Radio Weekly #19
This Christmas Ian Wolf listened to Jeremy Hardy’s greatest musical rival and a silly Billy…
I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue
The main Radio 4 comedy celebrating Christmas was I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue, broadcast as a 45-minute long extended edition. Stephen Fry was the guest, alongside host Jack Dee, panellists Tim Brooke-Taylor, Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden, and pianist Colin Sell – although sadly no Samantha (Sven took the place as scorer).
In the special there was the usual selection of rounds, from “Mornington Crescent” to “Sound Charades”, and “Nativity Radio Times” to “One Song to the Tune of Another”, which allows the listeners to hear Fry’s version of Goodness Gracious Me to the tune of The First Noel, a sound which makes you wonder who would win a singing contest between Fry and Jeremy Hardy…
One of my main complaints about the BBC’s comedy programme in 2012 was the lack of coverage it gave to the ISIHAC’s 40th anniversary. This show was almost the only marker of the celebration, whereas the 45th anniversary of Just a Minute was given extensive coverage, including a TV adaptation (the third in its history) and episodes recorded in India.
JAM’s a great comedy too, of course, but I do think that ISIHAC is the better of the two. And if the BBC aren’t going to honour it then hopefully I can here. Here’s to another 40 years of funnies – maybe…
Mike Yarwood: So This is Him!
Hosted by Rory Bremner, Mike Yarwood: So This Is Him! profiles the first great impressionist, Mike Yarwood.
Yarwood was somewhat before my time, so this documentary was one of those chances to appreciate a comedian whose shows are never repeated. Of course, there is a reason why impressionism and satire isn’t repeated that often…
My own knowledge of Yarwood before this programme was limited to knowing a handful of people he mimicked – Harold Wilson and Eddie Waring – and knowing that he fell into decline because he couldn’t impersonate Margaret Thatcher. But there was so much that surprised me, including the fact that Yarwood invented the phrase “I mean that most sincerely, folks.” It’s associated with Hughie Green, but Green himself never used.
In the documentary for Radio 2, Bremner claims that one of Yarwood’s great achievements was to humanise politicians. He wasn’t as vicious and cutting as the later satirists on shows like Spitting Image, which probably didn’t help him in his later career.
While Yarwood suffered due to changes in how people like to receive their laughs, there’s no doubt he was a great comic. If only they repeated his stuff more often – and indeed Spitting Image for that matter…
