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The days when TV studios were beige or cream; had brown leatherette chairs and pot plants in the corner (a Russell Harty trademark), a glass coffee table with a vase-shaped bottle of water and at least three glasses next to it (Des O'Connor Tonight, perhaps?), and someone (or two) who would be familiar in Great Britain, but could go down a sidewalk in the United States without batting an eyelid. Mostly, post-Parkinson's first stint, but pre-Wogan's Monday, Wednesday, and Friday stint as well. And Breakfast Time and TV-am copied it as well. They were on there, all the time, with a book, single or TV series to plug, and the same person seemed to be in a dozen places at once over a couple of weeks.
Was it me, or did we always seem to see the same people as guests on game shows back in the 1980s? The C-list "I am famous - well, just about" type of "celebrity". Give us a Clue was full of them, mostly sitcom actors - Roy Kinnear, Derek Griffiths and Bernie Winters on Lionel's team; and Su Pollard, Anna Dawson and Penelope Keith on Una's team. It also reminds me of the "one celebrity, and one member of the public of the opposite gender" contestant on game shows which used to be on at the time such as Cross Wits, The Pyramid Game and Punchlines. Having Carol Vorderman on Cross Wits must have been such a huge support against the opposition. You Bet! always had the Billy Pearce or Davro (I am a clown dressed normally) comedian's challenge fail by voting the wrong way, and thus, having to do a forfeit as a result. Blankety Blank was often where Roy Walker was found when he wasn't doing stand-up comedy or presenting Catchphrase.
I believe that they must have had the same agent - Jim Bowen always cropped up on a regular basis, and so did Bob Holness, mostly doing ironic "can I have a P?" ditties. They always seemed to be same ones, and quite often, they seemed to appear "ironically", for their last regular series on TV ended between five and ten years ago. and all they seem to do is summer seasons and pantomimes outside television. And then, 25 years later, a 68 year old version of one or two of them try and revive their career in I'm a Celebrity or Strictly. The motto was: "if they no longer have a series of their own, then they will gatecrash (I mean, become a guest) on someone else's show". After all, all 1980s C-list celebrities seem to know each other through their work and community spirit.
No, as a child growing up, (and Number Ten was Maggie's Den), the familiarity of the famous on our screens was often great comfort, entertaining us till the cows come come, and we even thought of them as familiar friends as our own family. Even in adverts they were around as well - one couldn't escape them! Whether they got into the celebrity circuit via the clubs, or by doing regional weather forecasts, famous names are like trademarks to the viewer. And Christmas editions of game shows for charity were full of them - Chris Tarrant, pre-Millionaire seemed to make a fool of himself as it was Christmas, and it didn't matter as it was for charity, mostly Great Ormond Street. Chain Letters, we he was unable to change the letters of ZARF is a fine example - a word more suited to Call My Bluff, even if Tarrant wasn't himself.
To tell you the truth, I really do miss 1980s C-list celebrities on television - of course, in the 1990s we had Dale Winton, Vanessa Feltz and Mr Motivator. But, I am racking my brains to think who could have been the Rylan of the 1980s? There must be someone who was back then...
Oh yes, I have got it - Kenny Everett!!!!
Was it me, or did we always seem to see the same people as guests on game shows back in the 1980s? The C-list "I am famous - well, just about" type of "celebrity". Give us a Clue was full of them, mostly sitcom actors - Roy Kinnear, Derek Griffiths and Bernie Winters on Lionel's team; and Su Pollard, Anna Dawson and Penelope Keith on Una's team. It also reminds me of the "one celebrity, and one member of the public of the opposite gender" contestant on game shows which used to be on at the time such as Cross Wits, The Pyramid Game and Punchlines. Having Carol Vorderman on Cross Wits must have been such a huge support against the opposition. You Bet! always had the Billy Pearce or Davro (I am a clown dressed normally) comedian's challenge fail by voting the wrong way, and thus, having to do a forfeit as a result. Blankety Blank was often where Roy Walker was found when he wasn't doing stand-up comedy or presenting Catchphrase.
I believe that they must have had the same agent - Jim Bowen always cropped up on a regular basis, and so did Bob Holness, mostly doing ironic "can I have a P?" ditties. They always seemed to be same ones, and quite often, they seemed to appear "ironically", for their last regular series on TV ended between five and ten years ago. and all they seem to do is summer seasons and pantomimes outside television. And then, 25 years later, a 68 year old version of one or two of them try and revive their career in I'm a Celebrity or Strictly. The motto was: "if they no longer have a series of their own, then they will gatecrash (I mean, become a guest) on someone else's show". After all, all 1980s C-list celebrities seem to know each other through their work and community spirit.
No, as a child growing up, (and Number Ten was Maggie's Den), the familiarity of the famous on our screens was often great comfort, entertaining us till the cows come come, and we even thought of them as familiar friends as our own family. Even in adverts they were around as well - one couldn't escape them! Whether they got into the celebrity circuit via the clubs, or by doing regional weather forecasts, famous names are like trademarks to the viewer. And Christmas editions of game shows for charity were full of them - Chris Tarrant, pre-Millionaire seemed to make a fool of himself as it was Christmas, and it didn't matter as it was for charity, mostly Great Ormond Street. Chain Letters, we he was unable to change the letters of ZARF is a fine example - a word more suited to Call My Bluff, even if Tarrant wasn't himself.
To tell you the truth, I really do miss 1980s C-list celebrities on television - of course, in the 1990s we had Dale Winton, Vanessa Feltz and Mr Motivator. But, I am racking my brains to think who could have been the Rylan of the 1980s? There must be someone who was back then...
Oh yes, I have got it - Kenny Everett!!!!