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Just heard the news of the death of Denis Norden at the age of 96. For me, he will always be the host of It'll Be Alright on the Night, Laugher File, and Looks Familiar.
Norden was a pioneer whose legacy will always be remembered for "founding" the outtake show format and bringing it to the small screen in Great Britain a good few years before they took off in the United States - I also think of him one of those writers who just happened to become a presenter in the same way that Barry Cryer and others did. He really felt like a true gentleman on screen. The irony of advertising Nuttall's Mintoes had landed him outtakes of his own on the same show. A pity that we had to put up with that David Walliams version a few weeks ago which to me feels as if it is a parody of its former self.
And his double act with Frank Muir provided us with a lot of scripts for shows that may have been a few years before our time.
I noticed on the Genome that back in September and October 1972 he presented a Monday evening BBC 2 quiz show called Out of the Box which was about 50 years of the BBC - I would love to watch an episode it if one was available as it sounds a bit like the Telly Addicts of its day. Looks Familiar started around this time as well in the brand new afternoon schedule on ITV.
RIP Denis Norden - it sadly won't be alright on the night any more. Thank you for the entertainment.
Norden was a pioneer whose legacy will always be remembered for "founding" the outtake show format and bringing it to the small screen in Great Britain a good few years before they took off in the United States - I also think of him one of those writers who just happened to become a presenter in the same way that Barry Cryer and others did. He really felt like a true gentleman on screen. The irony of advertising Nuttall's Mintoes had landed him outtakes of his own on the same show. A pity that we had to put up with that David Walliams version a few weeks ago which to me feels as if it is a parody of its former self.
And his double act with Frank Muir provided us with a lot of scripts for shows that may have been a few years before our time.
I noticed on the Genome that back in September and October 1972 he presented a Monday evening BBC 2 quiz show called Out of the Box which was about 50 years of the BBC - I would love to watch an episode it if one was available as it sounds a bit like the Telly Addicts of its day. Looks Familiar started around this time as well in the brand new afternoon schedule on ITV.
RIP Denis Norden - it sadly won't be alright on the night any more. Thank you for the entertainment.
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