Get Your Facts Right Harty!

Fred Dibnah - Russell Harty show 1979



This is taken from Russell Harty's ITV chat show, after looking at the year this took place, "Russell Harty Plus" (1973-1981), before moving to the BBC, the stint he was more well known for, Grace Jones et all. He is interviewing the colourful character which was Fred Dibnah, not an entertainer, but had the erstwhile job of being a "steeplejack". This was a traditional job repairing and most famously, demolishing steeples and chimneys such as factory and church steeples. He would be required to climb these tall structures with rope or ladders before going onto the next stage of scaffolding.

Fred Dibnah's work was captured on film in 1978 in a documentary called "Fred Dibnah, Steeplejack", and much like reality TV, the very likeable and passionate Lancastrian became a celebrity on TV appearing on various shows, as well as his own TV series in his later years. 1998's "Fred Dibnah's Industrial Age". In this Youtube clip, one of his most famous scenes from the original programme, the felling of a factory/mill chimny in Rochdale, showing Dibnah dashing away from his handiwork, in this spectacular felling, and you're wondering "has he run in the right direction away from the chimney?".

2 Fallen Stars...

Simon Dee Interviews Jack Wild very very rare



Although their paths later down the line differed immeasurably, it remained as a sad demise for both, to different extents. Simon Dee was sacked from his chat show seen in the clip, "Dee Time", in 1970, and by 1974, was signing on the dole with some embarrassment due to media coverage, and became a bus driver with little other prospects back in the world of showbiz. He also ended up in prison for a month after failing to pay his house bills. For Jack Wild, it was a more tragic spiral from the bright lights of fame and even, Hollywood. After his much cherished and fondly remembered role as a child actor in the 1968 film adaptation of Charles Dicken's novel "Oliver!", the promising boy actor took on the role as the charming pickpocket "The Artful Dodger". Wild reached a career-high of being Oscar-nominated for the role, for Best Supporting Actor. However, like too many child actors, the transition of child to adult became a "crash and burn" scenario. Wild did well in the short-term after "Oliver", achieving more fame in the US as the shipwrecked boy Jimmy in children's US TV series "H.R. Pufnstuf". He played the same role in the film version that followed. Despite launching pop career, successfully evolving him into a teen pin-up in the 1970's, Wild had been drinking and taking drugs since the age of 12 on a regular basis. This drove his career downwards and it brough his on-screen career to an end. The 1980s was the lowlight of his life, with his marriage to childhood sweetheart Gaynor Jones finished due to his alcoholism. He suffered multiple cardiac arrests before giving up on the drink. Although successfully beating the drink and drugs after rehab, his looks were wasted, but he began acting againin the early 90s with limited success, taking a bit-part in 1991's "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" starring Kevin Costner. Wild suffered from oral cancer in his later life, and agreed his heavy smoking and drinking in the past were much to blame. He died on 1st March 2006 at a young age of 53.

Dee talks about, rather ironically and at the same time prophetic-like now, about Wild's career possibly flailing after he leaves childhood. This is repeated again later. Other discussions like who Jack Wild idolises and who his favourite football player is. Riveting!

"Dee Time" was a twice weekly show from 1967-1970 on BBC1. Simon Dee was plucked from Radio Luxembourg and other radion work on "BBC Light Programme" to host this prime-time show. Dee became very popular with great TV ratings and lapped over into presenting such prestigious shows like "Top of the Pops". This interview with Jack Wild is one of the few surviving clips from the show. Some live shows were just never recorded, as it was felt to hold no real value in the future. Dee though, interviewed a great wealth of stars from Hollywood and the UK.

"Dee Time" was stopped on its tracks, as Dee became too big for his boots, asking for higher wage rises and was kicked out of the BBC. He moved the show to ITV for one series in 1970, however more arguments between Dee and LWT (London Weekend Television) management and tension between Frost's chat show and his. So he was kicked out once again. He did have one final flourish, as people started remembering what good he brought to TV, and was awarded with a one-off new live episode of "Dee-Time" in 2003 on BBC Four. Dee died of bone cancer in August 2009 at the age of 74.

Don't Ask Daft Questions, Michael!

Shirley Temple on the Parkinson show June 1972



and the second smaller clip:



Highlights and the first part of an early "Parkinson" interview with one of the most famed Hollywood child actresses Shirley Temple. By 1972, Temple had quit the movie business with only sparse appearances on TV chat show after her 1958 TV vehicle flop "Shirley Temple's Storybook".

This clip features host Michael Parkinson questioning Temple on more serious issues like depression and about being married at the age of 17 to American actor John Agar and divorced at such a young age. Interlaced between that are more -jokey-trivial matters, like were the sets made deliberately bigger to make Shirley the child look even smaller, and how did she prepare to "cry" as child actor. Annoyingly, it's part one of interview on Youtube, the second part is nowhere to be seen in the related videos! I will check later and bring the second part here, if I can find it.

"Parkinson" was a popular BBC chat show from the 70s. Michael Parkinson's non-attention seeking, laid-back and working class heritaged manner went down well with many viewers. Parkinson was born in 1935, in the coal mining village of Cudworth, near Barnsley in South Yorkshire. Although a son of a miner, Parkinson performed well at school, and became an active cricketer (played in the same club as legendary cricket household names like Dickie Bird and Geoffrey Boycott) and news reporter, establishing himself in the journalist market, and impressing enough to get into Tv presenting and his own chat show. That's how they did it back then! The first run of the show was from 1971-1982. He left the show for his unsuccessful short stint on "TV-AM" on Channel 3, the other side. For a while his broadcasting career was a little in the doldrums, far from the heights of "Parkinson".

In 1995, people started to remember how memorable the chat show was, including some of his funniest interview with legendary Boxer Muhammad Ali, Entertainer Rod Hull with his puppet Emu, and numerous ones with Scottish comedian Billy Connolly. A "Best of.." retrospective was shown, and "Parkinson" was soon revived in 1998 on the BBC. Things were going well until forced schedule changes of the show, thanks to the return of "Match of the Day" on Saturday nights in 2004, and the show limped on, on ITV of all places, now with adverts (BBC don't have commercial advertising as they get their money from the "TV licence" bill and Government funded.). Michael Parkinson retired from the role and so was the show, in 2007.

Rare Interview with "Carry On" Movie Star Great...

Charles Hawtrey - Rare Short Interview From The 1980s



From 1984, this was "Movie Memories" presented by the multi-talented actor/playwright/singer Roy Hudd,looking smart in a luminous light blue suit.. The series produced by Anglia, and as said by the Youtube user, this was an interview with a star who gradually went downhill on a private scale, with heavy drinking and died 4 years later in 1988.

Charles Hawtrey was great in the "Carry On" movies. He starred in 22 of the "Carry On" movies, and he was known for his skinny-as-a-rail appearance, and usually played wimp-ish characters. He had a campness too, but that was second fiddle to another comedy great Kenneth "ooooooh, yeeeeeess" Williams.

In this clip, the interview was cut short because of Hawtrey's drunken antics, we don't what, off-screen.

David Icke Stands Firm on being a Son of God after "Wogan" Debacle

David Icke with Fern Britton: Part 1 of 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q9ncm2jotI

...While the audience displays what must be the greatest ever inaudible "WTF?" moments on TV ever.

David Icke was once a lowly sports presenter on "BBC Breakfast Time" in the mid-80's. By the early 90's, instead of reading off auto-cues, after a strange experience of hearing voices in an newsagent in 1990, he began theorising into what he thought really controlled the world, delved into New Age thought-processes and medicine relating to himself suffering arthritis at a young age. He began to believe in a complicated system, where there is not just one God and Jesus and that's it, but a hierachy, where human beings with certain "frequencies" or being a "Godhead" can achieve special powers or God-like powers, and he believed he is one of the chosen ones, one of the many sons of God. He has also tried to display prophetic news of how the world will become enraged by more natural disasters and man-made disasters. This developed later into certain humans beings of reptilian, who are not for the good of this world. With the rise of of the internet, a haven for conspiracy theorists, despite his embarrassing showing on the "Wogan" chat show in 1991, his following has grown.

Now let's talk about this clip, a young, slim, ego-free Fern Britton (come on, she was so p*ssed Phillip Schofield was getting paid more for "This Morning") presents this unnamed chat show, as stated in the Youtube clip. Doing research on IMDB.com, I'm making a good guess this is the programme "After the News" a local programme for the TVS region (south England and the coast). The title makes sense as this David Icke interview was shortly after the infamous "Wogan" interview. He is given more time to discuss his opinion of how the world works, and thank god for no shellsuit this time. It made him look positively dodgy, rather than giving off positive vibes in his turquiose/pink shelly. At this stage in his evolution of his own grand-standing theory, he would only wear clothes bearing the colour turquoise, as he believed the colour to be a conduit of positive energy.

This is a must-watch video for the casual viewer, if only to see the audience reaction to Icke's rambling. The shaking of heads from some, the muffled laughter. There was non-one on his side, apart from possibly one woman, who wanted to give him a chance to share his views. Despite the madness of it all, these whole new ideas being brought into the mainstream, Icke hasn't sunk without a trace. To be fair, he's articulate and consumed enough in his works, that, it's led some to believe he is a genius, and that he is explaining what many human still don't understand to himself and others, the whole aspect that there are some human who are, or can be "special" that defies logic or nature. Some say he had predicted 9/11 and the looming of more natural disasters as Global warming increases. Some think the guy is an absolute nutter. You decide. Just one last thought, you read about his childhood, he was a loner as a child and at school, one of those kid's in a different world...mmmmmm.

Bill "oh shit" Grundy Turns Chip-pan fire into House Fire. Infamous Interview with the Sex Pistols...

Full Bill Grundy with the Sex Pistols and Siouxsie Interview



This interview lives in infamy, as members of revolutionary Punk group "The Sex Pistols" swearing on live prime-time TV, using the f-word, s-word and a word that decribes an illegitimate son! There was no bleeping or anthing. This was featured on the "Today" show, presented by Bill Grundy. The F-word had been uttered on TV before, but this was still seen as very shocking, in 1976, as it has only been uttered 3 times before.

Much of the blame was put on poor Grundy. He seemed to take a very hands-on approach though jokingly, perhaps a clever way to get into the minds of these young rebels, claiming to be drunk, but of himself being of the older generation, alot older at 54 infact, he made himself look extremely foolish. He didn't seem to hear the first swear word by Sex Pistol's Steve Jones, answering where their £40,000 given to them by EMI record labels, which was "f***ing spent it", however as the chatter dragged on, Grundy must've had tunnel vision, thinking how ratings will shoot up. He asks both Johnny Rotten and Steve Jones to repeat what they had just said, in colourful fashion.

Also, Grundy, still in dumb/joking mode, has a little banter with another punk girl star of the time, at the back of the group, the white-haired Siouxsie. He jokingly prods her if they would like to meet up afterwards. That fell flat. The interview ended, Grundy himself going "oh shit", as the sound was beginning to fade to the ending credits, but that gets caught on camera. Grundy knowing this wasn't really his day, but still meeting it with a smile on his face. However, after this, it was all over the newspapers nationwide, despite not everyone had seen it. Grundy didn't disappear altogether, but whatever momentum he had on TV, came to a crashing end. He was slapped in the hand for 2 weeks, while his "Today" show finished 2 months later.

It was touch-n-go, as The Sex Pistols were breaking the manistream, and Punk music as a whole, with the hit "Anarchy in the UK" in 1976, a controversial single that was deemed anti-religious and promoted mob violence and disorder. It was a year later, they had their biggest and even more controversial hit "God Save the Queen", an almost anti-thesis to the British national anthem, regarded as insluting by the older generation.

Brass Eye's Chris Morris, Clearly Taking the P*ss on Early Morning ITV Topical Discussion Show

The Time The Place, Chris Morris




This is the first edition of the Chat Shows genre, showing you classic and obscure clips from classic and obscure UK Chat Shows from the past. And we begin with a gem. Chris Morris, quite known as the presenter of faux-news programme "The Day Today" at the time of 1996, jostles with "The Time, The Place" presenter John Stapleton, calling himself Thurston Lowe, a supposed academic. The discussion topic is about "Are British Men Lousy Lovers?".


Morris, who clearly loves to give the system a good jolt, and takes a satrical take, perhaps drubbing the of so-called experts who turn up, on these type of shows, but a wonderful break from the norm. He gained much of a reputation, of fooling people and celebrities into believing in his projects, as seen in the future "Brass Eye". In his inane banter, he tells of how the Saxons serviced Roman women from Italy, the absurd notion that the Greek mythical creature The Minotaur, was also regarded as a four-legged breast by Brits...oh, just watch the whole clip!


"The Time, The Place" was ITV's answer to the BBC's "Kilroy" located in an early morning loke post-9am, 9.25am, say. The show ran from 1987 to 1998, while "Kilroy" steamed on until 2004. These type of shows now feel rather stuffy compared to the likes of "Vanessa" and "The Jeremy Kyle Show", but they did so at the time compared to US chat shows, with obvious comparisons to "The Jerry Springer Show". The shows itself could be interesting, but it lacked bite, otherwise it would've been on late-night TV, probably Channel 4, and some of the subjects felt rather drawn out.