Disney owe Celador $270m for not giving them enough profits from Millionaire, or something.
I can’t force myself to get excited about this no matter how hard I try, sorry. Is Jasper Carrott even still part of Celador these days?
Still, it would happen just as the pound seems to be strengthening a bit. Tch.
Well the last part of the Robot Wars…er, BB task looks like a complete and utter wipeout..
I don’t think that Jasper Carrott has anything to worry about. As long as Challenge continues to run “Golden Balls”, one would expect that he’d be getting a little stipend. And there may still be the occasional payment for sales or airplay of “Funky Moped”.
BTW: Have you ever noticed how many game show hosts have some degree of a musical background? Just looking from this side of the proverbial Pond, I spot Jasper Carrott, Cilla Black, Des O’Connor, Richard O’Brien, Ed Tudor-Pole. . . and I must be missing some, surely!
Even over here, one thinks of Bert Parks, Robert Alda (“Can Do”), Stubby Kaye (“Shenanigans”), Adam Wade (“Musical Chairs”), and Bill Anderson (“Fandango”). Perennial Art James broke into song on at least one program of “Say When!”. Even Monty Hall let his tonsils fly on at least one program of “VIdeo Village”, and at least could carry a tune. Again, I may be missing others, but these are off the top of my head.
There used to be an expectation that people who performed in one area of light entertainment (say, hosting game shows) could be transplanted into any other (say, recording sentimental ballads). But looking at the top hosts from the Gameshow General Election…
Bob Monkhouse cut a few discs in the 60s, though he admitted singing wasn’t one of his strengths. One of them, “I Remember Natalie”, became soewhat notorious for being really bad, though I think that was more for who was singing it than being inherently awful.
Bruce Forsyth is an old-fashioned all-rounder, of course. As well as singing, he likes to bash out a tune on the ol’joanna.
Chris Tarrant did a bit of singing back in the TISWAS days, though he knew his limitations.
Ant and Dec, obviously.
Noel Edmonds made some records too. Ghastly new age audiobooks aside, he seems to have given that up after the truly appalling “Christmas In Blobbyland” (on which he spoke, not sang – as if that made it any better).
Phillip Schofield’s been in musicals.
Terry Wogan! No musical talent, but he didn’t let that stop him. His hit “The Floral Dance” was pretty bad, but for true ghastliness, track down his version of The Bee Gees’ “Words”.
Nicholas Parsons has done musicals too.
Angus Deayton did loads of musical parodies back in the 1980s, one of them reached number 2 in Australia.
And of course Humphrey Lyttelton needs no explanation.
Come to think of it, Tim Vine and Colin Murray have both “done” Celebrity Fame Academy and I dare say most of the usual suspects have been on Stars In Their Eyes at some point. I vaguely recall Carol Vorderman doing an unusual cross-dressing turn involving a big black wig, but can’t remember which “hair metaller” she was impersonating. I’d be idly curious to know whether Matthew Kelly (or, even, Leslie Crowther) ever received the star treatment themselves in addition to just acting as hosts.
Nicholas Parsons… ooh, interesting. Somewhere I have his autobiography, though I remember it being pretty dull material.
Apparently Cher.
I shall mock myself so you don’t have to. Moc-moc-a-moc!
Nicholas Parsons was the narrator in The Rocky Horror Show for a while…
I remember that, but I’m curious to know (and, may at some point even look up) what else, if anything, he has been involved with.
I am a Rocky Horror Show virgin ignoramus. Does the Narrator actually sing during the show as well as, er, narrate? Dressing up in fishnet stockings is one thing, singing might be another.
That was meant to be
virginignormaus, but “virgin ignoramus” works quite well, as well.Parsons has a new autobiography coming out this year. I think the first one was quite dull as you say.
There are of course plenty of people with UKGS entries who started out in music, or are better known for music than for game shows – Noddy Holder, Suggs, Lulu, Joe Brown, Aled Jones, Myleene “Top of the” Klass (that entry’s still up on Wikipedia BTW), Bernard Cribbins, Richard Fairbrass, David Grant…