Humphrey Lyttelton was chairman of my very favourite radio show. He always made me laugh, whether it was by reading his script, a witty ad-lib or just a look. And he always made time to say hello at the stage door when I was lucky enough to go to recordings or the tour. He was also a wonderful jazz musician and played his trumpet with such beauty, heart and soul.
He will be missed.
The other Christmas day treat was the I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue special, Humph in Wonderland.
It was as much fun as I remembered from the recording, and seemed to pack almost the whole night into just under an hour – the only thing I missed was a round of Sound Charades and a song or two.
As a lot of you finding your way here seem to be looking for details of the 2008 I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue tour, I thought I’d point you in the right direction for details – the full list of dates and venues can be found here.
Yesterday I went to another I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue recording (yes, I know – again!!) – this time for the Christmas special, Humph in Wonderland which is due to be broadcast on Christmas day just after midday. I won’t say much about the show itself, so as not to give anything away, suffice to say that it was very funny and a very enjoyable evening was spent laughing our way through a very loose re-telling of Louis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. The usual cast of Humph, Barry, Graeme and Tim were joined by a collection of guests (although I won’t say who, to keep the surprise for you) as well as Colin Sell at the piano, who was joined by Adrian MacIntosh and John Rees-Jones from Humph’s band.
C had managed to get us front row seats, which we were grateful for when they finally let us into the theatre! (There had been a mix up with the times – the tickets said 7pm , but the show wasn’t due to start until 7.30, which meant that most of the audience were queuing to get in far too early) So we had a great view of everything!
After the show it was round to the stage door as usual, where we had a chance to catch up with the Giddies. First out was Barry, who signed autographs and had photos taken before C and I went to talk to him and say how much we’d appreciated seeing him at the Frost Report show the other week. He said that he’d only realised that he was doing the warm-up right before the recording, which made me even more in awe of him!
Barry went off to see if he could find his wife, but we didn’t have to wait long before Graeme appeared. After everyone else had asked for their photos and books to be signed, I asked Graeme to sign my book and he said “you didn’t bring the sofa then?” (which is what I’d threatened in my blog after the Reading show) to which I replied “well, actually …” and pulled out of my bag a miniature sofa which I’d brought just in case. Fortunately he took it in the good humour in which it was intended and signed my sofa, saying that he’d have to be more careful what he said in future (although I’ll have to be careful what I write too!).
Graeme was standing and chatting to the six of us when Tim came out and joined us. Then it was (literally) hugs all round as first Tim, then Graeme went round the group of us giving hugs. After a brief chat they said that they were going back in, as there was a do backstage, and warned us that other people might not be coming out for a while. Realising that I’d forgotten to ask Tim to sign my book, I managed to stop him by the door and was cheeky enough to ask for a second hug too (I’m such a hug hussy!!).
Then the waiting began …
Eventually Tony Hawkes appeared at the door (strangely just after the Minx had said she’d really like to meet him!) and seemed quite pleased to see the little crowd still gathered there. Andy Hamilton also appeared, but seemed in a hurry to leave, so we didn’t try to stop him. Somehow Sandi and Rob had escaped us by leaving via a different door, so we were confused twice when they each walked past us from another direction!
I was by now thinking that I should perhaps go and catch my train. But then Graeme reappeared, so I stayed a bit longer. There was some more chatting and another round of hugs before he had to go.
But then I really did have to go – It was going to be a long walk if I missed my last train home!
I can’t wait to hear the broadcast.
[28/11/07 Edited to add] C has done her own write up – less of a what happened, more what she forgot …
Comedy shows seem to be like buses at the moment – you wait for ages then two come along at once.
And so it was that on Monday night I found myself in Broadcasting House, home of BBC radio, for the recording of Tim Minchin And Friends. If you remember, I went to the recording of Tim’s Christmas Special last year, and this one was just as good. But there was a major difference – this year there were no special guests, just Tim, his piano and a fabulous band which included his sister on backing vocals.
A half hour of songs was duly recorded – some familiar, some not (and some brand new, written especially for the show). It was good fun with lots of laughing and giggling, not all from the audience. The show is due to be broadcast on Radio 2 during the week before Christmas, so listen out for it.
I must just mention that this was my first visit to Broadcasting House and its newly refurbished Radio Theatre. So there was a great sense of occasion for me walking through the main doors into the building from which so much information and entertainment has emanated.
Some fantastic news (well I think so) – a Doctor Who/Goodies crossover. Well, not really, but both Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor are in the recordings for new Eighth Doctor adventures for BBC7.
I thought you might also like to know that this week Tim and I are recording episodes of Dr Who for audio CD and BBC7 broadcast – don’t know when yet.
I did mine on Monday with Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith as the Doctor and Lucie. Also in the cast were James Fleet, Nick Brimble, Samantha Hughes and Duncan James. The ep is called ‘Max Warp’ and I play a sort of inter-galactic Jeremy Clarkson! It was really good fun!
Tim does his on Friday – it’s called ‘The Zygon who fell to Earth’ and Tim plays a Zygon, of course.
It’s odd, because I never pictured Tim as a Zygon …
I wonder if they’ll be asked to do the TV series??
When I was younger David Hatch was one of those names which was read out at the end of radio programmes. As I got older I discovered that he was an important name in the world of radio; as producer of some of the great series like I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue, Just a Minute, Hello Cheeky and Weekending as well as being controller of various bits of BBC Radio.
Through my dad’s love of radio comedy, in particular thanks to I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again, I discovered that David Hatch wasn’t just a name – he was a voice too. As an actor in this series he performed alongside his fellow graduates from the Cambridge Footlights Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graeme Garden, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie. And he was just as funny as all of these comedy legends. It was this series that allowed him to cut his teeth as a producer, which in turn led him to create some of our well-loved comedy shows.
David Hatch died on the 12th June after a long illness. He was only 68.
His legacy of great radio comedy lives on.
It’s great fun when your birthday extends over a few days. My ticket for Monday night’s recording of I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue had been paid for as a birthday present, so I was always intending on having a little birthday celebration then. I got more presents from Clair and Kate [thank you].
But the recording was a real treat. It’s always great fun wondering who the guest is going to be, and it was with great delight that this week’s turned out to be Stephen Fry. Clue tends to have people who regularly turn up as guests, but on my list of ‘ideally I’d like to see, but it probably won’t be’ people was Stephen Fry, so I was very pleased.
I won’t talk too much about the recording, as I don’t want to spoil anything before the broadcast (which should be on the 4th of June), but it was very funny – as always. It was a delight to watch Tim and Stephen almost collapse into heaps of giggles during one round, and Stephen’s utter embarrassment at anything musical. He also did a fantastically spot on impression of Robert Robinson. Graeme played a little bit of harmonica during Pick Up Song. We cheered at the mention of The Goodies, and there were extra giggles when Tim mentioned ‘crumpet’!
I was astounded at how many people in the huge audience (of 2400, which apparently is a record) hadn’t been at a recording before, but maybe that adds to the fun?
After the show and we took our usual trip to the stage door, along with half the audience it seemed! I managed to get my copy of Stovold’s signed by Barry, and then we went to talk to Graeme and Tim. It seemed such a long time since we’d seen them! I was very cheeky and asked Graeme if he’d mind putting ‘happy birthday’ when he signed my book (I explained that it was a few days earlier). He then passed the book to Tim to sign, who noticed what Graeme had written and so I had to explain again that it wasn’t today. I also had very lovely special birthday hugs. We had a bit more of a chat before they headed off to talk to some other people. And it was time for us to go too. Humph had a huge crowd round him, and we didn’t want to miss trains, so we headed off.
It was a great birthday!
I seem to be getting a lot of visits here from people looking for information about the forthcoming I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue tour.
The official line from producer Jon Naismith is
Meanwhile we are planning tour dates for I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue’s first stage show in 35 years. Jeremy Hardy will be the guest, and we’ll be visiting Leeds, Birmingham, Nottingham, Northampton, Oxford, Brighton, Reading, Ipswich and Tunbridge Wells in late August, September and early October.
Expect full datails in early May.
If all goes well we’ll do more dates in 2008, visiting other parts of the country.
However, some of us eagle-eyed fans have spotted tickets on sale already for Leeds Grand Theatre on August 31st, the Assembly Hall Theatre Tunbridge Wells on September 17th, Birmingham Hippodrome on September 19th and New Theatre Oxford for Wednesday 26 September.
Obviously we’re still waiting for an official announcement …
[01/05/07 - edited to add]
Another date has appeared – October 5th at Reading Hexagon
I’ve been busily going to radio comedy recordings again – honestly I really think I’m becoming addicted! (Is it possible to have too much laughter?)
Last Thursday evening I made the trek to the Drill Hall for The Now Show. I’ve loved listening to this show for years, so I was very pleased and excited to get the chance to go and see it. Punt and Dennis were always my favourite half of The Mary Whitehouse Experience, and it was great to see them live, just as funny as ever. Mitch Benn, fellow Doctor Who fan and OGer, was outstanding as always. It was great to see the whole team there, live, in front of me, but the thing that really shocked me was Jon Holmes. I know they always joke on the radio about how small he is, and he is really tiny, but I never realised he was quite so gorgeous in real life!!
Monday night and I was back at the Shaw Theatre for the third recording of The Unbelievable Truth(having been at the first one a few weeks ago). I know that this is a new show and still probably had to find it’s feet, but I was amazed how much better the shows seemed to be this time. Perhaps it was the quality of the panelists – Sandi Toksvig, Dara O’Briain, Jo Caulfield and Graeme Garden (I seem to be stalking poor Graeme – I’m not, honestly! I just have good taste in comedy). I won’t say much about the show, as I don’t want to give anything away before the broadcast, but I laughed lots – and I managed to spot a couple of truths that the panel didn’t! There was a very funny moment, which may not make the edit, where Jo Caulfield got very confused as to whether she was supposed to be spotting truths or lies and a good few hysterical minutes were spent trying to sort out which was which. One thing I will say is that someone needs to get Jon Naismith and new ‘new’ joke – I’ve heard his current ‘new’ joke at least four times now, and it wasn’t that funny the first time!!
The series began broadcasting last Monday (while we were waiting to go in to the recording) on Radio4 at 6.30pm, with reapeats on Sundays at 12pm, or Listen Again.
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