0:00:32 > 0:00:36MUSIC: "Battle Without Honour Or Humanity" by Tomoyasu Hotei
0:00:38 > 0:00:41The biggest celebrities on our TV screens today
0:00:41 > 0:00:44are a savvy bunch of personalities with multi-million-pound contracts.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52With backgrounds as diverse as modelling, football
0:00:52 > 0:00:54and children's television
0:00:54 > 0:00:57or even a fleeting appearance on a reality show,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00a star can come from literally anywhere.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Normal people would watch entertainers on the telly.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06Now entertainers sit at home and watch normal people on the telly.
0:01:06 > 0:01:11It's easier to get in, make a killing, be rubbish,
0:01:11 > 0:01:13and then move onto something else.
0:01:13 > 0:01:19But the biggest stars in entertainment history are the all-round entertainers.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22I'm an entertainer, I'm a performer,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25I'm an all-rounder, I do so many things.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28If you want me to act, I'll act, if you want me to be serious, I will.
0:01:28 > 0:01:33The adrenaline goes, the lights shine, the eyes shine, and they're on there.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Stop crying, we all love you, I'll call you later. Bye.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40That was Noel Edmonds.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44These are unique individuals who live to entertain.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46"Can you ride a horse?" "Oh, yeah, of course."
0:01:46 > 0:01:49No way, you know? "Can you roller-skate?"
0:01:49 > 0:01:51"Yes, of course." That I can do.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56Just tell me which part of the song you want me to jiggle my bits, and I'll do it.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00# Your gold satin jacket and your silvery blues... #
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Unfortunately, you don't get many shows today
0:02:03 > 0:02:07where performers can go on and strut their stuff.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10Hold on!
0:02:10 > 0:02:13LAUGHTER
0:02:13 > 0:02:14Bruce Forsyth?
0:02:14 > 0:02:18- Hello!- Phone.- Right.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22- Come on down!- After the death of variety, these entertainers
0:02:22 > 0:02:24became the hosts of choice
0:02:24 > 0:02:27for the biggest money-spinner on TV, the game show.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31This is for the match...
0:02:31 > 0:02:39I don't blame people for calling me a game-show legend, but I do regret doing so many game shows.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44This is going to be my very, very last series of Blind Date.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46AUDIENCE GROANS
0:02:47 > 0:02:51Tonight, we're going to discover just how these all-rounders
0:02:51 > 0:02:55have stayed at the top of the showbiz tree for over 70 years.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00The golden age of the all-round entertainer happened
0:03:00 > 0:03:02back when Britain was at war.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04During our darkest hour,
0:03:04 > 0:03:07the all-rounders were the country's secret weapon.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11One of the biggest names was Vera Lynn, who worked her way up
0:03:11 > 0:03:16from the music hall to become the forces' sweetheart.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19# Don't know where
0:03:19 > 0:03:21# Don't know when
0:03:21 > 0:03:25# But I know we'll meet again
0:03:25 > 0:03:29# Some sunny day... #
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Another star was cheeky cockney comic Tommy Trinder.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36# Of all the lives a man can lead There's none like a sailor's... #
0:03:36 > 0:03:40He had worked the country's music-hall circuit for 18 years
0:03:40 > 0:03:44before landing the leading role of cheering up the troops.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47You are lucky people!
0:03:47 > 0:03:51You know the beginning of an MGM film where Leo the lion comes out and goes out...?
0:03:51 > 0:03:54He came out the beginning of my picture, but he didn't roar.
0:03:54 > 0:03:55He just went...
0:03:55 > 0:03:57LAUGHTER
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Trinder was a great...professional.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03He was a snappy, sharp,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06never-lost-for-words comic in the really old tradition.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10I said, "If the Germans capture me, they're entitled to shoot me."
0:04:10 > 0:04:12It wasn't
0:04:12 > 0:04:15one laugh every three-and-a-half minutes for them.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17It was three-and-a-half laughs every one minute.
0:04:17 > 0:04:23Thanks to the war, the all-round entertainers were almost national treasures.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26I've come out to sing to you lads. Do you want a song now?
0:04:26 > 0:04:28- Sing us Window Cleaner, George, will thee?- OK!
0:04:28 > 0:04:32# I go window cleaning To earn an honest bob
0:04:32 > 0:04:37# For a nosey parker It's an interesting job
0:04:37 > 0:04:39# Now, it's a job that just suits me
0:04:39 > 0:04:42# A window cleaner you would be
0:04:42 > 0:04:43# If you can see what I can see
0:04:43 > 0:04:45ALL: # When I'm cleaning windows
0:04:45 > 0:04:47# Honeymooning couples, too
0:04:47 > 0:04:50# You should see them bill and coo
0:04:50 > 0:04:53# You'd be surprised at things they do
0:04:53 > 0:04:55# When I'm cleaning windows. #
0:04:55 > 0:04:59After the war, hundreds of wannabe entertainers flocked to
0:04:59 > 0:05:05the cabaret clubs in London's Soho, looking for their shot at stardom.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07I got the most wonderful excitement.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11He told me he'd pay me £36 a week,
0:05:11 > 0:05:16and up till then I'd only got 10 or 12. And I thought, "36, my goodness!"
0:05:16 > 0:05:22And then I thought, "Wait a minute, I'm doing 36 shows a week. It's only a pound a show."
0:05:22 > 0:05:24You did get propositioned.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29I never understood why, and when I look back on it, I...didn't have any clothes on.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32I wasn't a nude, but I was scantily dressed,
0:05:32 > 0:05:36and I was 17 by now, and I remember staring at these nude girls
0:05:36 > 0:05:41and I just thought, "How do they just walk around with no clothes on?"
0:05:44 > 0:05:47There were some lovely girls there, I was very lucky.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Yes, of course, it was...
0:05:49 > 0:05:55it was a very exciting and very enjoyable period of my professional life.
0:05:55 > 0:06:01This is going to be a bit tricky, because, you see, I am a comedian.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Those acts would have to do six shows a day.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07This fellow was always in, every day, in the front row,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10and on about the third house of the fourth day I forgot, I dried,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12couldn't remember what was next,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15and this fellow said, "You tell the one about the parrot next,"
0:06:15 > 0:06:16"Thank you very much!"
0:06:16 > 0:06:20You walk out there, and some of them pick up their newspapers and start to read.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24You try and make an audience who's heard your act already, now reading the newspaper,
0:06:24 > 0:06:25try and get through to them and make them laugh.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29When you've died six times a day for seven weeks,
0:06:29 > 0:06:33when you really know that you're not really wanted
0:06:33 > 0:06:38and you're not really getting all the laughs you think you could be getting or should be getting,
0:06:38 > 0:06:41to still be able to keep your composure and
0:06:41 > 0:06:46deliver the lines cleanly, you know, that is very good training indeed.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49While the Windmill launched the careers of numerous stars,
0:06:49 > 0:06:54it famously turned down others, including Norman Wisdom.
0:06:54 > 0:07:00Undeterred, this classic all-round entertainer continued to ply his trade
0:07:00 > 0:07:06and by 1954, Norman Wisdom was top of the bill at the London Palladium.
0:07:06 > 0:07:12I was at the London Palladium, which is the finest theatre in...almost the finest theatre in the world.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15When he came on, the audience just screamed.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17I was doing comedy and jokes and...
0:07:17 > 0:07:19He was like a pop star.
0:07:19 > 0:07:24- Singing, dancing, tap-dancing. - There's an all-round entertainer.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28# Every time the record says...
0:07:28 > 0:07:30# I love you
0:07:30 > 0:07:34# It simply means, my darling, that...
0:07:36 > 0:07:37I love you.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40I'm not kidding you, I remember I had tears coming out
0:07:40 > 0:07:45of my eyes, although I was smiling and laughing, it was so wonderful.
0:07:45 > 0:07:51Norman wisdom was just one of hundreds of stars represented by the Grade Organisation.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Founded by three Russian immigrant brothers - Lew,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Leslie and Bernard -
0:08:00 > 0:08:05the organisation built a showbiz empire from poverty-stricken beginnings.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08They became the godfathers of the entertainment industry.
0:08:10 > 0:08:16They were in every part of show business where money could be made and a gamble could be taken.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19They WERE entertainment in the '50s.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23If the Grades happened to come into the room, you just kept quiet.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26You didn't... You didn't dare speak to them.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Those people were gods.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32I mean, they could point their finger and go, "I think she should do this show,"
0:08:32 > 0:08:35you know...and you were so grateful.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39The most ambitious of the three was eldest brother Lew,
0:08:39 > 0:08:45an ex-Charleston dancer who gambled everything on a new venture, commercial television.
0:08:47 > 0:08:54They were gamblers, and if you gamble in show business and get it right, you're a genius.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56And if you gamble and get it wrong, you're bankrupt.
0:08:56 > 0:09:01Lew Grade's bid was successful, and in 1954
0:09:01 > 0:09:05the BBC's 20-year monopoly was over and ATV was launched.
0:09:05 > 0:09:11Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four...
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Lord Reith, a founding father of the BBC,
0:09:14 > 0:09:20predicted this new channel would be a premeditated orgy of vulgarity.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Hey!
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Finally, the masses got what they needed -
0:09:26 > 0:09:29pure, unadulterated entertainment.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33And when there was nothing else to do on a Sunday but go to church,
0:09:33 > 0:09:37Lew Grade gave them appointment-to-view TV at its best,
0:09:37 > 0:09:39Sunday Night At The Palladium.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43But the Grades needed a star name to host the show
0:09:43 > 0:09:46and booked the people's favourite, Tommy Trinder.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50Good evening, everybody, how do you do? Look what I've picked up.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54Cyril, have you had bookmakers on this stage?
0:09:54 > 0:09:57It's not warm - it must have been dropped last night, Liberace's.
0:09:59 > 0:10:05That was the iconic show that changed the whole tone of television.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09Here was not only vaudeville, American headliners,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12but a game show with a jackpot in the middle.
0:10:12 > 0:10:17The BBC were being beaten to the effect of 70% of the audience
0:10:17 > 0:10:21was watching ITV and 30% watching the BBC.
0:10:21 > 0:10:22Most people who had a television
0:10:22 > 0:10:25would be there for Sunday Night At The London Palladium.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29That was their big opportunity to see the big stars.
0:10:29 > 0:10:35After three years in charge, Trinder was replaced with a much younger all-round entertainer.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39Thank you... Good evening!
0:10:39 > 0:10:41# Ladies and gentlemen...
0:10:42 > 0:10:47# Welcome to Sunday night at the London Palladium. #
0:10:47 > 0:10:52The minute he walked on the stage, you knew he was home.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54He was absolutely right for the show.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58The difference, really, between Tommy Trinder and Bruce Forsyth is
0:10:58 > 0:11:02Trinder was a fantastic, stylish comedian.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07Bruce Forsyth is as well, but he is also, in addition, a wonderful dancer,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11a fantastic singer and a fine actor, which a lot of people don't realise.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Forsyth was ambitious for stardom,
0:11:14 > 0:11:18and he took every opportunity to showcase his all-rounder talents.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30He became known as a comic-compere,
0:11:30 > 0:11:33but then the tap-dancing came in, he could tap dance,
0:11:33 > 0:11:35then the piano-playing came in.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38So when he had guests on that could do that,
0:11:38 > 0:11:41he said, "Can I do a duet with you?" "Oh, Bruce Forsyth..."
0:11:41 > 0:11:44And that's why he's an all-round entertainer.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46Here he comes now!
0:11:46 > 0:11:51Perce, you look smashing, where did you get all that Chinese gear?
0:11:51 > 0:11:53I was in Choo-Chin Chow.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55Well, what did you play?
0:11:55 > 0:11:57I played the chin.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02'Sunday Night At The London Palladium was the vehicle to launch anybody's career.'
0:12:02 > 0:12:06You knew we were gonna get 15, 20 million people watching it,
0:12:06 > 0:12:10and the next day people would be saying, "Did you see so-and-so on the Palladium last night?"
0:12:10 > 0:12:17Capitalising on the success of his new television station, Lew Grade set his sights on Hollywood.
0:12:17 > 0:12:24They were able to offer artists work in their theatres and television exposure,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28and the television exposure filled the theatres, and so on and so on.
0:12:28 > 0:12:34The competition was...was...did they want to work for the BBC,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37with all that that kind of involved,
0:12:37 > 0:12:41who had a big radio presence and everything else like that?
0:12:41 > 0:12:47Or did they want to work for ITV, which paid twice the money the BBC paid?
0:12:47 > 0:12:51I mean, it was a very...a very simple equation!
0:12:51 > 0:12:54Top of ATV's wish list was America's
0:12:54 > 0:13:00greatest all-round entertainer in the 1950s, Sammy Davis Junior.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Ah, Sammy Davis...
0:13:05 > 0:13:06Fantastic performer.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10I thought perhaps I might become an honorary Supreme if you don't mind.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13He was the all-round entertainer of all time.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Can sing, dance, he does impressions.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Will you turn around the other way?
0:13:19 > 0:13:24He worked with all the great American variety artists,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27and he took a little bit of that and a bit of that.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31# Somewhere along the way... #
0:13:31 > 0:13:34- Mind if I come in?- Be my guest.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37# The friends we used to know... #
0:13:37 > 0:13:41But to become as proficient at your profession as...as...
0:13:41 > 0:13:45Sammy Davis did and the things he could do, go on stage for
0:13:45 > 0:13:48three and a half hours, I personally think is a bit self-indulgent,
0:13:48 > 0:13:50cos I like to do as little as possible.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53# That's why the lady is a tramp... #
0:13:53 > 0:13:59Sammy Davis's first appearance at the Royal Variety Show in London caused a sensation.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03# The lady...
0:14:03 > 0:14:10# Is a tramp! #
0:14:10 > 0:14:14We had never ever seen energy like it.
0:14:14 > 0:14:19He just took the entire show by the scruff of the neck and
0:14:19 > 0:14:22worked at such a pace and with such energy
0:14:22 > 0:14:26and such dynamism that it revolutionised light entertainment.
0:14:26 > 0:14:32Lew Grade's ATV had the money to get him for a TV special.
0:14:32 > 0:14:38A young choreographer, Lionel Blair, was asked to do a dance routine with him.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43It was a hat shop. I was a very snooty salesman and he was the ugly American.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Oh, good morning, sir. What could we do for sir?
0:14:46 > 0:14:49- What could we what? - What could we do for sir?
0:14:49 > 0:14:52Oh. You here by yourself or you got a group with you?
0:14:52 > 0:14:57Then he showed me some steps, which I learnt, and he said, "And we'll finish with that."
0:14:57 > 0:14:59I went, "All right."
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Toodle-pip!
0:15:19 > 0:15:24I got the most wonderful reviews, "This has made Lionel Blair a star".
0:15:24 > 0:15:29I didn't work for six months after that, cos they went "Well, what do we do with a dancer?
0:15:29 > 0:15:33"Can he talk?" They don't believe we could talk, you know?
0:15:33 > 0:15:38And it was a very difficult period for me, that.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43By the early 1960s, even the American style was old hat.
0:15:43 > 0:15:48Now entertainment was full of young working-class Liverpudlians.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52There were these four loveable rascals from Liverpool.
0:15:52 > 0:15:57Thank God they came in, because we all came in on their coat-tails.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02In 1965, at the height of Beatlemania, comedian Jimmy Tarbuck
0:16:02 > 0:16:06became the host of the new London Palladium show.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08I can see it's crowded out here, you should see it backstage.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12I had the hair cut, I wore the high-button suits, I was skinny
0:16:12 > 0:16:16in those days, and I looked, to all intents and purposes, like a Beatle.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18I've got all my gear on tonight, do you like it?
0:16:18 > 0:16:20AUDIENCE WHISTLES
0:16:20 > 0:16:24Cheeky! I've only got it on cos I'm a dedicated follower of fashion.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26# They seek him here
0:16:26 > 0:16:29# They seek him there
0:16:29 > 0:16:32# His clothes are loud
0:16:32 > 0:16:33# But never square
0:16:34 > 0:16:39# It don't make or break him But he's got to buy the best
0:16:39 > 0:16:42# Cos he's a dedicated follower...
0:16:42 > 0:16:45'I was inexperienced for the job.'
0:16:45 > 0:16:49But dear God, it was exciting and wonderful,
0:16:49 > 0:16:53and I was working with the biggest stars in the world.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57# Step inside, love
0:16:57 > 0:17:00# Let me find you a place... #
0:17:02 > 0:17:08The next Scouse star to hit big was 25-year-old pop singer Cilla Black.
0:17:08 > 0:17:13She was to become one of the biggest all-round entertainers for the next 40 years.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17# Come my way
0:17:17 > 0:17:23# Step inside love and stay... #
0:17:23 > 0:17:25She works like mad.
0:17:25 > 0:17:30She rehearsed from nine in the morning till five at night five days a week.
0:17:32 > 0:17:37You did your sketches, you did into camera, you did dance routines.
0:17:37 > 0:17:44I'm not a trained dancer, so I...I feel... I feel steps, I don't count.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48You know, six, seven, eight, da-da-da. No, I can't do that.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52Just tell me which part of the song you want me to jiggle my bits, and I'll do it.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56# Well, the jukebox a-playin' like a one-man band
0:17:56 > 0:17:59# It's the only kind of music that we understand... #
0:17:59 > 0:18:01I guess, you know, the public chose me to be a TV star.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03I didn't choose it,
0:18:03 > 0:18:08the TV public chose me, and thank God they did!
0:18:08 > 0:18:11I think Cilla Black is unique in as much as she is
0:18:11 > 0:18:15a female entertainer in a world of male entertainers.
0:18:15 > 0:18:22And it is that she is so secure, she believes in herself,
0:18:22 > 0:18:26and she has charisma, she has charisma.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30She believes that out there everybody's very lucky to be watching her.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Don't ever tell her that, though.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37But by the 1970s, the fashion changed again.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41Now it was all about game shows.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Let's meet Linda and Brian Edmondson from Hartlepool
0:18:44 > 0:18:46in the Tyne-Tees Television area,
0:18:46 > 0:18:51Rose and Martin Hodgkin from West Pinchbeck, Spalding in the Central area,
0:18:51 > 0:18:55and Jean and Albert Derkin from Kendal in the Border region.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57The game-show formats emerged cos they're cheap to do.
0:18:57 > 0:19:03People will come on for nothing for small rewards, you only have to pay the host,
0:19:03 > 0:19:05and there's guaranteed drama.
0:19:05 > 0:19:12The money ITV were making was irresistible, and they forged ahead with more game-show formats.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17Welcome once again, ladies and gentlemen, to another exciting edition of 3-2-1.
0:19:17 > 0:19:203-2-1... I can't do it, no!
0:19:20 > 0:19:22But Ted...it was Ted's own idea,
0:19:22 > 0:19:26and it became a huge national catchphrase.
0:19:26 > 0:19:32A well-devised game show is so dramatic that even you and I will watch it. We just pretend we don't.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36With few other outlets to showcase their talents,
0:19:36 > 0:19:40the all-rounders queued up for their chance to do a game show.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42There was no other television outlet.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45There were no variety shows, variety had gone.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Actually, sometimes they'd take these jobs
0:19:48 > 0:19:54as a boost to a sagging career, so rather than be detrimental, often it lifts the career just a bit -
0:19:54 > 0:19:56a bit more exposure, a bit more fun.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00The excitement today if you get a show that gets five or six million,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02in these days people used to get 20 million viewers.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07That was what everybody talked about the following day.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Live from Birmingham, it's the Golden Shot,
0:20:09 > 0:20:15and here's the man who keeps it bang on target, here's Bobby!
0:20:16 > 0:20:23By the early 1970s, ITV were winning the ratings war, and the BBC had to find a way to fight back.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26They needed their own game show.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29Off I go to Utrecht, and there was a show they were doing
0:20:29 > 0:20:31called One Out Of Eight.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33SHE SPEAKS DUTCH
0:20:35 > 0:20:39As I sat there through the two hours, not understanding a word,
0:20:39 > 0:20:42my mind wandered and I thought,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45"There is an idea here,
0:20:45 > 0:20:49"and the person who could do it would be Bruce Forsyth."
0:20:49 > 0:20:51THEY SING IN DUTCH
0:20:53 > 0:20:56His career at that time was kind of at a level, you know,
0:20:56 > 0:21:02he was...working and...popular, but he hadn't actually got a vehicle.
0:21:02 > 0:21:08My agent and myself went to see Bill Cotton with a view to doing a talk show.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12I wanted him to do this, because I believed he was the best person
0:21:12 > 0:21:15in the world to do this type of show.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23Thank you!
0:21:23 > 0:21:26Thank you so much.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Thank you very much indeed. Thank you.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32Good evening ladies, gentlemen and children, welcome to the Generation Game.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35- Nice to see you, to see you... - AUDIENCE: Nice!
0:21:35 > 0:21:41- There we are.- From the word go, it was a success, the thing worked.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43It was a show where you brought the punters on.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46It was the end of the pier, "I'm looking for two volunteers,"
0:21:46 > 0:21:48- a fantastic show.- Another...
0:21:48 > 0:21:50AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:21:52 > 0:21:55It's all right, we've got another one here!
0:21:55 > 0:21:59I used to watch the rehearsals of the Generation Game
0:21:59 > 0:22:02with the floor manager doing my bit,
0:22:02 > 0:22:06and by me looking at it, I could see...
0:22:06 > 0:22:11"It'd be better if I said that, and if I move them from there to there..." I could see things.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14I will say to you, you know, an organ of the body.
0:22:14 > 0:22:19You have to write in or make a diagram of the size that you think it is.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:22:23 > 0:22:27What Bruce was given was a slave camera, which meant wherever
0:22:27 > 0:22:32he was on the set, there was close-up of him, there.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39So if a member of the audience said something, it was really funny,
0:22:39 > 0:22:46and Bruce was being upstaged because that member of the public was much funnier than him,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49he would just do a Jack Benny, which was just...
0:22:50 > 0:22:54You were a school master in Chesterfield, teaching History and English.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56- Are you interested in history? - Oh, I love history.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58- Old things?- Oh, yeah.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01Some of your jokes are a bit like that, aren't they?
0:23:01 > 0:23:02AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:23:02 > 0:23:06Plain fact of the matter was that he was made for the Generation Game,
0:23:06 > 0:23:08and the Generation Game was made for him.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13The climax of the show was the conveyor belt full of goodies.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17It was a very short conveyor belt, probably only about six-foot long,
0:23:17 > 0:23:20and there was rows of men throwing trays on
0:23:20 > 0:23:22and rows of men taking trays on.
0:23:22 > 0:23:28It was actually all very tidy and neat, but behind the scenes it was gentle chaos.
0:23:28 > 0:23:29An infra-red grill...
0:23:29 > 0:23:33A cuddly gorilla!
0:23:33 > 0:23:35A gorilla! An insulated jug...
0:23:35 > 0:23:41But despite the success of the show, the BBC weren't comfortable with giving away prizes.
0:23:44 > 0:23:50We had a wide range of discussions at which the notion of perhaps giving the contestants prizes
0:23:50 > 0:23:52of stamps for licence fees and other ways of getting round
0:23:52 > 0:23:55the notion of consumer durables,
0:23:55 > 0:23:59but nothing was as good as the cuddly toy and the microwave.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03We've got the drill! Er, the cassette player, the cassette player.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05The golf, the golf indoor thing.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Yes, and we've got the drill. The what?
0:24:07 > 0:24:09AUDIENCE SHOUTS, BUZZER
0:24:09 > 0:24:11Oh, the gold, we've got the gold.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13Didn't she do well?! Yes!
0:24:14 > 0:24:18ITV decided to steal Bruce Forsyth away from the BBC
0:24:18 > 0:24:24and offered him a massive £15,000 a week to jump ship.
0:24:24 > 0:24:30Always leave a show when it's at the top, never leave a show when it is starting to fail,
0:24:30 > 0:24:34because when you do that you, you go down with the sinking ship.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38I worked and worked on him to try and get him to leave!
0:24:38 > 0:24:41And eventually we created Bruce's Big Night at LWT
0:24:41 > 0:24:44which was a showcase for all of his talents.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47It's Bruce Forsyth's Big Night.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49# Oh, happy day Oh, happy day
0:24:49 > 0:24:52# Oh, happy day... #
0:24:52 > 0:24:56They promoted it as though the second messiah was going to arrive!
0:24:56 > 0:24:59I mean, it was quite ridiculous.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03# You know that you really wash...
0:25:03 > 0:25:07# Wash my sins away Oh, happy day... #
0:25:07 > 0:25:13It was an hour and a half live every week, with so many things in,
0:25:13 > 0:25:15so it was a very hard show to do.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19In amongst Forsyth performing, there would be special guests,
0:25:19 > 0:25:21contestants playing games,
0:25:21 > 0:25:25fancy-dress parades,
0:25:25 > 0:25:29and even a big-money game show.
0:25:29 > 0:25:34Ladies and gentlemen, Sammy Davis Junior.
0:25:34 > 0:25:39But most important to Bruce Forsyth were his celebrity guests.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44I would like to do now a thing that I've been doing every time I come to England.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46This is one of those numbers...
0:25:46 > 0:25:48Didn't anybody tell you this was my show?
0:25:48 > 0:25:50If they had, would I have been here?
0:25:50 > 0:25:53AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:25:53 > 0:25:58The Big Night was fun mainly because it did involve me working with other performers.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Then switch chairs with me over here.
0:26:02 > 0:26:07Switch chairs. If we're going to do impressions, then I want you to switch chairs.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09Didn't he do well?
0:26:09 > 0:26:11LAUGHTER
0:26:11 > 0:26:13Good game, good game!
0:26:16 > 0:26:19Nice to see you, to see you...
0:26:19 > 0:26:22AUDIENCE: Nice!
0:26:22 > 0:26:27You wouldn't see those people every week, they'd be special for that one show.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30I'll be with you in a minute. I need all the props.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35LAUGHTER
0:26:35 > 0:26:41I'd just like...I'd just like to say, Bruce, that you're not only a great all-round performer...
0:26:43 > 0:26:47You're a great all-round human being.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50That wasn't light entertainment - that was heavy.
0:26:50 > 0:26:55Another veteran of the northern club scene was also hitting the heights on ITV.
0:26:55 > 0:27:00This is the part of the programme which is entitled Get It Off Your Chest.
0:27:00 > 0:27:0655-year-old Larry Grayson had been working the circuit for over 30 years before landing his own show.
0:27:06 > 0:27:12He never came out, so he was never officially gay, but he was the master of the innuendo.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15He loves the water, it's good for his war wound.
0:27:16 > 0:27:22And he went out there, and I was terrified, because he got into trouble with an octopus.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25I thought, "Everard's gone," and I shouted out, "Cut off its tentacles!"
0:27:25 > 0:27:28AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:27:28 > 0:27:32Well, the lifeguard was deaf, and do you know...?
0:27:32 > 0:27:36It is true that he put...jolly nearly put the word "gay"
0:27:36 > 0:27:37into common usage.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39You know, I mean people didn't...
0:27:39 > 0:27:41"What a gay day," you know,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44and he had those catchphrases, you know?
0:27:44 > 0:27:47Let's have a change of scenery.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51Comic Larry Grayson received unexpected attention from the BBC,
0:27:51 > 0:27:55who were looking for a new host for the Generation Game.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57I could, I've done it all before.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00I had find out who was going to replace Bruce,
0:28:00 > 0:28:06and a lot of people had ideas, and I went against all the grain.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09People were looking for a Bruce-similar, a look-alike.
0:28:09 > 0:28:15There was a time, I think, Barrymore was considered, but he was too young, he hadn't yet become
0:28:15 > 0:28:19where he had got to. Roy Castle was considered.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22And I just said, "No, I don't want to have a competitor,
0:28:22 > 0:28:24"I don't want people to think, 'Bruce is better.'
0:28:24 > 0:28:27"I want to go in a completely different direction."
0:28:29 > 0:28:31# Shut that door!
0:28:31 > 0:28:33# And enjoy the Generation Game... #
0:28:33 > 0:28:40Larry Grayson became the first mainstream camp entertainer on Saturday night.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44# Larry Grayson is here to play so... #
0:28:44 > 0:28:45Shut that door!
0:28:45 > 0:28:48We realised with Larry, he couldn't do anything.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51HE CLEARS THROAT
0:28:51 > 0:28:53Don't worry, I'm not going to spit.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57If we found a contestant had done a potter's wheel, we'd say "Larry..."
0:28:57 > 0:29:00"Oh, I'll have a try." Of course it was chaos.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:29:11 > 0:29:13I can't find the five!
0:29:16 > 0:29:22Larry was a bit all over the place, and it was kind of a bit haphazard, but there was a vulnerability
0:29:22 > 0:29:27about it, combined with his natural timing and these funny looks
0:29:27 > 0:29:29and these funny expressions that people just...
0:29:29 > 0:29:31It sort of captivated the people.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:29:36 > 0:29:40You know, she hasn't been well all day.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51He was very good at ad-libbing, and timing was natural.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53Forward! Ho!
0:29:56 > 0:29:59Grayson's chaotic style made the Generation Game an
0:29:59 > 0:30:06even bigger hit than before, with viewing figures topping 18 million.
0:30:06 > 0:30:11Yet again, ITV had to come up with a spoiler to beat the BBC's dominance
0:30:11 > 0:30:17of Saturday night, but this time they didn't target the presenter, they went for the producer.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26The Generation Game dominated the ratings, it was Saturday nights.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29The BBC owned Saturday nights.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32Boyd was poached to sink the Generation Game.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37In 1981, LWT came up with a format so daring,
0:30:37 > 0:30:41it would change light entertainment forever.
0:30:41 > 0:30:46The all-rounders were about to lose out to a new type of performer.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49Game For A Laugh, the show where the people are the stars.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52This was the start of the famous reality. It was a "real people show",
0:30:52 > 0:30:55people were the stars, that's what the title said.
0:30:55 > 0:31:01We used American-type opening credits, teasing the show, which had never been done before.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05We made them run down the stairs, people said this is silly.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09And these were four young presenters they didn't know doing silly things, they were silly people.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12They were painting the Forth Bridge, going to a nudist camp.
0:31:24 > 0:31:30The Sun newspaper, "Disgusting ITV, people go to nudist camps."
0:31:30 > 0:31:33It was a hysterical story, never been done before,
0:31:33 > 0:31:37- so we broke all the boundaries.- How do you rate your chances this year?
0:31:37 > 0:31:42Well, keep your fingers crossed, looking round at these lads...
0:31:42 > 0:31:46If you look back at Sunday Night At The London Palladium,
0:31:46 > 0:31:51you know, the best bit on that weren't the big names - that was the draw.
0:31:51 > 0:31:56The most entertaining part of Sunday Night At The London Palladium was Beat The Clock,
0:31:56 > 0:32:00cos you used ordinary people, getting them to do crazy things
0:32:00 > 0:32:02in the hope of winning nothing.
0:32:02 > 0:32:07I'm looking for four brave ladies who are game for a laugh.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10It was tough to find a host, and it was the show's researcher,
0:32:10 > 0:32:15Jeremy Beadle, who begged for the job of practical joker.
0:32:15 > 0:32:21The exec producer said to Alan Boyd, "You will never make a star of anybody with a beard,"
0:32:21 > 0:32:25and there he had two people on his show with beards.
0:32:25 > 0:32:30Both of them went on to achieve national...
0:32:30 > 0:32:32notoriety, in my case.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36Right, Linda, looking forward to this?
0:32:36 > 0:32:38- Yeah.- Yes, great, good, OK.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42Just pick a pocket and tell us what you think is in there, any one.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45SHE SCREAMS
0:32:45 > 0:32:47AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:32:47 > 0:32:51- What do you think it is? - A rat or something.- A rat?!
0:32:54 > 0:32:59The skills of a presenter changed, because historically,
0:32:59 > 0:33:02the people that hosted the shows were all-round entertainers.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05They could burst into song, they could tap dance,
0:33:05 > 0:33:07whatever you want, do a bit of patter.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10It's up to you.
0:33:10 > 0:33:15The genre could now be presented by non-entertainment variety acts,
0:33:15 > 0:33:18and therefore you could be a weatherman,
0:33:18 > 0:33:21or you could be a presenter, or you could be a journalist,
0:33:21 > 0:33:24or you could a news presenter. It just opened it up.
0:33:24 > 0:33:29You didn't have to have been a Redcoat or been on the Palladium stage for 20 years.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32And then there was Michael Barrymore.
0:33:34 > 0:33:39Barrymore's anarchic and unscripted performances captivated the viewers.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41Is this the microphone? Yeah? Oh, God!
0:33:41 > 0:33:44AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:33:44 > 0:33:52He has that ability to kind of be dangerous with the public, and he had it then,
0:33:52 > 0:33:57and yet to somehow pull them in and make them feel relaxed.
0:33:57 > 0:34:03Barrymore's anarchic and unscripted performances captivated the viewers.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05I thought I might have a kip.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09I actually genuinely do like people, always have done.
0:34:09 > 0:34:11I find them fascinating.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13Even those that are considered the meanest.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16I think there's something in there if you can only get to it.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19- No, it's all right, what's your name?- Daisy.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21Oh, you're Daisy, are you? There we are.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24I'll get you up, Daisy.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30- Do it properly!- Do what?!
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Providing you're not breaking the boundaries and the person's happy.
0:34:34 > 0:34:39If you look at the stuff where I've got the body contact with people, it's just mucking about.
0:34:39 > 0:34:41There we are, there we go. Are you all right?
0:34:41 > 0:34:44Oh, yeah. Oh, that's lovely, innit?
0:34:46 > 0:34:49Just come down on me arm, there you go, you'll be all right.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52That's it, you want it nice and hard, so it's...
0:34:55 > 0:34:58I can't go to sleep with you laughing, love, can I?
0:34:58 > 0:35:03As himself, he's a very shy, rather withdrawn man.
0:35:03 > 0:35:09It's only when he gets on stage or he gets enthused and excited in the rehearsal room about a project
0:35:09 > 0:35:13that you see this...this thing come from within.
0:35:13 > 0:35:19This kind of aura takes over, and the talent that he's got suddenly comes out.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22Don't forget, wait for me, won't you?
0:35:22 > 0:35:25AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:35:25 > 0:35:27What do you mean, "Wait for me"?
0:35:27 > 0:35:30My secretary, she's got to wait for me.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33- She's got to wait for you? - Yeah.- Well, where do you think...?
0:35:33 > 0:35:34They're not gonna go anywhere.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37You'd be surprised, they might be going home.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39Sorry, are we keeping you up, love?
0:35:41 > 0:35:49The other big star of the '80s began the decade as an almost forgotten figure, but after appearing on Wogan
0:35:49 > 0:35:54to plug her new album, Cilla was inundated with television offers.
0:35:55 > 0:36:00# I want you to stay. #
0:36:00 > 0:36:03CHEERS AND APPLAUSE
0:36:05 > 0:36:10Your voice has lost none of its sweetness, has it?
0:36:10 > 0:36:13Oh, isn't that nice? What you're saying is, I'm getting old.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17No, I mean, it's true, though - I'm 40 this year, Terry.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20I'm not looking forward to my own 40th, I can tell you.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24I was gonna ask you, can you remember when you were 40?
0:36:24 > 0:36:28And it was ITV who persuaded her to come back.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Cilla Black!
0:36:31 > 0:36:35Surprise Surprise was really a brand-new concept,
0:36:35 > 0:36:39all based around everything that I'd done in my career.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42Cos surprise, surprise, you are going to Wembley!
0:36:45 > 0:36:49Some shows eat themselves, because you can't do the same game again.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52People know you're gonna do a twin switch or whatever.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55Other shows, like Surprise Surprise, feed themselves.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58In other words, you get 80,000 people wanting to find people.
0:36:58 > 0:37:03Everybody remembers, you know, the last...
0:37:03 > 0:37:06tug of the heart-string story.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10But surprise, surprise, here are your brothers and sisters.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12Why don't you come and join us?
0:37:12 > 0:37:14APPLAUSE
0:37:17 > 0:37:21I tried not to make it mawkish,
0:37:21 > 0:37:24but still they remember it, don't they?
0:37:26 > 0:37:34Realising that she was a ratings hit, ITV scoured the world to find another winning format for her.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37Thank you, thank you. Hello and welcome to Blind Date.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41It wasn't about a...a couple getting it together.
0:37:41 > 0:37:46It was actually the process of romance - the dating process, trying it out.
0:37:46 > 0:37:51That's why Cilla was thrilled if there was any suggestion with a relationship or a marriage even.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55She could go to the wedding, we'd get another special out of it.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58So let's say hi to the boys!
0:37:59 > 0:38:01Unfortunately, in the later years,
0:38:01 > 0:38:04and I think this is why Cilla got disillusioned with it,
0:38:04 > 0:38:09is that it got too much about couples going off and whether they'd had sex or not.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12- Was there a passionate kiss? - Yeah, we snogged.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14Nick, we didn't snog.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17I think I'm old enough to know what a snog is.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21So am I, Nick, and if I snogged you, you'd know all about it.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24Look, Cilla, I came on Blind Date for a romantic...
0:38:24 > 0:38:29Meet someone really romantic and nice, but instead I got a geezer bird.
0:38:29 > 0:38:31AUDIENCE LAUGHS AND APPLAUDS
0:38:31 > 0:38:37And before they come to blows, I'd better say, ladies and gentlemen, wish them well, Ty and Caroline.
0:38:39 > 0:38:44But after 18 years of matchmaking, Cilla had had enough.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47We did a live Blind Date to try and revive the brand,
0:38:47 > 0:38:50and give it a bit of promotional trickery.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53This is Blind Date Live.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56She took that opportunity to say, "Thank you and good night."
0:38:57 > 0:38:59And I didn't know...
0:38:59 > 0:39:04till two minutes before the live Blind Date, I thought, "What a great opportunity."
0:39:04 > 0:39:10Hello, and welcome to this very special live show, and do you know what, ladies and gentlemen?
0:39:10 > 0:39:12It is a very special live show,
0:39:12 > 0:39:18because this is going to be my very, very last series of Blind Date.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23That was to me the consummate statement of the fact that here was
0:39:23 > 0:39:25a woman who knew exactly what she was doing.
0:39:25 > 0:39:30It was the right time, and I hope it was done in good taste.
0:39:30 > 0:39:36Apart from Cilla, the only other woman on Saturday night was Marti Caine.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40Do you know, I did me shopping in this today?
0:39:40 > 0:39:43And got mugged by two stray flamingoes.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:39:48 > 0:39:51Oh, dear! Mind you, you've got be fit for show business.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54I'm a big believer in that yoga myself,
0:39:54 > 0:39:56especially t'strawberry flavoured.
0:39:56 > 0:40:02She was just a pleasure and a joy to work with and very, very funny.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04You watch when they're doing
0:40:04 > 0:40:08their own thing, like, "Oh, I can do...I can say that better.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11"I can do that better, I can say...
0:40:11 > 0:40:14"She's very funny, that's a great line!"
0:40:14 > 0:40:19And then when I heard she wrote it, I suddenly had great respect for her.
0:40:19 > 0:40:25In 1986, she was given the ultimate accolade, host of New Faces,
0:40:25 > 0:40:30the show that had launched her to stardom ten years before.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32APPLAUSE
0:40:32 > 0:40:34Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36Thank you, and welcome to New Faces '86.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40We used to have this kind of sparring match on the show.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44She'd say something, and I'd insult her or insult her frock
0:40:44 > 0:40:48or her hair, you know, and then she'd come back at me,
0:40:48 > 0:40:51and people watching thought, "They don't get on at all."
0:40:51 > 0:40:54You know, the glamorous grannies novelty contest, fine,
0:40:54 > 0:40:57cos the jokes are as old as that - sorry, but they are.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59Yes, well, that's Nina's opinion.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02How about you, Chris, what did you think?
0:41:02 > 0:41:05I've no idea, she frightened me to death.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09Marti Caine was a great inspiration and just a lot of help on the show.
0:41:09 > 0:41:14She stood up for a lot of the acts - well, for all of the acts, even the ones that were cack, like me.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17Our next New Faces act defies description.
0:41:17 > 0:41:19He's a... Well, he's a sort...
0:41:19 > 0:41:22No, but then again he's more of a...
0:41:22 > 0:41:25Well, he does a bit of...
0:41:25 > 0:41:29Make you own mind up, ladies and gentlemen, it's Joe Pasquale!
0:41:29 > 0:41:32APPLAUSE
0:41:50 > 0:41:54I ain't been in show business long.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56I used to be a long-distance lorry driver
0:41:56 > 0:41:58on the Isle of Wight.
0:42:00 > 0:42:07The only star that was discovered in my whole three years as a panellist was Joe Pasquale.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11Everybody thought I was a successful working-club act that had
0:42:11 > 0:42:14been going donkey's years, and I wasn't, you know,
0:42:14 > 0:42:15I just fluked it on New Faces.
0:42:15 > 0:42:20And he only came to prominence 20 years after New Faces finished.
0:42:20 > 0:42:25However much I died on me arse out in the clubs, however much people shouted, "Get off, poofter!"
0:42:25 > 0:42:27or "Oi, squeaky, clear off!"
0:42:27 > 0:42:30whatever they shouted at me, I knew it was better
0:42:30 > 0:42:33than having half a dead cow on me back at Smithfield's meat market.
0:42:35 > 0:42:40By the mid '90s, even Michael Barrymore had jumped on the game-show bandwagon.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46Basically, if you look at Strike It Lucky, the format is crap.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48Thank you very much!
0:42:48 > 0:42:52Thank you, thank you!
0:42:52 > 0:42:55The actual format lasts for about five minutes.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58The other rest of the show is just mucking around and sodding about.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01So it was a good vehicle for me to do what I do.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04- Awight! Awight, mate? - AUDIENCE: Awight!
0:43:04 > 0:43:08Bob Monkhouse used to say that Michael Barrymore was a guy
0:43:08 > 0:43:10that would go to the end of the gangplank
0:43:10 > 0:43:14to find out there wasn't a boat there before stepping off.
0:43:14 > 0:43:20And I can see that he would just mine these areas of people.
0:43:20 > 0:43:25Ooh, what I wouldn't do to do your washing for a week!
0:43:25 > 0:43:28- Do my washing?- Yeah!- You'd like to do my washing?- Oh, yeah.- Why?
0:43:28 > 0:43:33Well, your pants would be blowing by my knicks on the line!
0:43:33 > 0:43:37Here we go, we're off again!
0:43:37 > 0:43:38He was unique at that time.
0:43:38 > 0:43:43There was nobody like it - he was so daring, so audacious, so brilliant.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45The incredible thing was people would say to me,
0:43:45 > 0:43:48as the producer, "What's happening tonight?"
0:43:48 > 0:43:50and really I had only the haziest idea.
0:43:50 > 0:43:54Somebody apparently rang down when I was doing Strike It Lucky, said, "Tell him to keep still,
0:43:54 > 0:43:57"you know, when he's mentioning the prizes?"
0:43:57 > 0:44:02And Maurice said, "I ain't telling him to stand still, that's what he's all about."
0:44:02 > 0:44:04- What do you do for a living? - He's been in the navy.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06Two weeks.
0:44:06 > 0:44:11- Eh?- Two weeks.- For two weeks? What happened there, John?
0:44:11 > 0:44:13- He got piles.- He got piles?- Yeah.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17Nice of her to tell us this, wasn't it?
0:44:17 > 0:44:21I can't wait till we get home.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24I won't go on about it, John, we don't wanna embarrass you about things like this.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27There's no need to embarrass people about these things.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30So how long did you have them for, then, John?
0:44:32 > 0:44:36Any game show or any quiz show, what I've heard, they're all an excuse,
0:44:36 > 0:44:40whatever the format is, to ask general knowledge questions, that's all they are.
0:44:40 > 0:44:41It's no more than that.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44If you look at anything, it's a f...
0:44:44 > 0:44:46a system of asking questions.
0:44:46 > 0:44:49It's how you get to that.
0:44:49 > 0:44:51Middle for the jackpot, come on! Oh!
0:44:51 > 0:44:55This is for the jackpot, OK?
0:44:55 > 0:44:57This is for £10,000.
0:44:57 > 0:44:58Oh, God.
0:44:58 > 0:45:01"The capital of...
0:45:01 > 0:45:04"Australia is Canberra.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06"Is that true...
0:45:06 > 0:45:11"or false?" I'm like giving it to them and they still go...
0:45:11 > 0:45:14And you see the audience going, "True, true, true!"
0:45:14 > 0:45:16And I'm going, "Is it TRUE...?"
0:45:16 > 0:45:19- True.- £10,000!
0:45:19 > 0:45:21APPLAUSE
0:45:27 > 0:45:34He was so popular that when he went on the road with a new show, over 50,000 people turned up to meet him.
0:45:39 > 0:45:44My Kind Of People was my idea, originally, I said, er...
0:45:44 > 0:45:48If you look at My Kind Of People, it's the early days of...
0:45:48 > 0:45:49version of Pop Idol,
0:45:49 > 0:45:54cos we were the first ones to show all the bad ones and the good ones as well.
0:45:55 > 0:45:59UNTUNEFULLY: # You are my sunshine
0:45:59 > 0:46:02# My only sunshine
0:46:02 > 0:46:05# You make me happy
0:46:05 > 0:46:07# When skies are grey
0:46:07 > 0:46:10# You'll never know, Michael
0:46:10 > 0:46:13# How much I love you
0:46:13 > 0:46:17# Please don't take Michael away. #
0:46:17 > 0:46:19APPLAUSE
0:46:30 > 0:46:33I've got to take you somewhere, you need some medication.
0:46:33 > 0:46:37I'll be back. See you after the break, awight? Bye.
0:46:37 > 0:46:43By 1995, Michael Barrymore had won every major award in television.
0:46:43 > 0:46:46Ooh! And the winner is... Michael Barrymore.
0:46:46 > 0:46:50'Even if he does blow the odd one out from time to time,
0:46:50 > 0:46:53'he's generously applauded other people tonight,
0:46:53 > 0:46:56'and now he receives his own award.'
0:46:56 > 0:46:58Oh!
0:46:58 > 0:47:00Strange place to keep the hostess.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06It was an extraordinary ability.
0:47:06 > 0:47:10Unfortunately, alongside it, he had his demons,
0:47:10 > 0:47:12and he was,
0:47:12 > 0:47:13as many performers are,
0:47:13 > 0:47:16deeply lacking in self-confidence.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19He knows he's special, he knows he's brilliant, and yet
0:47:19 > 0:47:22maybe they'll all find him out, maybe it'll all go wrong,
0:47:22 > 0:47:25maybe it'll stop tomorrow, cos really, what is it?
0:47:25 > 0:47:28# Give me what I ask for
0:47:28 > 0:47:30# You know the BBC will love it
0:47:30 > 0:47:33# And they'll pay more! #
0:47:33 > 0:47:38So the one half of his brain, he knows that he is probably as good as it gets, and the other half of
0:47:38 > 0:47:42the brain is, he doesn't know what it is, and if he thinks too hard about it, it'll go away and maybe
0:47:42 > 0:47:46he'll wake up tomorrow morning it won't be there, and of course that's actually what happened.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49That's the danger you've got to watch with comedians.
0:47:49 > 0:47:55They spend all their lives making everybody else happy, and they can be wretched inside, you know?
0:47:55 > 0:48:02# Smile, though your heart is aching
0:48:02 > 0:48:07# Smile, even though it's breaking
0:48:07 > 0:48:13# When there are clouds in the sky
0:48:13 > 0:48:15# You'll get by... #
0:48:15 > 0:48:22But despite massive popularity, Barrymore was pursued relentlessly by the tabloid press.
0:48:27 > 0:48:34Whoever you are, however tough you think you are, or however tough you happen to be,
0:48:34 > 0:48:40no-one is immune to picking up newspapers which are being read by millions
0:48:40 > 0:48:46and seeing hideous things written about yourself day after day after day.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51Eventually, it all spiralled out of control.
0:48:53 > 0:48:58'Flamboyant Michael Barrymore, one of Britain's best known TV quiz masters,
0:48:58 > 0:49:02'now finds himself answering the questions posed by Essex detectives.'
0:49:02 > 0:49:06I think the saddest thing about Michael Barrymore
0:49:06 > 0:49:09is that he surrounded himself with...
0:49:09 > 0:49:13with sycophants, and they...
0:49:13 > 0:49:18did as much damage to him as he did to himself.
0:49:18 > 0:49:20The job of a broadcaster
0:49:20 > 0:49:22is to nurture your talent
0:49:22 > 0:49:25until you don't need them any more.
0:49:25 > 0:49:27Rightly or wrongly, the fact of the matter is,
0:49:27 > 0:49:31if you're a popular entertainer one of the kind of requirements of that job is that you're popular,
0:49:31 > 0:49:34and he clearly at that time was very unpopular.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37Barrymore's fall from grace was spectacular.
0:49:39 > 0:49:45# ..You'll see the sun come shining through
0:49:45 > 0:49:49# If you just
0:49:49 > 0:49:52# Smile. #
0:49:52 > 0:49:54APPLAUSE
0:49:54 > 0:49:57Today the biggest names in entertainment are
0:49:57 > 0:50:05the first generation of all-rounders who have learned to entertain without working the variety circuit.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07They never had an act, they never did the theatres
0:50:07 > 0:50:09or the clubs or anything like that.
0:50:09 > 0:50:13They started off as child actors in Byker Grove.
0:50:14 > 0:50:15Argh!
0:50:16 > 0:50:19He can't see!
0:50:19 > 0:50:22BYKER GROVE THEME
0:50:22 > 0:50:29They've come right through the ranks together, both as friends, as colleagues, as mates.
0:50:29 > 0:50:30They're married.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33They can bounce off each other, it's not just scripted.
0:50:33 > 0:50:37It gives you the same feeling as you got when you were watching
0:50:37 > 0:50:40Morecambe and Wise, two guys that could sit in bed together.
0:50:40 > 0:50:43It brings the tears to your eyes, doesn't it?
0:50:43 > 0:50:46That's the expression I was looking for, yeah.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50Everyone wanted a friend like that,
0:50:50 > 0:50:53that you could take the (BLEEP) out of
0:50:53 > 0:50:56or you could just enjoy being with.
0:50:56 > 0:50:57Wahey!
0:50:57 > 0:51:00Dec...
0:51:00 > 0:51:03- Dec, my friend?- Yes.- How do you feel?
0:51:03 > 0:51:07I feel tired, emotional, a little bit itchy under me...
0:51:07 > 0:51:10Oh-ho-ho! Oh!
0:51:10 > 0:51:13People think they're unassailable - they're not.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15They will have their time, and things will change.
0:51:15 > 0:51:22But at the moment they quite rightly have their title, you know, kings of Saturday night, without a doubt.
0:51:22 > 0:51:27Ironically, for all its success, their biggest hit, Saturday Night Takeaway,
0:51:27 > 0:51:33is essentially a traditional variety show not a million miles from Sunday Night At The London Palladium.
0:51:41 > 0:51:45So powerful are Ant and Dec that they've even managed to cash in
0:51:45 > 0:51:50on the reality boom that killed off so many entertainment shows.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54Those are our ten new celebrities, picked your favourite yet?
0:51:54 > 0:51:57- Decided which one you fancy?- I have.
0:51:57 > 0:52:02- Hmm?- Yes, well, there's a couple of tasty blondes in there, I can't quite choose between them yet.
0:52:02 > 0:52:04- Yeah, I know what you mean. - Jilly or Carol?
0:52:04 > 0:52:07Which one is hotter, do you think?
0:52:07 > 0:52:10Ah, you know, this job is getting more and more worthless,
0:52:10 > 0:52:13because it seems that anyone can come in and do it.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15The good thing is,
0:52:15 > 0:52:19and I still stand by the fact that you may have been on a reality show,
0:52:19 > 0:52:25and you may have become famous for a bit, and you might have made quite a bit of money,
0:52:25 > 0:52:29but it depends on how long you can manage to sustain it on the TV.
0:52:31 > 0:52:39So for the all-rounders willing to risk 24-hour surveillance, there was a possible way back to TV stardom.
0:52:39 > 0:52:41And the lunatics are taking over the asylum.
0:52:41 > 0:52:48For Joe Pasquale, who debuted 20 years before on New Faces, there was no looking back in 2004.
0:52:48 > 0:52:52My agent phoned me and said, "Do you fancy doing it?" I went, "No, tell them where to stick it."
0:52:52 > 0:52:57He said "Why not?" I said, "I want to go on telly and be a comic, that's what I've done for 20 years."
0:52:57 > 0:53:04Reality shows are either brilliant, or they are absolutely the kiss of death.
0:53:04 > 0:53:09So he said, "Well, look, there is no telly out there for what we do at the moment,
0:53:09 > 0:53:11"but if you go and do this, and you're successful,
0:53:11 > 0:53:16"then they would open up other doors for you to go back and do the stuff that you do."
0:53:16 > 0:53:20Joe had been an attraction and remains one through his career,
0:53:20 > 0:53:23but in television terms it bought him back into the TV eye.
0:53:23 > 0:53:26He says, "Go out and do this -
0:53:26 > 0:53:31"whatever you do, don't fart, don't lose your temper, don't scratch your nuts and don't swear."
0:53:31 > 0:53:34"If you don't do those four things, you'll win."
0:53:34 > 0:53:39So I didn't fart, didn't scratch me nuts, didn't swear and didn't lose me temper, and I won.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42Wha-ha-ha-ha!
0:53:42 > 0:53:44Expect the unexpected, that's all I can say.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47# Bring me sunshine... #
0:53:47 > 0:53:49It's hard work keeping everybody happy.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51I shall rise to the occasion.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54# ..Bring me laughter... #
0:53:55 > 0:53:57# All the while... #
0:53:57 > 0:53:59- HE SQUEALS - Danger's my middle name.
0:54:01 > 0:54:04- BLEEP- I feel like Leonardo di Caprio in the Titanic.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07It was great just have to wash round the Jacobs.
0:54:07 > 0:54:08Jacobs.
0:54:07 > 0:54:08Jacobs.
0:54:08 > 0:54:08Jacobs.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12It was amazing. Thank you.
0:54:14 > 0:54:18For Michael Barrymore, it was a chance to see if his career could be resurrected.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23- Oh, Michael?- Yep?
0:54:23 > 0:54:26Awight?
0:54:27 > 0:54:33I would say it's probably one of the greatest experiences I've ever had as a person,
0:54:33 > 0:54:36as a human being,
0:54:36 > 0:54:38as a therapy,
0:54:38 > 0:54:44considering I used to pay for it and they paid me, which made a change,
0:54:44 > 0:54:47and, erm...and as a performer.
0:54:47 > 0:54:51# I am human and I need to be loved... #
0:54:51 > 0:54:54The buzz I have now on a daily basis
0:54:54 > 0:55:00is the best buzz without putting anything down me throat
0:55:00 > 0:55:03that I've ever had in me life, so I can't ask for more than that.
0:55:03 > 0:55:04It's all extras.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08'Michael, you have finished second.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10'Please leave the Big Brother house.'
0:55:12 > 0:55:14CROWD CHEERS
0:55:15 > 0:55:19All performers have good times and bad times.
0:55:19 > 0:55:24They all have moments when, erm...everything looks
0:55:24 > 0:55:26bleak for them, and then suddenly they get reborn.
0:55:26 > 0:55:31Remember Forsyth, interestingly, got reborn by going on Have I Got News For You.
0:55:31 > 0:55:3760 odd years after his career began, Bruce Forsyth is back on top -
0:55:37 > 0:55:42not so much a reinvention, but a reminder of just how good a game-show host he is.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45Play Your Iraqi Cards Right!
0:55:45 > 0:55:48- Ian, you go first.- Thank you, Bruce.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51It's the king of clubs, Izzat Ibrahim.
0:55:51 > 0:55:54Think about this, the audience'll help you.
0:55:54 > 0:55:56Do you think it's higher or lower?
0:55:56 > 0:55:58AUDIENCE: Lower!
0:55:58 > 0:56:00I'd say lower.
0:56:00 > 0:56:04OK, now what have you got? You've got the eight of hearts,
0:56:04 > 0:56:06Minister of Defence Sultan Hashim Ahmad.
0:56:06 > 0:56:11I've been waiting 14 years for the show to be like this!
0:56:11 > 0:56:18It was a chance to let people see that at 75 years old you're not over the hill, necessarily.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23Within months, he was back on Saturday night TV.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29"Keep going, you fool," I think, is the first thing that comes to mind.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33I'm an entertainer, I'm a performer, I'm an all-rounder.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35I do so many things.
0:56:35 > 0:56:39- It's nice to twirl you, to twirl you...- Nice!
0:56:39 > 0:56:42And that's about all, really, I don't think there's anything else.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46I'm not too keen on doing any more game shows.
0:56:46 > 0:56:48# And now MacHeath spends... #
0:56:48 > 0:56:53Arguably, today's best entertainers don't need a TV show to survive.
0:56:55 > 0:56:58But for those all-rounders who are prepared constantly
0:56:58 > 0:57:02to reinvent themselves, TV is there for the taking.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10You've got some dirty ideas!
0:57:10 > 0:57:12The enjoyment,
0:57:12 > 0:57:18I have to say, every day of my life I say, "Thank you," and being part of light entertainment.
0:57:18 > 0:57:20They haven't sussed me out yet.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23I'm being paid a fortune,
0:57:23 > 0:57:25and they like me.
0:57:25 > 0:57:27It doesn't get any better than this.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30If you want to stay in this business, I think you have to adapt,
0:57:30 > 0:57:34and I don't think for one minute you should complain.
0:57:34 > 0:57:36I still don't think...
0:57:38 > 0:57:41..I've achieved what I wanted to achieve, not yet,
0:57:41 > 0:57:43and I'm still working on it.
0:57:43 > 0:57:47# Now that Mac is... #
0:57:47 > 0:57:51I am very grateful, and I'm a lucky little devil.
0:57:51 > 0:57:55Thank you...very, very much.
0:57:58 > 0:58:00# Look out, old Mackie is back! #
0:58:00 > 0:58:02HE GIGGLES
0:58:07 > 0:58:09Was that all right?
0:58:13 > 0:58:16Next time on The Story Of Light Entertainment,
0:58:16 > 0:58:21we'll reveal how radio and television have been involved in a non-stop battle for supremacy
0:58:21 > 0:58:24and the truth behind some of the casualties.
0:58:24 > 0:58:28Radio is the mother of television. They're still looking for the father.
0:58:28 > 0:58:32You can't underestimate how important radio has been in the development of British comedy.
0:58:32 > 0:58:35If you've got anybody hailing Chris Evans as a genius,
0:58:35 > 0:58:37something's very wrong with the world.
0:58:41 > 0:58:43He should have been a big, big star.
0:58:43 > 0:58:45And then it all fell apart.
0:58:45 > 0:58:47It's very easy to go nuts.
0:58:47 > 0:58:49It's a bugger of a business, this, when it goes wrong.
0:58:49 > 0:58:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd