
entertainment series. You know, the one he announced
prematurely earlier? Let's just say Barrymore's on
53%. Well, I mean, this is an ITV
audience. There's going to be a certain
element of home team advantage in these.
By the way, I forgot to tell you that the the the nominees for
that category that the that the public are voting for.
So we've got Barrymore. Clive Anderson talks back.
Don't forget your toothbrush. Noel's house party and the
unpleasant and forgotten world of Penn and teller the
unpleasant world of Penn and. Teller That was a good show.
Yes, God, that was in this year as well.
Yeah, because so those, so we'll we'll come to the results of
that a little bit later. But Next up is the award for top
female comedy performer presented by John Sessions, who
has a little bit of badonage with Jonathan Ross, who calls
him a lovey and congratulates him on his new play.
And Jonathan had asked him something of it and he was doing
it and he did like a 3 or 4 character voices, yes, during
this particular piece. And Cydia said it's one of those
wonderful shows, you know, it's, it's full of oh marvellous
people that have done so much work in the theatre.
They're real professional. And some ordinary people too.
You know the people who some of them, they don't have nice
houses, some of them don't have nice houses.
Do you any idea what that play would have been at that time in
94? 1994 Oh I don't know, was he
doing loot on the stage or something?
You know my night with Reg. Oh no, I do remember that.
That title actually. Did they make ABBC adaptation of
that? Maybe I.
Think they may have done, yeah. I always get that mixed up
though with an evening of Gary Lineker for some reason.
Merge the two and have an evening with Reg, the veteran
boxing commentator. So the nominees for the top
female comedy performer are Jo Brand for Jo Brand Through the
Cake Hole, Rebecca Front for the Day Today, and Tracey Ullman for
Tracey Ullman Takes on New York. OK, I'm going to hazard a guess
here. I'm going to say Tracey Ullman
won it, and she wasn't there to receive it because she was in
America's. Absolutely correct.
She was in New York and she she's filmed receiving her award
and has a bit of a dig at Ronald Reagan's Alzheimer's.
That was a bit mean spirited, but there you go anyway.
And next category Top live stand up comedian presented by a
leading politician. Okie, dokie, now we've had press
go on. I don't think they're going to
have an old Labour Party MP on. Correct.
You say, OK, so when you say a leading politician, it's all
going to be something, it's going to be something absurd
like Lord such or what? Paddy Ashdown was it?
It was Paddy Ashdown. Oh, right, there you go.
There you go again, a little bit of uncomfortable banter with
Jonathan Ross, but the nominees for top live stand up comedian
are Joe Brand, Phil K, Lily Savage.
Oh no, I was going to be a smart arse and guess, oh I think I
know this one. It's going to be Lee Evans, but
just as well I didn't so. Now, when was his height?
Was he? Is he a little bit later?
Was he 9596? Was he Lee Evans?
Maybe. Maybe.
OK, I'm going to. OK, let's go.
Let's go. Let's go left field.
I'm going to say let's go. Phil Kay.
Correct. And Steve Jones in his voice
over says he's a cross between Billy Connolly and a hover
mower. Right.
I didn't pick up on that. OK, that's interesting.
And he kind of had a sort of anarchic edge to him, but I
don't remember him doing anything else after that.
He did have a series on Channel 4 in the 90s.
Remember him doing whiskey adverts for White Mackay for a
while. I just, I don't know.
I mean, I'm person he's he's still active in somewhere and
all, but yeah, names that was there and and then not so much.
I vaguely remember him the same vain, or vaguely remember Rhona
Cameron. I'm sorry, it's another Scottish
comedian. I'm not trying to, but I'm sure
I'm going to throw. I'm going to throw a front name
as well. Donna McPhail.
Donna McPhail Absolutely. Yeah.
So he so he, when he came up, he
was, he was, I think he was a little bit a light as well.
And he wished his friend Toby a happy birthday and tried to get
the audience to sing happy birthday to to Toby, but they
didn't. So it was a bit awkward.
As soon as you said Toby, it made me think of Alan.
Oh yeah, I thought your. Auntie Valentine got on the
stage and didn't crack a smile once.
Shot a few people OK, so next is the award for top television
newcomer Patrick Moore presents and he's he's not he's not there
to have a fun time. He's there to he's there
strictly to read out the nominees and the winner and
that's it. And I will not indulge in any
friddling conversation with you, Mr. Ross.
It was very much like that. So we've got so top television
newcomer. Do you want to have a stab at
who the three nominees might be? Because it's a.
Bit of a OK, I'm going to, I'm going to say I don't think that
Steve Coogan would necessarily have counted as a newcomer at
this time because he had already been on the somewhat forgotten
Jonathan Ross vehicle Saturday Zoo.
Yes, that's right. But one or two years earlier, I
think maybe 93 and he was doing pole calf and so on then.
So I, I don't think he would have been counted as a new car.
The The thing is, I I saw I've I've got an increment as to
who's won this in a way. I knew that was the one other
thing apart from Spike Milligan I definitely remember from this
show was seeing Chris Morris receiving an award.
Why couldn't remember was did he win it for the day-to-day or was
it like a category that he himself was was named in?
Or I was thinking maybe did he win it for his Radio One series
which was also 94 Which? No, it was for the the day
today. Right.
So it's OK who? Who were other nominees?
So both nominated for Viva Cabaret.
Oh, OK. Oh, hang on a minute.
Oh, Viva Cabaret. Harry Hill.
No. Oh, OK.
I think maybe knife was knife for the weird.
He was nominated for the Petty Award.
Oh much bane. OK, what's his name?
What's his name? What's his name?
Oh God. I've got somebody in mind that
comes. Should I give you a?
Clue. Should I give you a clue?
I'm thinking Dave Gorman, no. No.
OK, yeah.
Go on then. Give us a clear tramp, Lionel.
Tramp's ear. No.
A bit on tramp's ear. Oh God, I'm Alan Davis.
Yes. Yeah, there you go.
Yeah. And the other person became a
national treasure. And sadly, or the outer ego of
this person. Sadly or the real person behind
this character. Died.
Recently. Lovely Savage.
Yes, right. I I hope this means I'll earn
enough money next year to develop a coke habit as big as
meat loafs. And I would like to thank
Armando for his help in seeing me to getting this that's
genuine. He really helped me.
Thanks a lot. Now, the next award, and I don't
know, I in my head, this came right at the end, but this is
the bit where we have the lifetime achievement award,
which this whole podcast has built around, which is Ben Alton
presenting Spike Milligan with the award.
Spike's in tears at, you know, he's it.
It is like it's a shock now. His daughter told me that he
knew about it beforehand. You know, he was, he was aware
that he was going to receive this.
So but he but he'd been drinking wine quite a bit with the award.
I think it's one of those ones. That they tell you.
Beforehand you're going to get it because it was a lifetime
achievement, so he probably had a few.
Words somewhere in his head but he sat there drinking wine till
the end of the three hour bloody filming, you know, got out and
had to speak and genuinely I could see him struggling with
embarrassment. Apart from the fact he was
probably wobbling on his pins and starving hungry, he he got
his tanky out several times and I know that.
Thing. Of him, you know, he was
embarrassed. He didn't like Jonathan Ross.
He made that quite clear. And as the the letter began to
be read from Prince Charles, it just came out and it was just
spontaneous and brilliant. As he TV companies have not
employed me for 10 years, I will take that as a a golden
handshake. I'm not going to thank anybody
because I did it all on my. Spike, Spike, I'm sure everyone
knows that you have fans from all walks of life.
And of course there's very, very famous, well respected fan in
particular who wanted to be here, couldn't be here, but
wanted to send a message. These are a series of cliches.
You've that's, that's my job this evening.
Here we go. I have a letter to read out here
from His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.
Do I kneel down for this? I'm having enough trouble
already. I'm not going to say the Prince
of Wales I'm sorry I have to do this for, but I know it takes a
lot of impact out of it. But here we go.
As someone who grew up to the sounds of the Goon Show on the
steam driven wireless, I must confess that I've been a
lifelong fan of the participants in the show, and particularly of
Spike Milligan, the little groveling bastard.
You know, the only thing that the papers the next day were
talking about was Spike Milligan.
Yeah. Is that fair?
To be fair, to be honest, no. And this is, this is my take on
it. Spike, you know, very happily,
he's clearly unaware that with these type of awards,
particularly the lifetime achievement awards, he doesn't
know it's happening. He's been invited along, but he
I don't think he's aware of it. So there is a sort of genuine
shock moment when, when, when it's announced at the table.
And Ben, Ben Outner thought was very good.
It was an excellent piece that that he prepared for it.
According to Jane, he was aware, or she thinks that he was aware,
that he was going to get this award.
Right. And then when he does come up,
receives the award, and then Jonathan says, look, I've got
something to read to you. And he reads it out and
instinctively, you know, he says, little grovelling bastard
now, but that the whole room then falls apart.
But Spike, of course, knows Prince Charles of old, their
friends, you know, and Charles is a huge fan of Spikes and does
all of these little, you know, the goon skits that he used to
do and all this footage of that, all the bits and pieces.
So to be called a grovelling little bastard by a bloke who
you admire enormously and has probably done so in private, you
know, wasn't an issue to him. But then that was the big take
away moment from the evening. There's Spike Milligan receiving
a lifetime achievement award and then calls the future king a
bastard, you know, all of this thing.
So I don't think it was as fair that that the the coverage the
following day, look at it from a different perspective.
Spike was all over every paper, everywhere you looked.
And from from a Spike Milligan perspective, I don't know
whether that would do him any harm at all.
Look there he is, lifetime achievement.
Oh God. He was, he, he was turned, he
was having to turn work down, you know, appearance, personal
appearances and he, he turned up on the aforementioned Clive
Anderson talks back. Yes, well, now I was trying to
be. Something nice there in my
introduction. But I don't want you to be as
rude to me as you were to Prince Charles last year at the British
comedy. Why don't you call me a was it
grovelling bastard or? Well, I I was invited to this
party. I thought I was just being
invited as a guest. Yes.
And it wasn't. I apparently won the surprise.
Lifetime Achievement award. Yeah, by then I'd had three
bottles of leaf from milk and my wife was fooling me.
As they they want you, I said. Oh.
So I stumble up the stairs and they gave me what was possibly
the most appalling aesthetic prize I've ever seen.
It's a piece of plastic with a joker, and I left it there.
So. So you.
So you went along not expecting a prize and they gave you a
prize? Yeah.
Because I went along expecting a prize and I didn't get one.
But, well, you don't deserve one.
So yes, you're right. You're absolutely right.
Ben Alton, who's clearly genuinely a fan.
Oh, absolutely. Milligan.
And. And I've got a lot of time for
Ben Alton. And he talks about his fandom
and when he saw him live when he was 12 and, and he said, you
know, reading Cocoon and things like that.
And it just, it was from the heart.
And that was that was really, really good.
But then they show these clips and I hate this kind of thing
because you think who've who's chosen these clips?
Because I don't think they're, they've good clips.
They're not representative of him of the best of, of Milligan.
And back in the day before YouTube, you know, people like
me who were archive TV fans, this was this was, you know,
manna from heaven. We've got these clips that we've
we haven't seen before, you know, but Even so, you think
God, you know, there's a clip from the last green show of all,
which I know it's a color clip of the goons, but the, you know,
the, the there's better clips. Earlier clips, they showed some
clips from Q9, including a clip with Dave Lodge and blackface.
You've got Spike with those false legs corpsing and and a
clip from the man about the house film with with Brian
Murphy, which is fine. It's just they just seem to be
hurriedly cobbled together and not very well thought through
getting there. There's there's so much better
Milligan you you could have used to.
Illustrate, you would think for a lifetime achievement award.
You would, you know, make a, make a real point of going
through the back catalogue and thinking, what can we do to put
something up on screen to show people who may not be familiar
with him look at what he's done. There's there's performers,
writers in this room now who are only here primarily because of
their love of the goons. And here he is.
And we are giving him this lifetime achievement award.
And you would think that they would they would have done
better. So I completely agree with you
there. And notice as well when he when
he gets the people on their feet applauded because he goes up on
stage, I notice you've got John Sessions clapping very
enthusiastically and then Ian Heslop in front of him looking
less impressed because I know Ian Heslop back then.
I've been told he had a bit of a problem with Milligan, which has
he's he's since revised that opinion because he obviously
wrote or Co wrote that play about Spike a few years ago when
he actually did look into his background and his history and
actually said actually, you know, maybe I was wrong.
And we have this this attempt by Jonathan Ross to read this
letter from the Prince of the then Prince of Wales.
I have the full text here. Shall I read it to you?
Oh, by all means, seeing as we've missed some of it, go
ahead. Well we I think we only got
maybe 1/3 of it the first third over.
Fire away. I think so.
So the full text runs. As someone who grew up to the
sounds of the Goon Show on the Steam Driven Wireless, I must
confess that I've been a lifelong fan of the participants
in the show, and particularly of Spike Milligan, whose
wonderfully original humor has always reduced me to helpless
hysterics. It is a brand of humor that is
gloriously, eccentrically British, if an Irishman will
forgive me for saying that. It has brought pleasure and joy
into millions of people's lives to the extent that Spike
Milligan has virtually become an institution in his own right.
For nearly 50 years he has kept us all in stitches.
Goodness knows what it is sometimes cost them to do so.
But now the remarkable contribution he has made to the
life of our country is being recognized by this Lifetime
Achievement Award. I hope Spike doesn't see this
award as an invitation to retire because his country needs him.
So thank you Spike for being so original.
This brings you my heartfelt good wishes and warmest
congratulations. The thing is though, so we we we
go to ad break, it comes back and it's business as usual.
They carry on. There didn't seem to be much
fallout from that on on on the evening on the evening, as in
there there was Richard Wilson later on mentioned Spike said
something about the tower going to the tower or something.
And that's about it really, isn't it?
That that's the only the only comments made?
But I was looking at a few newspaper reports.
Oh yeah. What was the What was the
general field of play then the following day?
Mostly positive. I mean this, this the The
Mirror, it says, as presenter Jonathan Ross read out a letter
from the Prince praising the veteran Goon Show comedian, 76
year old Milligan declared. Little groveling bastard.
The audience of comics clapped and laughed, but some viewers
complained to ITV. The network played down the
incident, saying it was quote flippant.
Prince Charles and Spike are said to have a very close casual
relationship and Charles has said to love Spike for not
treating him as a special person, a spokesman said.
I'm sure he'll take the comment as a joke, Milligan said later.
I didn't know the award was going to happen.
Something came over me. It was impromptu and I was
desperate to say something. I'll be banished from England to
a lonely island off the Sillies where I will be chained to a ram
and dressed in rags. He's a lovely man and has a good
sense of humor. I see him quite often.
I'm having dinner with him at Christmas.
I'm sure he won't take it at heart.
I was actually stunned that he wrote me a special letter.
See, there we go. There you go.
Now, the son told that viewers had complained.
Spike said him, his wife, Sheila, added the person who
will laugh most at Spike's joke will be Prince Charles himself.
However, Missus Williams and the 300 other people that
complained. Yes, oh God, disgusting of
Tunbridge Wells are out in force.
I did notice as well a few days later.
I didn't actually make a note of which paper it was, but there
was a little piece in one of the papers.
Spike Milligan aimed more of his irreverent wit in the direction
of royalty yesterday when he joked that the Prince of Wales
should, quote, shoot the Princess.
Describing Prince Charles as a great man, he said, I do love
him, but I do wish he wouldn't take part in hunting and all
those blood sports. He should shoot Diana instead.
That there's an idea, someone said.
Sown a seed. Oops.
But not shooting no, I, I sorry, listens.
I'm not one of those conspiracy theorists.
So please take that take that in jest.
And then yeah, there's there's all sorts of there's so many
things in the papers. There was a a report of him of
him soon after collecting the Oldie of the Year award and and
being all he was being asked was about that that quip from the
Comedy Awards and the chairman of the judges, Rum Paul writer
John Mortimer said that his description of the Prince at the
British Comedy Awards could now be added to Charles's long list
of titles, to the general amusement of all.
Dear Johnny. Yes, so, but it certainly did as
I said, you know, it certainly did.
It was a shot in the arm for his for his career, because he.
No harm at all, did it? No.
But you know what? The tabloids, it's the tabloids.
They just whip it up because it wasn't really, as I said, it
didn't really seem to. Yes, it got a huge response, but
then it was over and they moved on.
It was the tabloids and the media that that whipped it up in
the wake of it, really. The next award is for Top TV
Comedy Actress presented by Angus Dayton.
By this point, they're 25 minutes over running and the
nominees are Brenda Blethen for Outside Edge, Josie Lawrence for
Outside Edge, Jennifer Saunders for AB Fab.
OK. Well, I'm going to say in this,
in this instance, I'm going to have a hazard guess that
Jennifer Saunders does win it in this category.
She does not. Oh, in which case, I'm going to
guess Josie Lawrence. She does not.
And which case there has to be, unless I'm very much mistaken
and I'm going to say Brenda Pleffen.
For Outside Edge, yes it was, and next was the award for top
BBC entertainment presenter. Yes.
Presented reluctantly, as you'd expect, by Jack D.
Oh yeah, do. You want to have a guess at the
three nominees for Best? Bear in mind it's BBC
entertainment presenter. BB CS10 presenter OK, well.
And Jack, Jack, Jack is rather withering, shall we say, when
he's reading out the the nominees.
Well, I I think I'll leave the the name that I think is
probably going to win it or last.
OK. So in 94 otherwise, I mean,
maybe he's he's a wild card Danny Baker because he presented
pets win prizes in in that year. BBC One.
He's not. I knew it was a wild card.
Yep. Okie dokie.
I think don't think of Dale Winton.
I think Dale Winton still doing supermarket sweep at that time.
I mean was was Brucey nominated for the Generation game?
And you'd be right. OK, so I'm going to throw it one
other name. Here.
OK, Yep. No, actually, I'm going to throw
out two and probably none of them is going to be correct.
I'm going to throw out, strangely enough, Jonathan Ross,
because he did present gag tag for BBC One.
He mentioned that actually during his during his opening
monologue. Good, good.
And also Clive James, who I think was still doing what?
No, Oh no, hang on a minute. I think by that point I think
Clive James had done his last New Year's Eve show for BBC, had
then switched to ITV. So in 94 I think it would have
been then been Angus Dayton. They would have been doing the
end of the year show since then. But no, OK, I'm presuming that
Noel Evans is, is is a winner. So yeah, who who are all the
nominees? I'm not sure.
Yes, you are correct. Noel Edmonds wins for Noel's
house party. So so.
So who were the three? Noel Edmonds.
Brucey. OK, so so Noel Edmonds, Brucey
and Paul Daniels for Wipeout. Oh yes, because he started, he
started doing Wipeout in 94, but he still had one more magic
series to go. He was.
He did a nice little show called Secrets, which was a bit more
sort of back to basics magic, you know, bits and pieces of
slight hand stuff like that. So yeah, I think that was maybe
that was 95. Yes but no Wins and delivers the
longest thank you speech of the evening rather unnecessarily.
Says he received a handwritten letter from Spike begging him to
let him on house party. And then Noel said he's due to
come on later that year or next year, I should say, which I
thought was a bit off. Yeah, You know what I mean?
It kind of implies that Spike's desperate for work, which
obviously to a degree he was, but you don't announce that to
the TO. The Well do you?
Did he ever do? Partly.
I don't remember him being. On I think he well, I, I want to
say he did. I don't, I, I can't say for
certain. I want to say he did.
Mr. Blobby comes on. He gets a few claps, a bit of
scattered applause from the room.
It's very awkward, quite embarrassing.
Right here's Noel Edmonds, who's been clearly aching for an award
all night. And he gets, yeah, it's you
right? And he comes up to accept it,
then has a moment where creating an idea around or we would we
normally we've selected a member of the crew at random.
To come up and accept the award on, on on on our behalf.
And then Blobby turns up and you know immediately that there's
going to be some, I mean, Jonathan shut it down quite
quickly, to be fair, but you know immediately where it's
going. But why was that absolutely
necessary? I suspect it's because Blobby
was the reason the, the big thing behind the show.
You know, people would recognise Blobby.
Oh, it's the we'll watch Noel's house party with Blobby Noel.
I think it was maybe a, a, a secondary moment, even though he
was behind the whole thing and created it.
But nonetheless, I think that was we need to associate this
character with this show. And also, I think I think I'm
right in saying that the 90 the year before Christmas, Blobby
had a huge single may have even got to number one.
I'm not quite sure. And I just think the character
Mr. Blobby just is abysmal. And it's it's I said this to
friends. It's as if they were trying to
come up with a family friendly character and asked Homer
Simpson to design it. Yes.
It's not a million miles away, is it?
Yeah. Yeah, I did.
You know, I I tell you what it reminds me of.
It reminds me of first. It reminds me of.
It's A Knockout always whenever I say something because it's
always falling over. But it also reminds me of a sort
of, we need a new version of Rod Hull and Emu.
And you put the two things together and got the emu, which
is the costume on the outside and the bloke in the middle of
it. And then you need the straight
man, which is no. And that that's more or less
where I think it's done to be in that meeting where they go.
I've got this great idea. Somebody run it past me and go
that's a terrible idea and here's 3000 reasons why it won't
work. But of course, the public, as we
found out ourselves just saying that the year before the damn
thing had a had a number one hit hit single.
You know you can't touch the public, you know?
No, the public, you're useless. Oh, they never, never want.
Public to do anything much better without them, yes.
People like us should be allowed to make all the decisions in
every. Vote every time.
Oh, well, we are fortunate that at least it's someone who can
string a few words together. It's meatloaf.
Ladies and gentlemen, on his back.
Pleased to meet you. One thing, if you go nuts, I'm
going to chin who's ever inside that suit.
So say your face. Let's move on, Blobby.
No lemons are Mr. Blobby. Thank you very much indeed,
Robbie. Wow, it really is a bull church.
And the ladies and gentlemen, the next award, which is the
award for Best New TV Comedy presented by Julie Richardson.
So 3 nominees for Best New TV Comedy for 1994.
Gary, what do you reckon? OK, day to day's got to be in
there. Shirley yes.
Knowing me, knowing you. Yes.
Oh, OK, one more. It's going to be something
completely bloody random, isn't it?
It's going to be. Something it is, and I'm a bit.
Oh, you'll probably disagree with me on this.
I don't think this deserves to be.
Is this something that we we technically is like really
tenuous as to well, this is actually a comedy program or is
it more or? Like, but it is comedy.
But it's not, it's not what I would call a traditional.
It's not like a sitcom. It's not like 1/2 hour.
It's oh, hang on a minute, it's not it's not a staggering
stories of Edna and Tobago. No, no, that'd be all right, but
it's not that. Oh.
It's sport related. Sport related.
Oh God, I should know this St. Greasy wasn't still going.
Skinner. Skinner Oh, fantasy Football
League. Oh yes, that's no absolutely
deserves to be in there. Yes, OK, yes, certainly.
Oh, I can't believe it and get that because I was, I was, I was
a religious fear of that every week.
Right. Oh.
Great day. So who?
So who won for that category? I'm going to say knowing me,
knowing you. Correct.
There we go. And for once, we don't get
Jackie Collins presenting Steve Coogan with the award.
We get Patrick Marber and Armando up on stage accepting it
and they say doone's not there. Doone Mckeegan's not there
because she's having a baby, and Steve's not there because he's
having Jackie Collins. This particular period always
seemed like a very unusual period.
You come out of the, those big television shows of the 70s and
80's, the, the, the Morecambe and Wise's and the Two Ronnies
and that sort of stuff. And then all of a sudden there
was a change in direction. There was much more satire which
had come along because of shows like Have I got news for you?
Because of, you know, drop the dead donkey shows of that nature
which had sort of formed everything.
The day-to-day was a was a sort of a a big kick to one side or a
brand new look at at how you create this and how wonderful
writers like Amanda Iannucci and and and the rest of the cast.
It's lovely seeing Rebecca front get nominated as well.
She's come on to be just the most remarkable actress.
But it was it's very interesting looking at the whole thing and
and and seeing the type of stuff that that was being that was
being awarded. And and again, the presenter is
a huge fund. I mean, you know, top television
newcomer. Who should we get to present?
I know Patrick Moore. There's this kind of, it's
almost like it's totally unrehearsed or unexpected.
Jonathan Ross announces Bill Cotton, who's the president of
the Royal Television Society at the time, who announces this
brand new award, which is the jury's special comedy award.
It's just like an award that they've just cobbled together
purely to honour this one particular person.
And it's presented to Armando Iannucci for knowing me, knowing
you and the day-to-day. And he comes straight back up on
stage having just vacated. And he decides that the one
person he's going to thank is the production manager, Ali
Macphail, for her services to both shows.
OK. And then we have award for Best
TV Comedy Drama presented by Richard Wilson.
Oh, OK. And Outside Edge is one of them,
the aforementioned An Evening of Gary Lineker and Frank Stubbs.
All Frank Stubbs promotes with Timothy's ball, Yes.
That's right, Yes, Which I wasn't aware.
I I, I I didn't remember that. Yeah.
So of those three, who who wins? Like Frank Stubbs?
What were they all 2? Outside Edge and an evening of
Gary Lineker. I'm going to say an evening of
Gary Lineker, I think. You'd have thought so, yeah.
No outside edge. Oh, OK.
And then racing through there is the award for best radio comedy
presented by Eddie Izzard. The nominees are crowned HUDS,
which I guess was Roy. Roy HUD.
A look back at the future and the Masterton inheritance.
Masterton inheritance that was Paul Merton and Josie Lawrence
was was that was that the Is it the Comedy Store players?
Yes, that's right. Yes, yeah.
I've got all that. Dean and Jim Swinney as well.
John Sweeney. That's right.
Yeah. Jim Sweeney.
Yeah, yeah. So of those 3 crowned huts, look
back at the future and the Masterton inheritance.
How you gonna say Masterson inheritance?
You'd have thought so, but no, it's a look back at the future.
Oh, right. OK.
Which had people like Kate Robbins and John O'farrell
involved. They came up on stage and
accepted it. Completely forgotten today, I
think it's fair to say, isn't it?
I did not even one I remember hearing about on BBC 7.
Natalie Video, Four extra. I know it was mentioned we it
was my guest mentioned it on Goon pod a while back.
I can't remember who it was and. Very vague memory.
They might have got television pilot after this maybe maybe off
the back of. This it was a it was a follow up
to a show called A Look Back at the 90s.
Then Jonathan Ross has a dig at All Night Long.
Hey fantastic. Which which was on Till 9's must
see list and actually did turn up a few years ago.
Who was in that? I was Keith Batten.
Oh, I've seen that with you guys, I think.
Yes, indeed. Yes, yeah.
He then goes on to announce the best BBC Sitcom award presented
by Honour Blackman. So here we go, Gary.
OK, so Absolutely Fabulous. It's got to be in there.
It's the nomination, correct? Surely one for the grave?
No, really. There was no 94 series of 1 foot
oh. Right.
There was a Christmas one there, wasn't there?
Brian Murphy. Yes, the man who blew away.
Yes. Yeah, OK, so.
Oh, BBC sitcoms. Well, it might.
Did it maybe come a little bit too late?
Because not sure when the cut off point for these nominations
are, but 1994 was the the first BBC series of men behaving
badly. No, that's wow.
Oh. Right, OK.
That certainly the next year certainly would have been.
Yeah. OK.
So. Oh, British Empire.
No, play me. OK, Gary, I'm going to clues.
I'm going to give you a clue here, a couple of clues.
I think you grew up around where one of these sitcoms was.
Oh, Rob C Nesbitt. Correct, Govan.
Yeah, yeah. And the other one.
I know, I know, I definitely did not.
By the way, I. Just the other one I guess it
was into its sixth series by this .66.
Series 1994. Hang on a minute, I've got.
You said British, you said British Empire.
Oh, hang on a minute. Oh, hang on a minute, Red Dwarf.
Yes. There we go.
This is this is interesting because because BBC sitcoms are
spread between BBC One and two, I notice.
Oh, do they make an instinct channel Should Well, I mean, ITV
and champ for both get their own categories.
Yeah, BBC, arguably with both the the majority of the sitcoms,
probably most sitcoms of any broadcaster, they only get one
category for the both for the two channels, which is
surprising. Yeah.
So but of those 3 so reb seen as but AB Fab and Red wolf 6 who
wins? OK, the obvious candidate I'm
going to say is AB Fab. So therefore I'm going to say
Red Dwarf. It was Red Wolf.
Oh. Yeah, and you had Rob Grant and
Grant, Doug Naylor on stage, Craig Charles Crichton.
And Crichton is Robert Llewellyn, doesn't he?
And Danny John Jules then penultimate award was a lifetime
achievement award, a second lifetime achievement award and
it's to a female performer. And if I if I was to say that it
was presented by Roy Hudd, who do you think?
Oh, it's got to be June Whitfield.
It is June Whitfield, absolutely.
And you'll be pleased to hear, by the way, they show some clips
from her career, OK, including early stepped on son.
Yeah, a clip from Happy Ever After, clip from Carry On Abroad
and a clip from Tyrion June, which it's that episode of Terry
and June. If I say that episode which
which one do you think I'm? Not the one where they the June
is trying to convince Terry that that she's taking a punk.
Yes, that is the one. Yes, brilliant.
Between gags about Frankie Goes to Hollywood in 1987.
I have bought this week's top 10 LP's and thrown out all those
pampy old middle-aged records we used to have.
All of them, yes. Not the Sound of Music.
Of course you you haven't touched the mass bands that they
always shot tattoo that was the first to go.
This is the new music, Terry, and this is the UV Max June.
I love the old you. Oh no, that's.
Old. House was crappy and little A
and find me a clip from AB Fab which goes on far too long but
but yeah so she you know rightfully so she she she won
that there was no clip from Hancock.
I noticed which I. Was going to straight away.
I was, I was thinking blood to winner.
Glaring omission there. But then finally we have the
last award of the evening which is voted for by the viewers
which is best Entertainment series.
Now, if you cast your mind back, I I think you know the answer to
this, but I gave you the the nominees which were Barrymore,
Clive Anderson talks back. Don't forget your toothbrush
Knowles house party and the unpleasant world of Penn and
Teller. And who do you think won which?
Which 98% of the vote, of course it was Penn and Teller there.
They were there. They they went on and yeah,
skipped it And OK, well, I mean, OK, it's going to be mainstream
broadcaster, it's going to be either Ballymore or North host
party. And I'm going to say home
advantage is going to be Ballymore.
It is Barrymore. Yep, Penn and Teller got 3% of
the vote and he came up on stage and thanked everyone for being
so kind after a very tough year. And then says I don't want to go
on too much about it because I've written a book about it and
it's called the Good Pub Guide. It'll be out next year.
And and there we go. And then that was the end of the
awards. Do you?
Remember that in that particular category in later years, there
was a recurring gag about Willoughby Channel 5.
The The winds are invariably it was Night Fever.
That was their nomination for Best Entertainment Show.
And yeah, whatever the sucks of our scoop it and our glorious
victory. I think it's, it's, it's, it's
a, it's a real moment in time. You know, it's not going to get
that year again. And, and in point of Frank, when
you look at what happened before and after, there was a great
deal of change early on. So lifetime achievement, for
instance, we'll look at that because we were looking at
Spike. Now, if you bear in mind that
Eric Sykes had already had his. Presented Presented to him by
Spike. Indeed, that's right, wasn't it?
I remember that. Yeah.
Ken Dodd had got his, and then Spike and June Whitfield got
theirs in 94. The following year was Bob
Monkhouse. Yep.
Then Dave Allen, then Stanley Baxter.
Dame Thora Heard got hers in 98. There was a double header in 99
for Barry Humphries and the two Ronnies, and then they went into
maybe in a slightly different direction, but Alan Bennett got
one in 2000, Dave and Jason and David.
Jason practically won everything from the early days.
Some of the details there, Michael Palin in 2002 and
another writing double for 2003, Jimmy Perry and David Croft.
Oh, OK. Then the Writers Guild of Great
Britain's Special Award, which was another award which started
in 2006, in 2006 was presented to Jonathan Ross.
Now, except for the Writers Guild of Great Britain's special
award goes to Jonathan Ross. Wow, that's that's a lot of
heavy lifting. Eating itself by that point.
Yeah, I would have thought so. That really that conversation
just brought it all back. It just like it's it's just
like, you know, being transported back to a time when
you knew any night of the week there was going to be a brand a
new comedy to enjoy. You know, the one The One Show
that didn't get mentioned there. And again, I suspect it just
came a little bit too late for any nominations because it
started, I think, in the the autumn of 94, The Fast Show.
Yes, I thought that myself. Absolutely.
Yeah. I'm presuming that would have
done really well in in 94 and so on.
Yeah, yeah. But.
And also notice no category for for panel shows.
No, I'm just because I'm I'm racking my brains trying to
remember when they think it's all over began and I think it
might have been 95. You would have had How I Got
News for You started in 90? What?
Was that one called It's only TV but I like it or something?
That was that was a good bit later.
I think it was 99. Buzz Cox.
Of course, Buzz Cox. Was maybe was at 96 maybe and
you had other ones. If I ruled the world.
That was a good that was that was a bit later, wasn't that I
was 98. Yeah, yeah.
Do you remember the Brain Train? I think we only did one series
and it was Kevin Dave that hosted that.
I think it was 9293, I suppose. But yeah, that that is that is
surprising that they weren't quite as sort of ubiquitous as
they as they later were. And I don't know if even now I
think maybe we've slightly peaked with those, but there was
a point where like if we have a bloody programme, you know, was
seemed to be a comedy based panel through at one time.
Absolutely. Yeah, yeah.
And probably even those who know instead of too expensive.
Yeah. Any any final thoughts about
these awards in general or that year or so?
The one I think the one thing, if I had bold in 94 into like
just one second thing, I think it would have been Chris
Morris's Radio One show. Because that was just, I'm so
annoyed that I missed the the Heseltine episode.
I was years later that I ended up hearing that on cooking Bond
recordings. Yeah, that was just used to
record them. Just listen to them endlessly.
And that was you could do stuff then that that on on the biggest
radio station in the UK. I know that they were always
different in the evenings and they had more sort of, you know,
niche programming and what have you.
But still the most astonishing actually is for all the fact
that he was on at 9:00 at night most of that run.
And I think it was Wednesday nights and you've got your
specialist programming, you know, evening session and so on
and so on. They gave him two hours on
Boxing Day at 1:00 in the day to do it to the show that year.
And the one of the first things he said, it was a because he'd
already done this gag earlier in the year.
But not, not it wasn't noticed by anybody.
But he did think the gag about Jimmy Savile drops dead at Stoke
Mandeville's Boxing Day. Bash, but the patients are far
from unhappy. I don't know where the hell he
got this quote from this guy saying yeah, the general
consensus was that people were delighted that he was dead and
just it was a pity that he lived as long as he did.
I got into the the newspapers and people ringing up Savile
saying that you're right because it's just hit them saying.
He was ahead of the game, wasn't he?
Yeah, absolutely. Yes.
But yeah, Oh God, just so much stuff going on.
I don't know how it kept up with it all because I didn't have a
video recorder. I didn't.
We had a video recorder on the House, but I didn't have access
to 11 at that time. I was watching, oh, pretty much
all of that stuff that year. I watched on a black and white
portable. God.
Yeah, because we're absolutely. You'd been so you're seven born.
Seven. I was 7/17 that year, still
living at home. Yeah.
And we're absolutely potless. And so we'd actually flogged our
little portable call TV, amongst other things, a year before.
So everything was watched and was like ATV that we'd had for
like, well over 10 years. But you, you just you, you admit
the most of it. And you just, yeah, you absorbed
everything that you could, you could get a hold of.
And you just dart around the schedules and firearm Radio 4 at
night, they'd have comedies on at 11:00 and all this kind of
stuff. And of course, like we spoke
about before you get a VHS night, you know, you watch it
literally frame by frame. You can recite every single line
and a number of times you would have seen it so.
Can I, can I just leave you with one final?
Got it about this year and, and and what I think is a stinking
omission from the nominees. It should have.
It should have at least, maybe even received an award just on
its own. Yes, 1994 BBC.
Yeah, sitcom. Yeah.
Honey. For tea.
Oh, this of course. This was the year of honey for
tea and the House of Windsor. Yes.
Fantastic. Two atrocious, bloody sitcoms,
both of them Leslie Phillips. Great.
The Old Course. Mother's ruined.
That was this year as well. This.
Ruined. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But didn't that get a bloody nomination?
For God's sake, I should have swept the board.
You know, we, we laughed at them.
Well, we didn't laugh at them then.
Yeah, hold on. Yeah, they're not laughing now,
are they? It's a fascinating moment in
time. I must, I must admit.
It's a long watch, but it's a fascinating moment in time.
Thanks to John and Gary. John, as I said earlier, at the
top of the show, he hosts the brilliant Behind the Stunts
podcast. Search for Behind the Stunts.
Or if you still persevere with Twixter, he's at Stunts Central.
Gary is 1/2 of the Sitcom Club, which has been a bit quiet
lately, but I've heard mutterings that there could be
some new content of one shape or another coming soon again at the
Sitcom Club on Elon's Hell site. OK, well that's it for the show
this week. If you enjoyed it, please let us
know. This was probably the most
complicated and tough to put together, but I loved every
minute of it and would really like to hear what you listeners
think. So I'll leave you with the man
with the the, the, the the silken voice of the man who more
or less dominated the 1994 Comedy Awards.
He was out of his seat more than anyone else there, I think, and
took home an armful of the prestigious clear plastic bricks
with playing cards in them. Michael Barrymore, see you next
week. Better to do my thank yous.
Dear Marcus Plantum, who's the head of ITV Network.
I am writing this to you and I hope that you will read it while
you may. My heart goes in a flutter and
my agent starts to stutter every time you make me work in this
place. I guess I'm just another act of
yours you made me make. More I didn't want to do them
but. You put me through them.
I want to show that's new. Yes, I do.
You know I do. You know it's true what I asked
for. You know the BBC will love it
and they'll pay more you.