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253 pages

English

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'A joyous compendium of facts, fun and stories. This hilarious and informative guide is destined to become the companion to radio's most enduring panel game' PAUL MERTONIn this first ever official companion, chairman Nicholas Parsons tells the fascinating story of the much-loved panel game and Graham Norton, Sue Perkins, Jenny Eclair and Gyles Brandreth share their memories of the show. Over the decades, the greats of British comedy have entertained Just a Minute listeners with performances that have come to define our comic heritage - from Kenneth Williams' outrageously funny 'battles' with Sheila Hancock, Clement Freud's acerbic wit and Derek Nimmo's tall tales to Paul Merton's imaginative flights of fancy, Julian Clary's flagrant innuendos and Pam Ayres' poetic humour. Welcome to Just a Minute! is an entertaining journey through British comedy history and a master class in comic timing, verbal dexterity and sharp one-liners.

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Radio

Humour

Informations

Publié par	Canongate Books
Date de parution	18 août 2014
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781782112488
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0400€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Published in Great Britain in 2014 by Canongate Books Ltd, 14 High Street, Edinburgh EH 1 1 TE
www.canongate.tv
This digital edition first published in 2014 by Canongate Books
Copyright © Nicholas Parsons, 2014 Edited by David Wilson Design by James Alexander at Jade Design Contribution on p. 81 © 2014, Gyles Brandreth Contribution on p. 211 © 2014, Jenny Eclair Contribution on p. 284 © 2014, Graham Norton Contribution on p. 369 © 2014, Sue Perkins
The moral right of the author has been asserted
By arrangement with the BBC
The BBC logo is a trade mark of the British Broadcasting Corporation and is used under licence
BBC logo © BBC 1996
Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and obtain their permission for the use of copyright material. The BBC and the publisher apologise for any errors or omissions and would be grateful if notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future reprints or editions of this book.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available on request from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 78211 247 1 e ISBN 9781782112488
To the late Sir David Hatch, without whose talent and commitment Just a Minute would never have been launched on to the airwaves.
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1: The Sixties
Memories of Just a Minute by Gyles Brandreth
Chapter 2: The Seventies
Memories of Just a Minute by Jenny Eclair
Chapter 3: The Eighties
Memories of Just a Minute by Graham Norton
Chapter 4: The Nineties
Memories of Just a Minute by Sue Perkins
Chapter 5: The Twenty-first century
Just a Minute Top 20!
Picture credits
Index
Preface
I do not like surprise parties when I am the one to be surprised, especially when I have been warned in advance. It was October 2013. I had just celebrated my 90th birthday with a magnificent party organised by my wife, Annie, and myself at the Churchill Hyatt Hotel, Portman Square, in London’s West End. We had invited over 200 guests, family, close friends and many show-business colleagues and acquaintances. It was a huge success and a memorable occasion, with wonderfully witty speeches from my friends Paul Merton and Gyles Brandreth, and a clever musical parody about me from Kit Hesketh-Harvey. My own speech was well received and it was an exceptionally enjoyable, even emotional, evening. Various newspapers and magazines covered the event, and my anxiety that advertising my advanced years would inhibit prospects of future work engagements proved wrong. In fact it turned out to have the reverse effect. I received many more requests and enquiries than usual.
I was overwhelmed with cards and gifts, and the last thing I then wanted was this surprise party that could only be an anti-climax. Annie, who was in on the secret, refused to give me a clue as to whom was organising the event. If you have warning of these occasions, as a performer you can prepare some thoughts on what you might say in your thank you speech to ensure you respond in appropriate style. I reluctantly went along with the subterfuge. My assumption was that the invitation was from one of the charities for which I actively work. Facetiously I suggested to Annie that if the party was to surprise me, I could surprise them by going in my pyjamas. She firmly pointed out that I should wear something smart and formal.
The hire car duly arrived. The driver had already been made aware of what was happening, so we set off from our London flat in silence. All my preconceived ideas of where I might be going turned out to be incorrect as he took us to the outside of the main entrance of Broadcasting House in Portland Place. ‘They don’t run charity functions here,’ I thought. Inside we were greeted by Trudi Stevens, the assistant to the producer of Just a Minute , who led us up to the Council Chamber, the central meeting place for BBC executives. Trudi ushered me into this spacious room, where there were a hundred people: actors, writers, producers and senior staff. They gave me a huge round of applause as I entered. I was overwhelmed. I stood there speechless. I recognised a lot of the faces, professional friends and others with whom I had worked. Someone had undertaken research and discovered that I had made my first professional broadcast 72 years ago performing impersonations of James Stewart and Charles Boyer on a radio variety show called Carroll Levis Carries On as one of what the Canadian showman called his ‘discoveries’ – new performers whom he tipped for success. At around the same time I was also playing small roles in productions at Glasgow BBC. This was the city in which I had been based during the War, serving an apprenticeship with a firm on Clydebank that made pumps for ships, important work for the war effort and a reserved occupation. I was endeavouring to become an engineer while dreaming of becoming a full-time entertainer.
In fact over the years since then I have rarely been off BBC radio. At different times either guesting in plays, performing in variety shows, undertaking a long spell in the BBC Drama Reparatory Company, appearing in a series of Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh playing comedy characters, partnering my long-term colleague Arthur Haynes in his radio series and presenting the satirical programme Listen to this Space , a show I devised and for which I received the Radio Personality of the Year award. Also, we were just about to celebrate the 46th anniversary of Just a Minute , a programme with which I have been associated since the pilot show in December 1967. I have not missed a single recording, which now amounts to almost 900 performances.
This party was to celebrate all this and more. It was a truly moving occasion and I was overwhelmed that the BBC had decided to honour me in this way. There were some brief speeches, including Paul Merton, who sent me up in his usual delightfully humorous way, and then Tilusha Ghelani, one of the producers of Just a Minute , played a tape that she had gone to a great deal of trouble to prepare. It consisted of some of the many humorous moments from the archives of Just a Minute , including an embarrassing one in which I had made an unintentional verbal slip known as a Spoonerism, referring to Tilusha as ‘Gilusha Tilhani’.The guests loved it all and laughed affectionately at the fun that was being had at my expense.
Then I was asked to say a few words. It is always a challenge when speaking to your own profession, especially when you have nothing prepared. On this occasion it was easier than I could have imagined. It was such a warm and responsive audience, all of whom were there out of affection to pay a tribute to me. It was certainly the most emotional experience of my professional life. I was deeply touched that so many show-business friends and colleagues had found time in their busy lives to assemble secretly to drink my health and toast my career, including the Director General. We humble thespians do not expect such accolades!
I mingled and talked with the many guests, hoping the party would never end. There were some lovely moments and over-the-top compliments. I just wanted to thank everyone personally for surprising me in such a delightful way. There was one particularly touching incident when Emma Freud, a charming and talented broadcaster and writer, gave me a gift of her father’s witty articles collected together in book form. I had known Emma since she was a little girl as I had been very friendly with Clement. I was not only at school with him, St Paul’s, but he had employed me regularly to work in cabaret at his Royal Court Theatre Club in Sloane Square. I even socialised with him when he entertained my wife and I at his home in St John’s Wood, where he cooked the most amazing dinners. He was, of course, a trained chef.
Emma’s thoughtful gift touched me greatly. As she presented the book, Emma sweetly said that she knew her dad had become grumpy with me as he grew older, but the feeling did not extend to the rest of the Freud family. I was delighted to hear such warmth and reassurance. In Clement’s later years his attitude had changed from one of friendship to something approaching disdain. The reasons for this stemmed from the difference of opinion we each held over how Just a Minute should develop as the years passed.
In almost direct contrast to Clement, my belief had always been that if Just a Minute was to achieve any longevity, it would have to adjust and adapt to changing attitudes and taste. However popular a programme is, it cannot rest on its laurels. During the early days of the show there were two other panel games on radio, which were all male and very successful – My Word! and My Music . They were of their era, with a formula that never changed. As a result they slowly faded away. Success cannot be taken for granted in show business. You have to analyse what works, tweak the rules slightly, polish and improve. If you have a basic idea that is strong, and Ian Messiter had certainly created such a show with Just a Minute , continual refining can only improve it.
While Ian was still with us he made little changes in the early stages, together with our first producer, the very talented David Hatch, who contributed with all kinds of thoughts, ideas and, of course, creative casting. In more recent years, because of my love of the show and commitment to its success, I have in consultation with our producers, suggested small subtle adjustments that have helped to take the programme forward. These refinements, from whatever source they arose, you can read about in the following pages. I certainly do not seek any long-term credit for my input. As an experienced performer of many years, it is something that you do instinctively to improve the quality of a great product and they would not have worked if the core concept of the creator, Ian Messiter, had not been brilliant.
Putting this book together could not have been possible