Who Do You Blame Game For The Last Ten Years? The Blame Game


Who Do You Blame Game For The Last Ten Years?

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Hello! And welcome to Who Do You Blame Game For The Last Ten Years?

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Yes, we're celebrating ten years of The Blame Game.

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It was back in 2006 that Jake, Neil, Colin and I

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started taking the hand out of our politicians.

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And a mere year later, what happened?

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Well, we had a power-sharing executive

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and the Chuckle Brothers were born!

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Coincidence? I don't think so.

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But we didn't tell all the jokes all by ourselves, no, no, no.

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We had help.

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In fact, some of the biggest comedy stars today

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had their first-ever TV break on The Blame Game.

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When I first came over to Belfast about 15 years ago, wearing a poppy.

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And I was doing a different job at the time.

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I went to the Royal Victoria Hospital

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and I came out at the back, on the Falls Road,

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trying to flag a taxi.

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Wearing a poppy, 15 years ago, trying to...

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And none of the taxis would stop.

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And I thought, "This is a bit strange, isn't it?"

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Then I saw a black taxi that was empty

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and I got in the back of it and sat there.

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And then, some woman got in with three kids and a pram

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and we still didn't move.

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And then, an old bloke got in.

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I thought, "Well, maybe this isn't my taxi."

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I got outside, and as I got outside, this old dear said to me...

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-MOUTHING:

-"The poppy.

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"Think you want to take that off."

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I thought... Cos this was when you were beginning the peace process

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and everyone was trying to not offend everyone.

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I thought, they're taking it a bit far

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if they don't want to offend the Germans.

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LAUGHTER

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And not just John Bishop.

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This next fella looks like he was about 12 years old

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when he made his first TV appearance.

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I've actually a story this week.

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It was about a student that drove his car

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-through the wall of a police station.

-It was a van, I think.

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A van, sorry.

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He drove with that much force

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that the van actually embedded itself in the police wall,

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and as he was being dragged from the wreckage...

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What was he shouted? "I own the police. You're all sacked.

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"The code is 1-2-3 - let me in."

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LAUGHTER

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As you do, yeah.

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And as he was being sentenced for dangerous driving,

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what he said was, "It wasn't dangerous. Mental, maybe."

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LAUGHTER

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As well as showcasing the comedy stars of the future,

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The Blame Game also has some very famous fans.

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Yes, I'm taking about a certain international sporting superstar.

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That's right, ex-Cliftonville forward Liam Boyce.

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What do you mean "it's not Liam Boyce"? Joe Gormley?

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Well, who is it? Who? Ha!

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Him? That's not even a sport.

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I remember the one about Joel Dommett

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talking about Christmas time

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and his dad falling asleep in front of the TV.

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There's this thing he does at Christmas that really annoys me.

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He falls asleep in the middle of movies.

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Now, obviously, like, families, we always watch...

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He always falls asleep.

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And you have to do this - this is what I do every year,

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it's an amazing thing to do.

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Every time they fall asleep during a movie,

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don't wake them up - that is a rookie mistake.

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What you have to do is get up, then change the film...

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..to a film with the same lead actor in it.

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Then sit back down and wake him up

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and watch the confusion happen on his face.

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-LAUGHTER

-It's the funnest game.

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We were watching, last year, Castaway with Tom Hanks in it.

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Changed it to Philadelphia, right?

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Like, oh, my God, how unlucky is this guy?

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He finally gets off the island, now he's got AIDS.

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You get an array of local comedians on there,

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but you also have different comedians

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that come on from different parts of the UK.

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I guess, it's great to have so many different points of views

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and opinions. And I think that's what makes it so great.

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The thing about Marilyn...

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-AS MARILYN MONROE:

-Starts talking really quickly

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in all her lines of dialogue, would spurt out word after word

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and, all of a sudden,

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she'd clamp her hand to her head and stop right there in her tracks.

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Cos she'd realised she hadn't put any facial expression

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in the previous two sentences.

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So now, she'd have to slow right down, in order to fit in

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as many contrasting facial muscular contortions as possible.

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LAUGHTER

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APPLAUSE

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I've never known a panel game that kind of feels more like a live gig

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than The Blame Game.

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I'm going to do the rest of the show like Van would do it,

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if he was on The Blame Game. Here we go. You crack on.

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LAUGHTER

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Physically, what you do on The Blame Game, which is very clever,

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is your audience is closer, physically closer.

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So, on Buzzcocks, there's a bit of a chasm with cameras in it,

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and then you see them, but there's a lot of cameras.

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Whereas, you...

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The Blame Game is just shot from different angles

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and gives you a much more...

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"You're in the room with them and they're watching you" kind of feel.

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So, it's got that live gig feel.

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And obviously, that energy pushes what you're going to say

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in a very different direction. It gives you more latitude.

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HE SHOUTS GIBBERISH

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Wah! Goldfish!

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"Goldfish"! LAUGHTER

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HE SHOUTS GIBBERISH

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You're fired!

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So, how does The Blame Game actually work?

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Well, basically, we sit around telling jokes for about 90 minutes,

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then we hand the recording to the BBC.

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And then, they take out all the swearing. And the rude bits.

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Ooh, and the bits that make the lawyers go...

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HE GASPS "You can't say that!"

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That's what I love about it,

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is that it's dangerous and it's unexpected,

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and you're always thinking, there's that sense of anticipation,

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how far will they go?

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Just time now for our quickfire round.

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I will read you various newspaper headlines,

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and unlike an on-the-run Republican, I want you to finish your sentence.

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LAUGHTER AUDIENCE: Oh...

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MUTED APPLAUSE

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There was a smattering of applause there.

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A lot of Republicans over there.

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LAUGHTER

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"Three Reasons To Die."

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Larne, Lisburn, Strabane.

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LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

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"Nod And A Wink."

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Man in toilet mishears George Michael.

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LAUGHTER

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It does surprise me sometimes that they're so open and so honest.

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I think they have all of this built up inside them,

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especially if there's been a big political...

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An event or some sort of a controversy.

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And they're building this up and building this up

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and they just...whoosh, spew it all out.

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And sometimes, it surprises me what they say,

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that they're blatantly honest.

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But we're all sitting at home saying,

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"You're right, you're right. You can say it. I can't".

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I think audiences here are probably slightly darker

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and I think all comedians are slightly darker than average,

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so I think that's why comedians like playing here.

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Obviously...they like the political stuff,

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obviously they like the talking about the local stuff.

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But I think, because there's a good mix between us,

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you know what I mean?

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If it was just to be all that, it would get tedious after a while.

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So, we've all got our wee roles, do you understand? We've all got...

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I'm, basically, the grumpy old man that they tear apart,

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when he makes mistakes about words or pronunciations or facts...

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Facts - they're very big on facts. They like things to be right

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and I don't know why that is.

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But that seems to be my role.

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He's whimsy and he's a cheeky southerner.

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Prince Philip has carpal tunnel syndrome.

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Which is better than Princess Diana's Mercedes tunnel syndrome.

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AUDIENCE: Oh...

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APPLAUSE

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That was interesting. An "ooh", and then a clap.

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LAUGHTER

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The Blame Game is something I grew up with. I used to love watching it.

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Again, like, talking about the humour,

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it's very close to the line

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and, sometimes, nearly oversteps the line,

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but for an Irish comedy show, I think it's been so popular

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and it's something I used to love watching.

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Steven Gerrard was asked what his favourite cheese was,

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and he went "Melted."

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LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

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It's not just celebrities.

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I think fans, kind of, do stupid stuff, as well.

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Like, I used to steward at a football club.

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I won't say which one, cos it always divides people,

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but I'll give you a clue - it rhymes with "middle cl-arsenal".

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Yeah, they are a bit prissy over at Highbury.

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But, yeah, so I had a permanent position,

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and behind me there was this one guy who just couldn't get

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his head round the inflection of this particular chant.

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Everyone else was going, "Who are ya?"

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But he just couldn't get it.

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He was going, "Who are you?! Who are you?!"

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LAUGHTER

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We'll have an idea of what's in the news,

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so you'll have an idea what they're going to ask.

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You've read the papers, you've kept up with what's going on,

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but the vast majority of the time, I think,

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when it takes off is when we go off.

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It isn't scripted - you can't script this show.

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There's no way we can script this show.

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We'd have to be the best actors in the world to be able to, like...

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Cos that's the thing, you've got...

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You're supposed to... "Keep your powder dry".

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-That's the phrase, isn't it?

-Yeah.

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So you know, we'll chat and talk about things, and...

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The way anybody does about the news. And then you have an idea.

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And then you go, "Oh," and then you start writing things.

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Then you know when somebody's got an idea whenever

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-they stop talking and start writing.

-Like that.

-And then, "What is it?"

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"No, nothing." And then, so...

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But you have to try and get that in.

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But the fun of it is whenever one of us jumps in and goes,

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"I'm going to take it over here,"

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because the chances of bringing it back to where you want to go are...

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Or if you ever see...

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Sometimes we have the same idea, so if you see Colin...

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Say Jake is talking about something and Colin writes something down

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and I write something down and then Colin does it,

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and you see me just going...

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Just crossing it out.

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It's interesting if, like me, you've followed The Blame Game

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all the way through, and at first they were in...

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I'm not saying they were dowdy, but it was a bit grungy.

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You know, you had the sweatshirts or the jumpers or the shirts.

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Now it's, you know, Mr Armani McGarry,

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and Neil is exactly the same.

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They have the shirt... Even waistcoats. Did I see Jake...?

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Yeah, Jake, I think, loves the waistcoats.

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Dog gives away owner's hiding place to cops.

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-GRUFF VOICE:

-She's in here!

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She's under the bed!

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HE HUMS

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The great thing about The Blame Game is that we're basically

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one big family, which means we hate each other's guts,

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slag each other off and turn like a pack of wolves

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on anyone who shows weakness.

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Belfast Castle, you find them wandering up around the Cave Hill,

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"Can I see the castle?" It's not really a castle.

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But what are the letters? KFL?

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-Cave Hill.

-Cave Hill.

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Oh, Cave Hill.

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I'm sorry.

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I will speak slower for you.

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I know it is difficult to understand.

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Cave...Hill.

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-Not Cavehill.

-Well, let me tell you,

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if I was saying run, you would run.

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East Belfast, you can't...

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They're having to redirect planes landing at George Best Airport.

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Tango 24, Tango 24, pull up, pull up!

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That's Donegall Road! That's Donegall Road!

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What kind of pilot is guided in by a...?

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They have one of those.

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Like, they have one of those,

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they don't have one of those in the plane.

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They do have one of those!

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-Hello?

-Operator, operator!

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Put me through to the flying machine contraption.

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Angels 15, Angels 15.

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HE HUMS RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES

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It's the idea of bringing them from here and then

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some German guy turns up and goes, "Hello! How are you?" "Erm..."

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I'm here to tell you that you have been dumped.

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I don't know why I am suddenly speaking in this weird...

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The Vatican has criticised a German bishop

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for spending £26 million on his residence.

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Yes, it's the new frugal Vatican.

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Can't wait till they have to...

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Can't wait until they have to redo the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

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-Two tonnes of...

-The Lord has struck you down!

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Struck you down!

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APPLAUSE

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The power of Christ compels me! The power of Christ compels me!

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Did you see the Catholic brain melting?

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50 Shades Of Pray.

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I'm going to try and read this again.

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This joke isn't even worth it.

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My touchstone in life is coming back home to Northern Ireland

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and realising that people do find things funny.

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Because having spent 30 years of my career working in

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quite a liberal environment in England,

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particularly in London, the banter thing doesn't happen.

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Increasingly the banter thing is taboo, it's not supposed to happen.

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It's as if everything to do with banter is like bullying,

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it's racist, it's...

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Oh, you know, you're xenophobic, you're, you know, whatever.

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And suddenly you get back,

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and the thing that we have here is that we can do the banter

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and it's not necessarily sneering, it's ridiculous.

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You know, other programmes, other satirical programmes,

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it's all very sneering, it can be quite evil,

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it can be quite looking down on people.

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I actually think we just look at each other.

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We say, look, really, we do do this, and why do we laugh at it?

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Because we realise we do do it.

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And that's the thing about The Blame Game -

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it's observational humour

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and they're observations that we can't deny.

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Bin collecting here, it's the campest thing.

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Since the wheelie bin introduction, right?

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You know, being a bin man was a manly job, it was a heavy, hard...

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-Big wobbly thing over the shoulder.

-Big thing, oh, grr!

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Walking like John O'Dowd to the bin lorry. Arrrgh!

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And that was hard, unbelievably physical work.

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And now it's wheelie bins and it's just sort of "wha-poom".

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Machine - "whee-boomf".

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I'm knackered.

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You know, and I had to chase the bin lorry about... Oh, months ago.

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I missed...

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You know you hear the lorry going down the road and you go, "Bins!"

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I'm running out and it'd gone down the road and they won't come back,

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so you have to chase them down the road.

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It is the campest thing I have ever done.

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Running with two bins, you look like the beginning of

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The Sound Of Music, running down the road.

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Would you empty these, please?

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And when you got there and then they go, "It's brown bin, mate, sorry."

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I think one of the funniest moments was during

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the Sports Personality of the Year award,

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whenever Colin Murphy tried to get stuck into Tyson Fury.

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And it just showed, he really doesn't have a clue about sports.

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I didn't know who this man was until that fight thing that happened

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a couple of weeks ago. I'd no idea, I'm not into sport. And...

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-You'd never guess.

-No, really(?) No!

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And the Tyson Fury thing I thought was, you know, a state of mind.

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I didn't realise it was his name. I thought it was going to be,

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"Tyson Fury, Tyson Happy, Tyson Hungry."

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I didn't realise that was his actual name.

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And...

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You could have thought he was one of the Fureys, like Finbar Furey.

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Erm, yeah, and it turns out he's not and he's a boxer man. And he's...

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Boxer man!

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I say!

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He won some boxing game.

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I believe that's an accurate description of it there.

0:16:450:16:48

Comedian Mark Steel was a regular on the programme.

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Last time he joined us in Derry-Londonderry

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during the UK City of Culture,

0:16:540:16:56

and Mark had a few things to say about Northern Ireland's

0:16:560:16:59

peculiar love of murals and street art.

0:16:590:17:02

Well, I say art...

0:17:020:17:04

The murals as well,

0:17:080:17:09

oh, it's spectacular, very poignant and so on.

0:17:090:17:11

But it reminded me of...

0:17:110:17:12

I did a joke when I came here a long time ago and the joke is ruined now.

0:17:120:17:16

But I never realised,

0:17:160:17:18

I never anticipated why the joke would be ruined.

0:17:180:17:20

The joke was, I said, the graffiti over here is just extraordinary.

0:17:200:17:24

It's not like London at all.

0:17:240:17:25

-In London you get graffiti and someone will put

-BLEEP

0:17:250:17:28

-with

-BLEEP

-spelt wrong and stuff like that.

0:17:280:17:30

But over here you've got all this spectacular...

0:17:300:17:33

It's like you've got a whole city of Rolf Harrises running round.

0:17:330:17:36

-AUSTRALIAN ACCENT:

-Do you know what it is?

0:17:360:17:38

A little guy from the UVF with a little Armalite rifle.

0:17:380:17:41

And I thought, well,

0:17:410:17:42

maybe one day that joke will be ruined for historical reasons.

0:17:420:17:45

I never realised it would be ruined

0:17:450:17:47

because Rolf Harris would be taken in...

0:17:470:17:49

You were right about the political stuff,

0:17:520:17:54

but it's serving the audience here, you know?

0:17:540:17:56

Like, there's nobody else doing that and that's why I think it appeals.

0:17:560:17:59

Like, you know, Have I Got News For You isn't going to talk about

0:17:590:18:02

what's happening to Royal Avenue or what's happening in Derry

0:18:020:18:05

or in Armagh or whatever, so that's why...

0:18:050:18:06

People want to hear about what's going on down the street,

0:18:060:18:09

that's why it's so successful, I would have thought.

0:18:090:18:11

I suppose serious news and current affairs and comedy, satire are...

0:18:110:18:16

In a way they're complementary.

0:18:160:18:18

You know, it works like that in America,

0:18:180:18:19

it works like that across the rest of Europe and the UK

0:18:190:18:22

and it works very well on the island of Ireland too.

0:18:220:18:25

And I think in a good, civilised society, decent democracy,

0:18:250:18:29

those two should go hand in hand.

0:18:290:18:31

Politicians don't always like the big political interviews on

0:18:310:18:34

the serious programmes and I imagine they don't particularly like

0:18:340:18:37

the mickey-taking that goes on on a programme like The Blame Game.

0:18:370:18:42

But that's what's meant to happen,

0:18:420:18:44

that's the way it's meant to be,

0:18:440:18:45

and if you weren't asking difficult questions

0:18:450:18:47

in a politics programme and if you weren't making fun

0:18:470:18:50

and lampooning the politicians on a programme like The Blame Game,

0:18:500:18:53

then you might as well, you know, pack up your camera and go home.

0:18:530:18:57

Protests are like catnip for politicians in Northern Ireland.

0:18:570:19:01

You have a march or a protest,

0:19:010:19:03

they will pop up and they're running about.

0:19:030:19:06

Nigel Dodds, Nigel Dodds up in Ardoyne, running about,

0:19:060:19:11

trying to get his picture taken like a lunatic, know what I mean?

0:19:110:19:14

The whole day Nigel was doing it large.

0:19:200:19:23

The whole time going, "My people, my people are behind me!"

0:19:230:19:28

Brick. Oh!

0:19:280:19:30

APPLAUSE

0:19:310:19:33

A show like The Blame Game is a release valve.

0:19:350:19:39

I doubt that anywhere in the United Kingdom, anywhere in Europe,

0:19:390:19:43

maybe anywhere else in the world there is such a fascination

0:19:430:19:47

and a concentration on news and news events and politics.

0:19:470:19:51

We are so politically aware in Northern Ireland

0:19:510:19:54

compared to most places.

0:19:540:19:56

But let's face it - it's ridiculous, a lot of it's ridiculous.

0:19:560:20:00

I have spent years of my life since 1982 presenting news programmes.

0:20:000:20:05

How often do I want to turn to the camera and say,

0:20:050:20:08

"Just bear with me, you may think I'm joking about this.

0:20:080:20:11

"But, honestly, this really did happen."

0:20:110:20:14

And a show like The Blame Game is that release.

0:20:140:20:18

Of course news is ridiculous but, in a news environment,

0:20:180:20:22

you can't say that. You should be able to say that.

0:20:220:20:24

News should be interesting, it should be very controversial,

0:20:240:20:27

but it's also very funny.

0:20:270:20:28

You just can't be funny on a news programme,

0:20:280:20:31

but you can on a satire programme.

0:20:310:20:33

Gerry Kelly! Gerry Kelly!

0:20:330:20:36

Invented a whole new sport!

0:20:360:20:38

Land Cruiser surfing.

0:20:400:20:42

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

0:20:420:20:47

A perfect... perfect example of hubris, right?

0:20:470:20:50

Gerry was caught up in the protest,

0:20:500:20:52

and he wanted to talk to one of the policemen in the police Jeep,

0:20:520:20:55

and Gerry... "Police Jeep! Pull over!

0:20:550:20:57

"Pull your police Jeep over!"

0:20:570:20:59

Policeman drove on.

0:20:590:21:02

Second police Jeep. "Gerry Kelly! Do you know who I am?!

0:21:020:21:04

"Policing Board! Pull your Jeep over!"

0:21:040:21:08

Police jeep drove on. Third police Jeep.

0:21:080:21:11

Gerry stepped out in front of it.

0:21:110:21:13

"Pull your... ARGH! ARGH!

0:21:130:21:14

"Stop! Stop! Stop, will you?! Stop! Stop, please! Stop!"

0:21:160:21:19

APPLAUSE

0:21:190:21:21

But you just don't have to be an MLA or a city councillor

0:21:210:21:25

to get a slagging. No, no, no.

0:21:250:21:27

On The Blame Game, everybody and everything

0:21:270:21:30

is a legitimate comedy target.

0:21:300:21:33

It was about blood donations and all the rest,

0:21:330:21:35

and some guy from Carrickfergus texted in and went,

0:21:350:21:39

"I am 78 and I wouldn't take a gay man's blood

0:21:390:21:42

"if I was on my deathbed."

0:21:420:21:44

And you think...

0:21:440:21:45

"Good."

0:21:450:21:46

It's very contemporaneous.

0:21:490:21:51

Whatever's happened during the week,

0:21:510:21:53

whatever's happened the day before the show,

0:21:530:21:55

you can be guaranteed that the guys are going to include it

0:21:550:21:59

in some form, twist it around, make comedy out of it.

0:21:590:22:04

And I think that's ingenious, actually.

0:22:040:22:07

I think it's very, very clever.

0:22:070:22:09

It shows how good they are as comedians,

0:22:090:22:11

that they can react so quickly,

0:22:110:22:13

and be alert to whatever's going on in society.

0:22:130:22:16

Because we are all part and parcel of it, especially newspeople -

0:22:160:22:20

we're dying to hear how they're going to treat it.

0:22:200:22:23

I really genuinely hope that that man needs blood at some point

0:22:230:22:26

because, you see, if there's a shortage of blood here,

0:22:260:22:28

you will accept blood from Northern Ire...er...

0:22:280:22:30

from England and Wales and Scotland,

0:22:300:22:32

where they do allow gay men to give blood.

0:22:320:22:34

So that guy doesn't know.

0:22:340:22:36

So he'll be lying on the bed and you're going,

0:22:360:22:37

"We're going to play homosexual roulette!

0:22:370:22:41

"Now, look at this. What do you think of this?

0:22:410:22:43

"Look at this red blood. Bit pink.

0:22:430:22:45

"Ooh, you'll never know, will you? Let's check.

0:22:450:22:47

"Oh, it has platelets? Yes, it does.

0:22:470:22:49

"Red blood cells? yes, it does.

0:22:490:22:51

"Glitter?! Wait a minute!"

0:22:510:22:53

This is like a slot machine.

0:22:550:22:56

You're going to pull down the handle and take your chances,

0:22:560:22:59

but YOU don't want three fruits to appear.

0:22:590:23:01

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

0:23:010:23:05

When the guys can tap into something that we all experience,

0:23:050:23:08

that we all observe, that we all have opinions about,

0:23:080:23:10

and maybe can't articulate, that is when you hit gold.

0:23:100:23:15

I loved the flags. I thought that was just such a clever...

0:23:150:23:19

..piece of comic genius, to be honest.

0:23:200:23:22

It absolutely nailed everything that we all hold so dear.

0:23:220:23:27

I mean, it was brilliant.

0:23:270:23:29

He came in with the notion that we're going to do the flags thing,

0:23:290:23:32

and he wanted all these wee flags made.

0:23:320:23:34

And he got the flags made and he was all chuffed,

0:23:340:23:36

-he knew it was going to go well.

-Yeah.

-Knew it.

0:23:360:23:38

-I didn't know it!

-You did know.

0:23:380:23:39

You knew, "This is bulletproof. This is bulletproof.

0:23:390:23:42

"This is going to wreck the place."

0:23:420:23:44

And he had his wee props and everything.

0:23:440:23:46

He was all proud of his wee props, and he was sitting there going,

0:23:460:23:49

"This is going to be brilliant, I've got props and jokes and everything."

0:23:490:23:52

And then... Have you got one of them with you?

0:23:520:23:54

And then he produced his little props, right?

0:23:540:23:56

And he had his little props and he's there going,

0:23:560:23:58

"Oh, these are brilliant. Got these things here."

0:23:580:24:00

And then I said to him, at the last minute,

0:24:000:24:02

whenever he was sitting, ready to go.

0:24:020:24:05

-With no glasses, probably.

-And he had them all like this.

0:24:050:24:07

And I said, "You do realise...

0:24:070:24:09

"they're only printed on one side?"

0:24:090:24:12

And then you could see his face going...

0:24:120:24:15

"What?! What?!" Just as the camera's about to roll.

0:24:150:24:18

Cos I thought he's going to... I shouldn't have said anything.

0:24:180:24:21

-I should have just let him go.

-That would've been hilarious!

0:24:210:24:23

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

0:24:230:24:26

-This is not a flag.

-Right.

0:24:260:24:29

This is...

0:24:290:24:30

"..a fleg!"

0:24:300:24:31

"A fleg!"

0:24:320:24:33

-With you.

-The people who have this fleg...

0:24:330:24:36

Suddenly, the people who like this fleg...

0:24:370:24:40

..took this fleg down off the City Hall.

0:24:420:24:45

Nobody noticed it was there until they took it down.

0:24:450:24:49

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

0:24:490:24:51

Then...

0:24:540:24:55

..six weeks of mayhem! Six weeks of mayhem

0:24:560:24:59

because the people who love this flag are going,

0:24:590:25:01

"They have taken my fleg!

0:25:010:25:03

"My flag! They have taken my identity!

0:25:030:25:07

"I don't know who I am any more."

0:25:070:25:09

Flags are more complicated, cos you may be in a part of Belfast,

0:25:100:25:13

you will see that flag, but we don't just go for two flags - oh, no.

0:25:130:25:15

Not in Belfast, no, no, no. We like lots of flags.

0:25:150:25:18

We love lots of flags.

0:25:180:25:20

You'll get that flag. You get that flag, and you'll also...

0:25:210:25:24

On this side, you'll also get that flag.

0:25:240:25:26

CHEERING

0:25:260:25:28

Even though both those flags are already in that flag!

0:25:280:25:30

They don't know their flags are already in that flag.

0:25:300:25:34

Not to be outdone, the lunatics with this fleg...

0:25:340:25:38

they decided to adopt this fleg.

0:25:380:25:40

APPLAUSE

0:25:400:25:44

Oh, yes.

0:25:440:25:45

"Because they are brothers in the revolution.

0:25:470:25:50

"They are similar to us,

0:25:500:25:51

"only with a suntan. They are with us, you know?"

0:25:510:25:54

So, because these ones took that fleg,

0:25:540:25:56

these ones then took that fleg.

0:25:560:25:58

Because my enemy's enemy is my friend.

0:25:590:26:02

Can you imagine being a tourist wandering through Belfast,

0:26:020:26:04

try to work out what's going on?

0:26:040:26:06

What really works about it is it looks effortless,

0:26:060:26:08

but also it taps into something that I think's very clever,

0:26:080:26:11

which is the way North Ireland people, I think,

0:26:110:26:14

are bit obsessed about themselves being the centre of the universe,

0:26:140:26:17

and they try to draw everybody else and every other conflict

0:26:170:26:19

and every other political situation into the Northern Ireland situation.

0:26:190:26:23

And, in fact, if you look at a world map,

0:26:230:26:25

you struggle to find Northern Ireland.

0:26:250:26:27

This is a very small place. Um...

0:26:270:26:29

But we seem to connect

0:26:300:26:32

with all of these other huge areas of conflict

0:26:320:26:35

and huge political stories.

0:26:350:26:38

And I think people in Northern Ireland quite like doing that.

0:26:380:26:40

I think Jake tapped into that very cleverly,

0:26:400:26:43

in that particular sequence.

0:26:430:26:45

But it gets better!

0:26:450:26:47

Then this flag gets involved.

0:26:470:26:49

The Italian flag.

0:26:490:26:51

Do you know why the Italian flag got involved in all this?

0:26:510:26:53

-I think you do.

-Tell me.

0:26:530:26:55

Willie Frazer can't tell the difference between those two flags!

0:26:550:26:59

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

0:26:590:27:03

Willie Frazer!

0:27:040:27:05

Now, God love Willie.

0:27:070:27:09

A haircut from the 1960s and a brain from the 1690s - I love Willie.

0:27:100:27:15

Willie saw this flag, the Italian flag,

0:27:150:27:17

in a primary school and mistook it for this flag.

0:27:170:27:19

What was Willie...? What was Willie doing in a primary school?

0:27:190:27:21

I don't really want to know

0:27:210:27:23

what Willie was doing at a primary school.

0:27:230:27:25

Better than going home for lunch.

0:27:250:27:27

So Willie said it was a Proddie training camp for youth.

0:27:270:27:30

Because, like Batman, like Batman and Robin,

0:27:300:27:33

you have to have... You have Willie and Jimmy Bryson.

0:27:330:27:36

Now Jimmy does not call it a flag or a fleg.

0:27:360:27:40

Jimmy calls it a fwag.

0:27:400:27:42

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

0:27:420:27:45

"They have taken my fwag.

0:27:450:27:47

"They have taken my fwag away. Where is my fwag?

0:27:470:27:50

"I tawt I taw a puddy tat.

0:27:500:27:52

"Did the puddy tat take my fwag?"

0:27:520:27:54

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

0:27:540:27:57

So...

0:27:590:28:00

..Richard Haass has arrived, and he wants to know from the public

0:28:020:28:06

what we could possibly do to help the situation.

0:28:060:28:10

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

0:28:110:28:14

I think that that kind of open-ended nature of The Blame Game,

0:28:180:28:22

the culpability, the fact that we've not found out,

0:28:220:28:24

after ten years, who is to blame...

0:28:240:28:26

-Perfect show.

-HE LAUGHS

0:28:270:28:30

Well, that's it. Ten years of The Blame Game.

0:28:310:28:34

And, as you can see,

0:28:340:28:35

I'm the only one to have kept my youthful good looks.

0:28:350:28:39

What?

0:28:390:28:40

Until next time, don't blame yourselves, blame each other.

0:28:400:28:43

Goodbye.

0:28:430:28:44

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