Showbiz Newswrap
Showbiz 5: From a Cast out Castaway to theme tune memories
Judi Dentures stands in for Penelope Teeth in this edition of Showbiz 5, a newswrap of recent showbiz, television and Brian May stories…
Phillip Schofield has recorded a series for Viacom/Paramount/Channel 5 who clearly have no standards when it comes to what they plonk out on television – well of course it is after all the company behind Geordie Shore – so I need say no more.
Now this telly venture does seem a little unfair. Phillip has been offered a three-part trilogy of ‘pity me’ when the lad involved in his This Morning love affair has apparently been gagged from saying anything. And let’s face it – we’d probably all be much more interested in his story than the one from the former face of Children’s BBC.
The silver fox, who came out as gay, then revealed he’d been bonking a young lad who worked at ITV – all behind it appears the rest of the crew, his wife and his children’s backs – is offering up his side of his downfall from TV fame sixteen months after he admitted lying to his bosses and was bumped out the backdoor of Television Centre with little in the way of a farewell.
Phillip – and his TV decline – began with the arrogance surrounding the ‘Queue jump’ at Queen Elizabeth II’s lying in state. Making out they were Newsnight with some pittiful video ‘report’ from the event to excuse their fast-track inside. Then his (and to be fair the bimbo that used to stand beside him) decline with viewers was enhanced by a ill-judged game which saw viewers able to win to pay off their electric bill during the cost of living crisis. The show was deemed out of touch. Ratings began their decent. But nothing has descended more than the level Channel 5 has sunk to with this Scoffe fest love in.
The show, Cast Away, saw Phillip record himself soul-searching on a tropical island, off the coast of Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean for ten days. Was it unwise what he did, yes. Should it have ended his career? Probably not. But the arrogance, the self importance had already long done the damage with viewers long before they realised he loved legal, but young, cock…
Sticking with Phillip there has been positive and negative responses to his ‘come back’ – and to be fair its been in the main negative. But let’s start with a positive, and This Morning regular ‘expert’ Vanessa Feltz has told online bingo site, Heart Bingo that she hopes Schofield will return to TV as a presenter.
“I think Phillip Schofield could make a return to daytime TV in the future,” she said. “I think he’s a fantastic presenter and has years of amazing work behind him. Most of the public love him in my opinion and I think this programme could be exactly what is needed for him to get back on track.”
“I obviously haven’t seen it yet so I don’t know how he’ll cope in isolation for all those days, but Phillip is a very bright man and if he thinks it’s the right thing to do then that’s likely to be the case… I wish him all the luck in the world and I hope the series has the desired effect that he wants from it.”
However Loose Women regular Nadia Sawalha took a differing view. Speaking on her Coffee Moaning podcast she noted:
“[The promotional footage] was popping onto phones all over the place yesterday and everyone was aghast. When I was first sent it, there was no message with it, so I thought it was a joke… First of all, I cringed. If I’m honest, I absolutely cringed when I saw that video. I thought ‘that is so embarrassing’. That was my first feeling.”
EastEnders, Coronation Street and Millennial favourite Friends have been voted the top three most recognisable TV theme tunes of all time.
New research conducted by Sky TV reveals the top 10 most instantly recognisable theme tunes as voted for by Brits, with cult classics such as Doctor Who (47%), The Simpsons (44%) and Match of the Day (44%) taking high rankings. Taking 10th place is the most recent show to make the list, Game of Thrones at 23%.
My own personal favourites might be out the box as were – or should that be out the telly box – with great tunes, but often forgotten, to the over-ref’d and overrated ‘classics’. The Coronation Street theme used to rarely feature on compilation albums in the 70s and 80s as it was so dreary. I mean do you really want to listen to the full version of that? But we’re not taking best, just recognisable. Like the smell of VIM.
I’d put the Pebble Mill theme (1990-96) in my top ten along with Surprise Surprise (1992-01/03), Spitting Image (1984-88/90-96) and The Paul O’Grady Show (2004-09). And it is amazing how many great daytime themes there have been. Good Morning Britain (1983-92), This Morning (1988-present), TV Weekly (1990-96) and The Big Breakfast (1992-02) to name just a few. In fact, across the decades the possibilities to a great recognisable tune are endless – but only recognisable to those around who remember them. I’m sure Emergency Ward 10 (1956-66) would have been recognisable to many if you polled a wide selection of 70+ adults.
The Sky top ten: EastEnders – 59% (BBC), Coronation Street – 56% (ITV/Granada), Friends – 50% (Channel 4/NBC), Doctor Who – 47% (BBC), The Simpsons – 44% (Channel4/BBC/Fox), Match of the Day – 44% (BBC), Only Fools and Horses – 43% (BBC), Scooby-Doo – 33%, (Hanna-Barbera/CBS/ABC/BBC), Big Bang Theory – 33% (Channel 4/CBS), Blackadder – 25% (BBC), The Muppet Show – 23% (ATV/ITV/CBS) and Game of Thrones – 23% (SKY/HBO)
I think before I ramble on anymore I should just conclude it is all conjecture. Different ages will find different themes more recognisable than others. Oh, and one more great tune before we move on; Animal Hospital (1994-04), but sadly that’s been tainted by the dirty bugger who hosted it.
Sir Brian May – animal lover, husband of Angie Watts and guitarist with rockers Queen – has resigned as the RSPCA’s vice president and called their animal welfare standards in farms “appalling” with some sites certified under its scheme failing to impress. The Standard newspaper notes ‘The certified RSPCA Assured label, which indicates that meat, fish, eggs and dairy products have been produced to strict standards which exceed the UK’s legal requirements, is being reviewed by the animal welfare organisation.’
Posting on social media, Brian said: “A very sad day – and a painful decision to make. But in the face of the recent revelations about conditions in some farms in the RSPCA Assured scheme, I feel the RSPCA have had ample time to do the right thing – but have tried to justify their position. And meanwhile good folks out there are still paying extra for animal produce with the RSPCA sticker on it, thinking they are protecting farm animals from cruelty.”
Now I do like a bit of meat, I must admit. However I would like to think the animals are treated well and have a ‘good life’ up to the point they become dinner. But I think we’re all probably daydreaming if we really believe that is the case anywhere. How can a lamb have a good life when its killed only weeks old. I’m afraid farming isn’t pretty, kind or considerate… Probably why Jeremy Clarkson is doing a roaring business in it.
Tributes have been paid to the “funny, clever and charming” former BBC presenter Chris Serle, who has died aged 81 BBC News noted this week.
Serle died on Monday his family announced and tributes flooded in for the presenter and reporter who had worked on shows such as That’s Life!, Points of View and In at the Deep End. Chris was a well known face of Beeb television across the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Rising to fame on consumer series That’s Life! hosted by Dame Esther Rantzen, she paid tribute to her co-star of the 70s: “I am so very sad to hear that Chris Serle, one of our best loved That’s Life! reporters, has died… He was as nice off camera as he was in the studio on camera – funny, clever, charming, a very versatile presenter. When I first met him he was a producer, but it was clear that he had all the attributes of the best reporters. Viewers and listeners of That’s Life! and the many other radio and television programmes he presented will be equally sad.”
Going back prior to his telly fame actress and presenter Judy Matheson recalled, “[Chris] was in my first theatre company, travelling all over [the] US; When I first went to rehearse in Bristol he and his family put me up… We were both novices in professional theatre [at the time] but Chris became a polymath.”
Writer and broadcaster Matthew Sweet also shared on social media, “Chris was a donnish and delightful giant of a man. He had a shambling diffidence that suited him when he – for instance – performed opera on TV without being able to sing. But I’ll remember the warm and magnanimous silent movie fan, laughing in the dark.”
The views in this feature are those of Judi and are not endorsed by ATV Today.
