Ever wanted to take a humorous trip down memory lane to the golden era of British comedy? Join us, your hosts Liam and Andrew, as we revisit and fondly critique a classic Christmas special of the iconic "The Les Dennis Laughter Show." We're going to share our own personal recollections and laughter over Les' stand-up, sketches, and all-around entertaining performances.
We discuss Les' iconic catchphrases and impersonations. He didn't just do Mavis from Coronation Street. We even dive into an incredible comedy sketch featuring Indiana Jones, James Bond and Ghandi, So, get your popcorn ready and prepare yourself for a burst of nostalgia and laughter as we journey back to a cherished time in British comedy.
Ever wanted to take a humorous trip down memory lane to the golden era of British comedy? Join us, your hosts Liam and Andrew, as we revisit and fondly critique a classic Christmas special of the iconic "The Les Dennis Laughter Show." We're going to share our own personal recollections and laughter over Les' stand-up, sketches, and all-around entertaining performances.
We discuss Les' iconic catchphrases and impersonations. He didn't just do Mavis from Coronation Street. We even dive into an incredible comedy sketch featuring Indiana Jones, James Bond and Ghandi, So, get your popcorn ready and prepare yourself for a burst of nostalgia and laughter as we journey back to a cherished time in British comedy.
Living with Maidalee.
Speaker 3:Hello and welcome to the fifth Christmas episode of the podcast Living with Maidalee. This is a podcast where we look back at some nostalgic TV and we're specialising in the Christmas market over December. I'm one of the hosts, Liam. The other one is Andrew. Good evening.
Speaker 1:Hello, I was hoping you were going to come and be a different. I had some lined up. Then I thought you were going to say, as usual, how are you? And I was going to say, well, I don't really know, because it's obviously less than this, but you've ruined that Well you managed to get it in anyway and you did it quite well.
Speaker 1:It would have been a lot funnier, wouldn't it? Like you know what I mean. Imagine people might have thought we planned it, but, as they can tell now, we don't plan anything. But yeah, the Les Dennis laughter show. Liam, you've only just watched this, haven't you? So it should be fairly fresh in your mind.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I watched the 991 first. I got the wrong day so I watched the 991. I finished work, thought right, just about got time to watch it. I watched 991, I spoke to you and said, no, it's 988, we're doing so. Yeah, I've had additional Les Dennis and I think we mentioned this before, but apologies if at any point during this I referred to him as Des Lennis. Me and a friend always used to call him that and it's stuck a little bit in my head sometimes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, let's get straight into it. The Les Dennis laughter show, right. So I mean, I'd never heard of this, had you, liam, the actual show, not this sort of Christmas specific one.
Speaker 3:Obviously, I knew of Les Dennis, knew that he did sort of shows, but no, we would have been six when this was shown and I don't remember him doing a specific Christmas episode.
Speaker 1:Now I remember the laughter show. The laughter show was a BBC comedy sketch show featuring Dustin G and Les Dennis from 1984 to 1986 and then, following the death of Dustin G, who suddenly unexpectedly passed away of an art act short before the transmission of the third series, which had already been filmed, it was just renamed the Les Dennis laughter show and it was just Dennis and it ran till 1991. I don't remember this. The pair had previously worked together on Russ Abbott's Madhouse, which I do remember.
Speaker 3:I remember Russ Abbott, and I do remember Les having a show as well. I just don't remember too much about it, but yeah, I probably remember him more from Russ Abbott. Did you start running after this then? Was that a little bit later or were they about the same time?
Speaker 1:I think Russ Abbott overlapped. I think Russ Abbott was before and after. I'm pretty sure Les Dennis and Justin G did their like. They sort of made the name on the Russ Abbott show. Russ Abbott were fucking massive, weren't he?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was good, very good.
Speaker 1:Very good and obviously we're both big fans, Les. I'll come on to some more Les at the end of it, but these particular episodes are from the 27th to December 1980, 40 minutes long. We'll go straight into it. It's basically a sketch show mixed in with a bit of stand-up and a bit of all-round entertainment, isn't it really?
Speaker 3:It's hard to place, isn't?
Speaker 1:it.
Speaker 3:Certainly I don't want to be too critical because I really like the Man-Los-Dennis. It's very dated and it's very hard to know what it's trying to do. Actually, I just don't think you could make this show today. I'm not sure. Obviously, we'll talk about different sketches by sketching. There are certainly bits of it that are funny. The concept is really strange to me.
Speaker 1:Well, it comes on with a pretty straightforward sketch. I'm not going to play a clip from all of them, so I'm not bothered with this one, but it's basically Godfather the Panto, and he does them all, doesn't he? He does Pacino, malon Brando does all the pieces come out. He does them all.
Speaker 3:He does two characters from the Godfather. He does two of them. Clearly this was written around the joke that somebody thought, instead of the fairy godmother, the fairy godfather.
Speaker 3:That's the joke that's the joke for this 30 second, 40 second skit is where he's dressed up like Malon Brando doing a version of him, and then he's dressed up as Pacino doing a version of him, and then he's shown the scene with the horse's head in the bed. But the horse's head is like a comic one. That's all spotty. I think they missed the right trick here. This is supposed to be like Christmas Panto. That should have been a reindeer's head, shouldn't it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, obviously, yeah, yeah, completely right. For me, that sketch and a couple of others feels like they've had about. I mean, les was really busy at this point. He would do family fortunes and he would do a pantomime at the same time. I get the feeling that they were almost out of about an hour to write this whole thing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean certainly explain a lot of it. I think I've tried not to be down on it because they're all, but it's funny. It was you know what 35 years ago. It's a long time ago and it has dated and Les is a great chap, but yeah, there's lots of this. That's not. It's not stood to test the time at all, really.
Speaker 1:Well, after this bit, les comes up and does a little bit stand up and it's pretty much all impressions, but he does start. This is the sort of comedy that you get in. This is pretty much his first gag, thank you good evening and a merry Christmas.
Speaker 2:Christmas, the time of those three little words. Batteries not included.
Speaker 1:And I don't know. The whole thing to me with this is like a really poor version of Peter K. So he does another joke about cheap cars from Woolworth's not being able to fit him in the envelope. It's always the same, isn't it? Who remembers that? Who remembers Woolworth's? You know what I mean. It's all observational comedy, but it doesn't.
Speaker 3:Maybe it's because we're not of the era, but it just feels, like it's almost like I'm trying to think like now, could you do? It's like I'm saying Christmas crackers. Yeah, you're pulling people cover their ears, don't they? They think they're going to be loud, and every loud are they. It's like that sort of joke. It's like you know, turkey people look forward to Christmas Turkey. Right, it's always dry, though, isn't it Always a?
Speaker 1:bit dry, always dry, and it's like it's different than this. Peter K does it almost like, almost like, with a knowing thing, and again, we've got to remember the era that it was before. You know, these sort of shows like were sort of looked upon upon bad life. Now you know what I mean. Like probably now he's on with them, all the alternative comics come out and stuff, but I don't know he's like he's even doing the mannerisms of like you know you're pointing at, you're like that one, don't you? You know what I mean. Like into crowd and stuff, like it's just so old-fashioned. Yeah, she knows, but I want to play a clip here as well. Bear in mind that Les Denis, I believe, is a look from Liverpool, you know.
Speaker 3:I've always assumed, so I always thought he's got a very slow exit. Is that that area? I would say definitely. Yeah, well, I'll just have a look now yeah, from Liverpool.
Speaker 1:Yes, there is one oh is it Liverpool, Liverpool itself, and he's 70 now was bloody hell, Anyway, it looks good doesn't it, but yeah, he does look really good Like yeah, so bear in mind, the person he's doing here also comes from Liverpool. This is a bad impression.
Speaker 2:This goes with the stars Cilla Black. I remember one year when I was a little girl I thought I'd got a one-eyed doll that cried then. I turned it the right way up and realised they had a doll that wet itself.
Speaker 3:His impressions aren't very good, are they Like they're not bad?
Speaker 1:Did you like. Obviously we remember his family fortunes. I had no idea he was an impressionist at all.
Speaker 3:Probably intellectuals, I knew him as a kind of comedy character, probably from Usabot rather than from his own show, although I think I did know he had his own show, but I think I used to watch Usabot more. But yeah, I don't remember him, I don't know. It's that thing in it way. So that, and again it was of the time probably a little bit late to be doing this type of stuff. But then people who went on stage and just said I can't help but wondering what would happen if I took my dog to the vet and the guy behind the counter was actually Tyson Fury's dad, John Fury.
Speaker 3:I'm the greatest and I've heard you're here to buy a dog and I'm a fighting man. It's just forcing a bad impression into her. I've seen that it's not really written with any guy. It's just written to get in an impression. That's not even that good.
Speaker 1:How could you well Tyson Fury with your mate.
Speaker 3:Well, I just stopped through. He's obviously training for you, sick, but yeah, he's called in, yeah.
Speaker 1:Is that supposed to be his dad anyway? Oh, he's dad's shit, folks. That's how bad he was Hold on.
Speaker 3:He is here with him. I'm Tyson Fury. He's gone again now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, sounds very similar to his dad. Anyway, he goes from Silver Black and he does a Lloyd Grosman, which everyone used to do a Lloyd Grosman impression. Didn't they Like who would live in a house like this? He's like, I mean, he's in a band, they're Lloyd Grosmen. Does he talk like that normally, lloyd Grosman? I don't think I've ever seen him in an interview. Whenever someone says Lloyd Grosman, I think of that. Vik and Bob sketch. You know that Masterchef sketch.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he's got knife and fork fingers and stuff. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And he does a Neil Kinneck which I don't think is great. Neither and I don't know if I'm comparing him to Steve Coogan, who does a fantastic Neil Kinneck. I don't know if you've heard his Neil Kinneck before.
Speaker 3:Sorry, I ruined that Neil Kinneck impression.
Speaker 1:And then he does Percy and Phyllis from Coronation Street and I do remember Percy's sub-dude and he gets some massive round of applause for this one. So this one was. I think he is good at the Coronation Street characters, as we'll come to later.
Speaker 3:People. Again, though, it's just alright, isn't it? It's like oh, Percy, it's not a good impression, it's alright.
Speaker 1:It's what Gervais says to an extra, isn't it? What's that impression you used to do? When he goes impressions, he goes what were it, Mavis? You know what I mean Like as if he's only arriving home for that one. Then we get an actual sketch like a cutaway, and it's the I forgot his name. Liam, You're going to have to help me out with the chef. Oh yeah, Chris Floyd.
Speaker 3:Floyd Floyd.
Speaker 1:Floyd Floyd, Chris Floyd, you know what I'm talking about. Christopher Lloyd, oh for a thing innit Fucking Back to the Future.
Speaker 3:And that's a better sketch. Makes those two characters together. Yeah, he was a cork, Great Scott.
Speaker 1:I've left the pattern of the only what am I on about. I left the pie out of the only what am I talking about.
Speaker 3:I left the pie. I'm going to completely mad sketch, that one yeah.
Speaker 2:I thought that was alright.
Speaker 3:I think he's got his mannerisms down quite well. Again, though, the tried and tested jokes. The joke is he scoops the melon out of a melon and then fills it with port, I think and drinks it. The trick is to have as much port as he can. It's not. Again, it's not really a sketch, is it I have?
Speaker 1:all this work. This is the first bit so far that made me raise a smile, though I have to admit it's not bad.
Speaker 3:He's got his mannerisms well and he does look he's good at the physical stuff. The makeup department does have a little credit because he looks like the characters in quite a lot of them.
Speaker 1:Then we get, I think, one of the worst sketches I've ever seen. And he's not in this. It's Lisa Maxwell who is sidekick in this, lisa Maxwell, more famous for the Bill and Loose Women. She was going to play Daphne in Frasier. Oh really, yeah, she actually got the role, and I can't remember the reason now, but she didn't do it.
Speaker 3:But she could have been Daphne I think she's good, but not in this sketch. There's a couple of a bit later on, I think is probably the most talented bit in it that she does. Yeah, when I watched the 1991, I'm pretty sure it was there in that yeah, it was there. The other woman in this. I definitely remember from Russ Abbott's show.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I do remember her. Yeah, but in this sketch I mean this is a bad, bad, bad sketch.
Speaker 3:This is I think they're doing their best for the material. I'm assuming they didn't write it. I'm hoping Les didn't write it. It's not good writing.
Speaker 1:It's awesome. I mean, how would you explain it? It's just basically two people talking about the playing a horse between them, obviously in a panto, yeah.
Speaker 3:The joke is that and it's like a two-minute sketch that to play this panto horse we have to be really in sync, but they keep speaking out of sync, they keep getting the words mixed up and then at the end they walk opposite directions and split the horse.
Speaker 1:It's so obvious that's coming at the end of that. Like he's right, come on. Then you're on stage and they walk like separate and he's just like fuck me.
Speaker 3:But then I thought, like there's so much easier to write better than what they've done. I thought they're both going to be the head. And then I thought, no, that's better than what happened. No, yeah this is funny. They just walked off and again I get the whole thing to me.
Speaker 1:Like I said, it feels like they've said, oh, do you want to? We've been commissioned for a Christmas show. I mean, I don't know what the laughter show's like, to be fair, Maybe they were, you know, felt as rushed as this, but it's almost like they thought, oh shit, we've got a day to do it. I mean, we need to get this done now, and then we've got any ideas. We'll do that. We'll do that. You know what I mean?
Speaker 3:It's there's no rush in it, but I just can't believe that nobody there said hold on, like this could be better than that, like imagine saying, yeah, that's good enough.
Speaker 1:I think billions of views. By the way, this was like one of the biggest shows, so remember like you were me and you wanted to go to fancy dresses to Rodney's, to Robbins, not Rodney's.
Speaker 3:That'd be even better. That's even better in here, rob this. That was two Robin's from Batman and Robin. That's a better joke than than this To Rodney's, to Rodney's dress Robin.
Speaker 1:That'd be fucking brilliant to Rodney's looking oh boy, yeah, so this is a shit sketch. And then we get this is it's like a? It's like a variety show almost, but she used to get a lot of these at this time.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and that's kind of probably where he learned his trade as well, those two, yeah yeah.
Speaker 1:So we get a vinyl artist doing Christmas songs and he's impressive, you know, and his dancers and stuff ballroom dancers Just want for about five minutes this it's like a sketch. This is the Les Dennis laughter show. We're 10 minutes in and Les Dennis has been on it for about three minutes and the longest part of it hasn't even been comedy.
Speaker 3:He's a strange character, this guy. What he's like bobbing his knees while he's playing a violin. I've never seen that done before.
Speaker 1:I don't think someone's ever seen Nigel Kennedy live? I haven't actually, but remember Nigel Kennedy. You remember Nigel Kennedy.
Speaker 3:No.
Speaker 1:You're massive in the night is Nigel? I don't know why the violinist I've never heard of him.
Speaker 3:You can tell me his name?
Speaker 1:Do you know? When this has finished and you type Nigel Kennedy in, you're going to kick him out of the bar. Nigel Kennedy, you're really big in the night is.
Speaker 3:You got him. I'm thinking of Vanessa may. That's the only famous violinist I can think of.
Speaker 1:He's not her. Oh, do you know him Told you that he looks?
Speaker 3:a little bit like Harry Rhodes, the chef, on this image.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sure he went. I think you put it sure he went to. Will cool it in one vote.
Speaker 3:Must be some reason they'd like people also ask is Nigel Kennedy a good violin player? Destiny elevated Nigel Kennedy into one of classical music's two great, true greats, born into a musical family, nurtured by a musical community and propelled to in the international superstar them.
Speaker 1:Is the best-selling violinist of all time Must be bigger than that, obviously Nigel Kennedy path don't Don't mess with the best, because the best out mess. I believe his catchphrases. So we go from this violinist who is very good, but again it's very of its time. You wouldn't get this on TV now, but I think even Britain's got talent. What I saw like maybe they would. I don't know, I would think.
Speaker 3:I'm just searching. Vanessa may be Nigel Kennedy, who's the most widely known in the world. Vanessa made a cheesy pop crossover violinist, constant popular Nigel Kennedy is Far better right, yeah, fair enough.
Speaker 1:Did you know who discovered Nigel Kennedy?
Speaker 3:What was his parents name?
Speaker 1:No, no, no. Discovered at age 11 on a British television show.
Speaker 3:Can you give me an era?
Speaker 1:I'd say 80s mid 80s.
Speaker 3:Oh, no, no, no.
Speaker 1:You'll have to look like it. Probably one of the most famous Men, jim will. Jim will fix it. That's the one Jimmy Savile, discovered by Jimmy Savile. So you know it's not all about, is it? It's all good for the world as well, anyway moving on. Oh, can't do that. Yeah, so we get a sketch now, a proper sketch about. It's like a posh rich aunt, they're giving a net again. It goes on for ages, this sketch, and it goes on.
Speaker 3:It's so obvious, it's so obvious and it kindly you think it's not going where. I think it's going Exactly where I thought it was going.
Speaker 1:I One point. I thought how are they gonna end this now? So I'll go through it. Basically, this is a posh family and that is giving out nephews and nieces, president, at president's presence. So the first nephew gets a Mercedes, the niece gets a diamond bracelet. Let's Dennis plays the other nephew.
Speaker 1:It was a bit like the the run of the letter of the family. He's excited because the other two have obviously got these great presents, but he only gets a sack full of compost for his allotment, the Dennis Carrots. It gets a bit weird. This bit I thought there is. Let's Dennis's character gets a bit upset. He says oh, you treat me like dog. You treat me like a dog, you know. You know you never like me and all this is really like quite sort of disturbing. And so the rest of the, the family Give him their presence. So he gets a Mercedes, a diamond bracelet, and then he's that. He gives him a friend shirt, chateau To our own, and you know this one. I think he wears the punchline ears, I don't. And then Dennis says I've got a present for you three. Did you expect what will come in?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it pretty much went where I thought there's a bit that came in before the ending. So I kind of thought the ending was gonna be as it was, but him getting upset and being sad and Getting all their stuff was the bit that threw me a bit. But then it went back to where I thought it's gonna go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so he comes in with three wheelbarrow's of four of my neo. I don't know what's really upset.
Speaker 3:That's what they got him, that's what they think of him. And it turns out he's got them. No, I didn't necessarily expect them to give him all their presents.
Speaker 1:No, but that were necessary, really like, in a way, I didn't have you notice this, but right at the end of this sketch, you know, because it's kind of laughter what? Presumably it's kind of laughter.
Speaker 2:Well, in fact, I think there isn't.
Speaker 1:I think there is an audience there, but there's no life at the end of this sketch. It was fun. They're so weird. It's like a few Like slow claps, like it's really weird that sketch finishes. Them is no, Jeremy, because there's no actual punchline.
Speaker 3:No, no, no. It just just finishes. And I All the way through it as well, slightly distracted because I thought the guy playing in, his cousin was a famous guy. I thought I'm gonna be able to ask you this and you'll never get it. But it wasn't. I was wrong. Thank you, I thought it was Roy Castle from record breakers, but it was yeah, yeah and it I did get by what?
Speaker 1:and that's why I don't know it's a yes, and all the end and it reminded me so much of the scene from extra. I'll play it here, in fact, the scene from extras. I'll just play the clip now.
Speaker 2:You lot enjoying yourselves. Yeah well, tell your faces. Maybe some of your friends as well. Get them along. You have to see talk laughing much, are they?
Speaker 3:That's part of life. I think what makes me like this show more is that we know that further down the line let's just kind of willing to laugh at himself for this era and that's not me, by the way, saying it's a complete Load of shy it has some value. But I think I Like him more because of kind of what's come later. So I was watching this, enjoying it, but probably because I like modern day less.
Speaker 1:I think like there's a brilliant I love that on Extra's where he says obviously he's like, breaks down in the middle of the pantomime and he goes there, where'd you want to take it from? Because how about 1992? I Don't get a magician coming on. I thought first were a guy who sang. You've done it, but do you think?
Speaker 3:No, no, you said it. I kind of mean you know it is. No, I don't know is. I thought this was complete waste of time, this bit.
Speaker 1:Well, let me, I actually didn't mind this bit and it is Martin Daniels, son of Paul Daniels, and he appeared in fight you. What?
Speaker 3:the apple did fall for off from the tree.
Speaker 1:Now he's not. He's not called league. I Thought this was pretty decent in a way that the tricks were a bit shit, but I thought you were quite a good showman and it's like it's just some magic tricks basic. Have you ever been done by a magician? I think we both did.
Speaker 3:We Can't think of a definite example. But yeah, probably I'm not all that sort of wowed by a lot of the card tricks and that I Know it's not magic. So you just, you just tricked me somehow. Well, well done.
Speaker 1:I made Brenton what it's being magician. They bought books and I remember yeah, vaguely, I'm gonna coin in his hands and stuff, yeah, spinning coins and stuff that he did a trick once and he fucked it up and cars went all over and he got so angry. The fucking shit like, fucking, like smacking magician done even better. But this guy, you know he does, like you, fucking paper tricks. You people know what I mean. I think so bad, so Paul.
Speaker 3:Daniels son. Yeah, yeah these are tricks I think you could learn in an hour, maybe less.
Speaker 1:Well, he did. Possibly the best line in the entire thing is from this of all, but you ruined it. The Joe where he opens this big box and this is a small Christmas tree in it and he says looks like Bobby Robson's trophy cabinet, which is quite a good Joe, because there's. But then he adds a head empty. I'm sorry, I don't need to mention you don't need to add that. I understood it. I imagine most people knew what you were saying by now.
Speaker 3:Well, they got the laugh as well, I think.
Speaker 1:and then he still adds to it's like yeah, like is this, if I hope is yeah, he got the laugh. And then yeah, empty is. So do you face like that's empty? Because, sir, you know cuz. So yeah, we're just like the big trick is really bad and this, it's like a big box with a Christmas tree in it. Then it closes up, then it opens and father Christmas is in it and you like I, yeah, I mean, he's no pen and teller, is it?
Speaker 3:No, and it's not. It's not even interesting enough that you know it's. Sometimes you think I wonder how they did that. I Don't care how he did it, I instantly didn't think about it, I don't not bothered. He's obviously in the box somewhere. How we hid him, I don't know. But yeah, it's not very good. I Didn't like this bit, so I just found him Not funny enough or not good enough for magic. It didn't take any of the boxes for me, I just don't.
Speaker 1:I thought you were a decent showman, though I think what we've seen so far in terms of live bits and stuff. I think you were the one who got the crowd going. They were like yeah, what do you reckon that? You know what I mean? Well, it does.
Speaker 3:It's intro easy magician and it's like why he wanted to be a magician. He got a magic set by accident, yeah, and then he does like a. It does a bad magic trick and and then almost tries to get away with it to the guy by saying come on, I'm only 10, yeah, but you've done that trick one in a clap for the magic trick itself. You've not done it as a magic trick For a ten year old. You think we should be impressed by that, and I'm not Do you not think all would have been impressed.
Speaker 3:No way I don't think be anywhere near this sort of stuff. You'd like it, but not a lot, or is a lot? Yeah, that's what you say. In a lot You've done a bit of magic in comedy, but not a lot.
Speaker 1:Um, you have pulled on your magic set like every other kid our age. Yeah, yeah, I had that. Obviously, I don't think I did a single trick in it.
Speaker 3:I learned a few of the basic ones, but yeah, I just don't. I think if you get to a high level, remember him. He were really good. Whatever happens to him, was it Paul Zenon or something like that. Of course, character like I don't know, it weren't like sort of geeky.
Speaker 1:Field. I once was the best magic tricks of all time and not one eight David Copperfield flying, and I was so angry so I watched it all top 50 and I thought that I know he's not flying, though I mean, I know I know tricks are tricks. You know I'm not saying that I actually believe Fucking. You know David Blaine through a card and it's stuck on the other side of the window. But I I just thought that's just a shit when it's just him flying on stage, obviously got wires.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, it's well hidden, but it's why it is it's not funny. Fan of Panentella. Yeah, they do some good stuff. I'm not really a fan of magic, to be honest. I love Darren Brown and sort of the mind tricks, but I'm not. Where's your card. Is your card? No, it's not. There's your card, it's like alright well done, right.
Speaker 1:The next bit I was really excited about because we see the Coronation Street music coming on and I wrote down let's play it. Well, it's playing long. I'm going to play a bit. Obviously, coronation Street comes on and I just wrote down. Will he say the line and listen how quickly the sketch started. It's starting that he says the line.
Speaker 2:Music plays Hello mate, how are you?
Speaker 3:I'm doing really well. What actually amazed me here is I thought the Kembalo impression here was the best of all the impressions that it does Funny you say that, yeah, I haven't made any notes, but one of the things I wanted to mention was You'd watched this before me and you'd said alright, it does Coronation Street and it does Barlow and Mavis, and I thought how would you do an impression of Kembalo?
Speaker 3:I can't think of any sort of distinguishing thing about it, but it does, Genuinely as well. Not trying to be funny, I just thought to myself how would I do an impression of Kembalo?
Speaker 1:I've got no idea, but he nails it, he gets him Absolutely. There's mannerisms of him where he sort of scratches his head. This is a genuinely brilliant impression of Kembalo and you have to watch it to fully get it.
Speaker 3:I rewound it and tried just listening to it, because sometimes when you can't see it, you have to get an impression it was good, it was really good. I thought, yeah, that does sound like Kembalo.
Speaker 1:And obviously it does, it, obviously will. Does he do a good Mavis?
Speaker 3:Isn't it like a sort of thing that she's never actually said that?
Speaker 1:I think she said it once. I'm sure Les Dennis has shared this before. If he has, I'll put it in here. But if I can't find it, you're not going to hear anything from now on. But I'm sure Les Dennis has shared it on Twitter, where she has it.
Speaker 3:But it certainly wasn't a catchphrase. It was a catchphrase for him doing her, isn't it? It was never her catchphrase.
Speaker 1:Or maybe he needed her catchphrase and I don't know if she said it after or before him, but he's so over the top Like well, I don't really know. Do you reckon they just say see the line, les? Like I mean, I just don't really know.
Speaker 3:It looks like he has a lot of fun doing it. I think he's happy to do it.
Speaker 1:But then what happens here is again. The writing is pretty shit and there's a shit sketch about it's a bit, is it? Is it back Ken taking up? But it's not even worth talking about. He's taking up a recorder and maybe it's like it's really boring Ken, but then they turn on the telly and he sends us on. So then we get another and this again. I'm going to play a little clip here. Firstly, he's playing Frank Butcher, which I think is probably the worst Frank Butcher impression I've ever heard, including like everybody can go yeah, that's better. Instantly, that's better. It doesn't sound and I'll play in both. But it doesn't sound anything like Frank Butcher, but I think he does a really good dirty dead and I'll play in both back to back here.
Speaker 1:The Frank is awful, and it really is like it really is bad, like I say everyone, all you have to do is what I thought he was doing.
Speaker 3:I was half watching the character. I don't know what I was doing, doing something else, so I had it on in the background and I thought, oh, that is an absolutely fantastic. Was it David Wicks, pat's son? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what. I was pretty, absolutely nailed him spot on. It was that is David Wicks, and it's not. It's dirty dead.
Speaker 1:I think he gets the mannerisms again. I think he's brilliant at mannerisms, Dennis. Like he's got like the wild eyes, like well, I don't know what you want to bet, Because I don't know he's brilliant. Like I thought I enjoyed this one.
Speaker 3:I thought it would be better when I thought it was David Wicks, I think.
Speaker 1:So maybe someone should have had a word with him. So then they turn the TV on, so it's like all one sketch this and we get bread. If anyone remembers the comedy, bread, gotta get up, gotta get up, go on up. Brilliant theme tune. It is a fucking brilliant theme tune. I love that bit Anyway, and let's play Grandad. I think he does a good impression of this as well. If anyone remembers Grandad, I'll play another clip of this Grandad how are you?
Speaker 2:Where's my Christmas pudding? Have you brought me Christmas pudding? I only popped in to see how you wear Grandad. I thought you might be lonely. Yeah well, you needn't to bother. No one tells me anything anyway. They want me dinner.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he's good at that. I mean, it's not a great impression, it's a bit ridiculous, but he does him well. You know who it is, you don't need to see it, and he does her? Okay as well, the sort of girl in it. I don't know her name actually.
Speaker 1:Ah, now one of the totally one in it. Oh, what's her name? I don't know, yeah, but yeah, I'm looking at that.
Speaker 3:I just call my name and I see you, grandad Did you still like bread.
Speaker 1:We, brendan, used to watch it again when it must have been about 10 years old and we were watching it. It used to be on in the afternoon. It was used to wax floor and stuff. Whatever TV brought. We used to piss ourselves. Joey was supposed to be a really cool one in it. He had a massive white mobile phone Like it was absolutely you. We were like Dom Jollies Hello, nice rubbish. We used to absolutely every time we'd watch ourselves.
Speaker 3:It was like charm. A woman in the job center is what I remember.
Speaker 1:Did you ever get? Her in and I don't like him bread to be fair, but I don't know if that's because of the ironic one here. What's that scouse called? You were in a lock stock.
Speaker 3:The one out of good night's sweet that's him yeah, yeah. I remember his name, but yeah, good, good man Good.
Speaker 1:What I found funny here is then bread. The man from bread, lez Grandad, post tele on and they're watching Coronation Street and it's the sketch we've just seen. So once again we get the line. I'll play it again.
Speaker 3:I don't really know. Brilliant yeah, just I reckon those would be happy if they just kept going around in a loop and coming back to that every 10 minutes. So I think that that's shooting down to the ground.
Speaker 1:I don't really know. I mean it is good, it is funny, I'm giving the crowd what they want.
Speaker 3:No, I must admit, I will have him, but probably with some level of irony maybe. But it's like say, I don't want to do him down because this was a prime time, prime spot, like, well, that is what prime time is, isn't it? This is a. This will have been massive viewing figures. This, and if I was watching this at a time when my family we would all have been laughing and loving it. Obviously, this is brilliant, but through the cold post COVID eyes of 2023, I'm not seeing a lot of humor in it.
Speaker 1:You're on with that again. Off the fight, it's life too short. Where he looks at marriage, lez Dennis, I see a child, the eyes of a child, but they've seen so much. He was just like a Lez Dennis. Best of thing with that. But this is definitely my favourite bit of the whole show with that little like sort of sketches in a row, east Ender, I thought it was quite clever how they did it. They're all watching each other on TV. Basically, I did like I thought there were three decent impressions in there, like Barlow.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and, by the way, I'm probably not doing him any favours, because I do think he's a good sort of stage impressionist. I don't think he's elite level, but I think he's a good stage impressionist. So yeah, I don't mind. I thought that you're right. That little sort of jump from a few different things that we know there was actually good and was quite funny actually.
Speaker 1:And then after that we get once again we're getting the variety element of the show. We get some energetic and, I must say, pretty sexy dancers.
Speaker 3:A woman. One of them is so short.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:It's actually more like a swimming costume. Like you can just see a pan, there's no point wearing it.
Speaker 1:You won't get away with it these days. So yeah, some sexy dancers, some of the ladies as well, a bit of blue-foot darts and the dancing to Santa Claus and, coming to town as much as I raise an eyebrow, put some of the girls on this. Absolutely no point for this section. I mean, I could say it's a different era again, but in that different, well, late eighties. Here this is like what I expect from late sixties or early seventies more common lies.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's that era where it still feels like a stage show done for TV, right. I mean, there's a bit as well, by the way, in them dancers. Some of the bloke dancing is really funny. See where there's a guy spins a woman around his body. It does it so badly it really does look like he's going to drop her. It's awful like really jerky movements.
Speaker 1:Do you think, though, that Britain's Got Talent is a bit like almost like the modern day variety show?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think that's probably exactly what it is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, summed it up, Should put that Cowell, you know Britain's Got Talent, aka Modern Day Reality Show.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think that is exactly what it is. It's tapping into that, but I think the difference in this is we're watching a comedy show and it's just cut. Two runnies did it sometimes, but I associate them with more sort of there was still humour within the songs, that's just something completely different. It's just like I don't know. Just let's just cut away to a bit of dancing to give Lezichans to freshen up.
Speaker 1:Then we get another sketch and it's back to Christopher Lloyd the chef. What's his name?
Speaker 3:again, Floyd, I think. By the way, that magician I mentioned was Paul Zenon, and he was a cool customer. I don't know what he's still doing. That's not relevant to right now.
Speaker 1:Fair enough, yeah, and this sketch is the same. Then we get Lisa Maxwell back on. I'm not going to imagine this is the bit that you want to talk about. I don't think she's playing anyone famous here, it's just the monologue of a girl. But it really reminded me of Vicky Pollard.
Speaker 3:Well, I think this is I'm not playing it in the same league, so I'll just put that out there straight away. This was a little bit like almost like an Alan Bennett talking heads or Ronnie Corbett's little bit where he does his chess screen, I think and you're right, and what I liked about it is this is the first time I felt like we've had some good writing and some good acting to put together something that this still kind of works in the modern day. This is still a funny sketch because it's not just referencing something of the time, so it's not just. This is funny because you know Birds of a Feather oh, I'm doring from Birds of a Feather.
Speaker 1:Fucking hell. It's terribly sad that I don't hear you sound like them. I can't think of anyone.
Speaker 3:I don't even know how she talks, though, is it?
Speaker 1:Doreen or Doreen, yeah, but there are open goals there for Lisa Robson. Like everything's all white mate, like proper cock, no, oh wow.
Speaker 3:Doreen's here. All right, I'm Doreen. I don't know how she does it, but anyway, doreen, he's not even Doreen.
Speaker 1:He's Doreen, isn't he?
Speaker 3:I can't remember. Yeah, I shouldn't have picked that as a point of reference. To be honest, Terrible.
Speaker 1:I do, you're having a go. This is what they're doing in the sketch show, though. Right, they said just do fucking Do Frank a watch on that car, just do him.
Speaker 3:Just do him. Yeah, but yeah, it's not anchored to a moment of a person who was famous at the time. It's just a sketch and it's funny. It reminded me of when I worked at HSBC for a bit, because the joke is it's about you work at a bank and they think they're all wacky and like actually nothing that exciting's happened. Yeah, I once worked at HSBC and they said I do. A couple of women sat near me and said hey, tell Liam about what happened on our last night. I won't believe it. And I said, yeah, go on. What happened? They said, well, on my own, like we're only taxi. And when we stopped she got out of taxi. She's got to turn right to get to her own. She only turned left and they were going like crying well after that, but they always did.
Speaker 1:It's just writing team for this.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And then one of them said I don't really know, no no, that's not right, but yeah.
Speaker 1:Sorry. Our father said you know and Graham know, because what time did you come in last night? Quarter past eight.
Speaker 3:But no, I thought that was good, I thought she was good. I think yeah, I'm not kind of knocking he's given the public what they want. He's given them the cheap impressions. But that felt like, oh, this is quite a well-written sketch, this one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then the sort of the big sketch of the entire thing comes right at the end. This is 10 minutes long, 10 minutes sketch of this and it's one of the oddest sketches, yeah, and I'll tell you why as I go through it. I'll try and go through it all, because it's quite a long one to go through. It's not a lot to Anyway. So he starts off with a guy turning his way out of prison. At Warcam. You jump in early. I mean, if I've got something wrong, I've got something.
Speaker 3:This is the Great Escape. Yeah, and he's doing the. Oh, it's his name. I want to say James Deem, but it's not. Yeah, I know what you mean. Steve McQueen. Yeah, he's playing him in the Great Escape.
Speaker 1:To start with, he's on a bike seat.
Speaker 3:He's on a hedgehog.
Speaker 1:And he's knocked out by the lion from the Wizard of Oz who nicks his bike. Who's?
Speaker 3:blurred with Tigger, because he's doing Put him up, put him up, he's parked, tigger.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, he's bouncing as well, yeah, so he nicks his bike and he's driving down, and then we're joined on the road by Rocky and the lion falls off his bike.
Speaker 3:Well, glez is playing almost all these characters. He's not playing the lion, though, is he?
Speaker 1:He's not playing the lion. He's not playing the lion. I think Miss Marple's in it. I think he's Miss Marple.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I don't think he does play Miss Marple. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she's next and she's like so he falls off his bike. And then it's really funny. Miss Marple's like just got a magnifying glass out, like looking good, oh, I wonder what. And I know where Rocky knocks her out she's just going to reveal who the murderer is.
Speaker 3:And yeah, Rocky knocks her out.
Speaker 1:And then someone throws a huge boulder at Rocky and it randomly switches to Indiana Jones Trying to get away from the boulder. Then the I think it's the railway children Pop-up, yeah, but there's a really bad bit in there where.
Speaker 3:So they're in the mine cart in Indiana Jones and the boulder's behind them and she says do something, indy. And I again had to rewind this because I didn't know what was going on. He just starts holding up random things and I thought what?
Speaker 1:was he doing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think, and the only way I figured it out is from the last one, which is a horseshoe. I think he's just holding up good-looking charms. I think he starts off with a rabbit's fort. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Then it's like some heather. But that's so bad, that's not fun. Eh, who come up with art?
Speaker 1:Is it? Yes, worse is that thing. So the real work, Gerald Rappopo, the ball that randomly stops at the middle of the train track, but Tarzan swings from a tree and we're on a beach out of nowhere, where the famous chariot's a fire running scene. What a song, by the way.
Speaker 2:All I want to do at this point.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, I honestly watched this bit and I thought I'm going to just press pause and listen to that on a loop Van Gaal-less bell, bell, bell, bell, bell, bell, bell, bell, brilliant song who's the bald man that he's playing in that bit?
Speaker 3:Is that part of the film Charity of the Fire? That's part of the film.
Speaker 1:I think so anyway. Anyway, then we're in the house and it's Dracula and James Bond and I want to play Barry Mound. Les Denys is supposed to be an Impressionist. This is the worst James Bond impression I've ever heard. I think the name's Bond.
Speaker 2:James Bond, donald Sepp or one of your colleagues from outside of London?
Speaker 3:So bad, I don't think it's that bad if I'm honest, really Fair play. Maybe it's me, I just thought I thought he's doing it alright, to the point where actually, at the very start of it, I thought is it him or have they got someone else to do this bit because they can do it better than him? I weren't sure if it was Doug, and then I thought, oh no, actually it's not bad, so I didn't mind that Fair play, fair play, fair play.
Speaker 1:I went to find out that.
Speaker 3:But what I found mad about this is they were sort of a linear story at the start, where they all yeah, they were trying to tie things together for the first sort of six or seven clips, and then it just becomes random sketches.
Speaker 1:now this is what I don't get. He's like he started off with, you know, he got his bike nicked and then he got punched off his bike and then he punched Miss Marple with a boulder coming for rock cake. Turns out it's Indiana. It all sort of went together. And then all of a sudden you get Dracula and James Bond in a house with no build-up or anything. Then we get like little sketches of like Humphrey Bogart and Gandhi, the Gandhi one.
Speaker 3:Yeah, casablanca Gandhi. Sound of Music, all just yeah. Julie Andrews yeah, no link or tie-in to these sketches. These are now independent and they're just again to get in. It's insane. It's like Vik and Bob. It's like the average. Yeah, but it's not though, is it Because?
Speaker 2:you've been laughing at me.
Speaker 3:Vik and Bob, I think. And that's why I say that without I really don't want to have a go at. I really like Les Deniz and I think this was obviously good in its day. But yeah, it cuts to ET randomly, it crashes into a cliff and then he's doing the Marx Brothers who grabs your Marx and gets shot with an arrow, and that goes from that to Gandhi.
Speaker 1:Well, I don't get it, it's like the right. I can't believe what was going on here. It's like they said, right, what we need, we're gonna do like a film thing. Oh, that's a great idea. We'll put loads of films together. Yeah, yeah, yeah, brilliant, fantastic, what's all the films we've got? So they go through them all like ET or sound of mute. Yeah, yeah, put that in. And then obviously someone said, oh, I'm obviously Gandhi's got to be in there as well. But what?
Speaker 3:Yeah, well yeah, it's like. It really is like somebody or somebody said oh Les, didn't you once do an impression of someone out of Ghostbusters? Yeah, put that on the end as well. Yeah, yeah, that would have been nice.
Speaker 3:Have you seen Jurassic Park, les? Yeah, yeah, can you dress up? Put him as a dinosaur in one of the last bits as well? Like what? Particularly the last five minutes of that. He's insane. It's yeah, I can't explain it. And it's disappointing because, again, I think it. He's better than that. I think he is a funny boy. He can do good impressions, but then last few sketches just feel so, I don't know, just forced together for no reason. The Gandhi bit is crazy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when Gandhi comes in and it ends by saying that's all we're having folks, and the Loonatune team comes on and that's it. And you think? I've watched that, I'm full. Who wrote that? No, that's all folks.
Speaker 3:That's all we're having folks. Somebody thought it was a joke Well, how funny is, I don't know but somebody thought that had some humor in it and then yeah, we get this final bit, now don't we?
Speaker 1:Well, I just I want to. That is an incredible piece of television that we watched there, I think for 10 minutes, not for the right reasons, but just it's almost like fucking throw that in as well, throw that in the term throw enough shit at a wall and see what happens. Like that is that If someone had to say what does that mean? I don't know If someone from America or someone said what's that mean, that term, you know, presumably it's a British term throw enough shit at a wall. That is what it means, that 10-minute sketch.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and it finishes on a bit more of a high. I don't know if you want to play a last little bit of Clip of that, but what I want to say, though, is that I am fairly sure the audience would have enjoyed.
Speaker 3:I think if you'd have asked us as 8-year-olds who probably aren't the target audience or our parents at that time, they would have said I love that bit where it went through all the film sketches. I think it's those with our sort of modern cynical heads on it. Yeah, I think in its day that was probably really good and really funny. It just doesn't work now, and as much as I like Les, I can't pretend it does, I'm afraid.
Speaker 1:So it ends now. Les again stand up and he does, I'll play Clip. He does Del Boy. Well, I'll just play it.
Speaker 2:Christmas, fools and horses. I love fools and horses. Come on, rodney. What's the matter with you, you plonker? I don't believe it, dale. I mean, sometimes you can be really insensitive. What are you rabbiting on about now, rodney? Well, when I was little, remember, you told me that Santa Claus didn't exist. Rodney, it was getting embarrassing. You had to know sometime. Oh no, dale, but you've known since July and you didn't tell me till Christmas Eve.
Speaker 1:Right, the Delia isn't awful. I don't think it's not good, though I think both are okay, and I think, I think, Rodney's is really bad. This, I think Del's. Alright, I thought Rodney's like what are you on about? I don't know.
Speaker 3:I did the test again where I thought was that any good? Is it? Just he's trying to look like him. Just listen to the audio of it and I thought actually not bad. But I think what I was tainted by is I'm pretty sure you said to me fairly recently it finishes on the worst, del and Rodney, or something like that. So I was expecting it to be really bad and I think for that reason I thought actually this is alright. I thought it's not bad this.
Speaker 1:The Delboy's alright, but it's a very standard Delboy Rodney, you plonk ah, do you know what I mean? Like really over the top, but then I just yeah, and that's it, and that is. Bless Dennis's Christmas laughter showing. Same as you. I genuinely think he's a really good actor, dennis. I think he's brilliant, even in a lot of this. His acting's good. I think he's a brilliant presenter. But I was so disappointed. I like to say it's probably due to it being dated. The 70s and 80s comedy scene is. You know it's look, people laugh at it now. It's almost like being parodied that much and it's cheap wigs and cheap impressions and innuendos and stuff like that. But these are massive audiences. They were getting you know what I mean Like the comedians today.
Speaker 3:But no chance of matching up. That's my takeaway from this is maybe there's a lesson learned here for us as well. We're supposed to be watching this full of the Christmas spirit, festive spirit, and we've been quite down on this. I think this was a star of British TV at the time in his prime, and who are we now to sit here and say, oh, I didn't find that funny? Unfortunately, we can't tell you what it was.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's it.
Speaker 3:And it doesn't work today, but that's not to say it wasn't fantastic in its era. Do you know what was? Well, though, I wonder if it's one of them where, if you remember it better than we do, so we only vaguely remember a lot of what Les did. If you have that sort of callback to watching this with your grandparents and finding it really funny at the time and I'm sure there's something in this for people if you remember a bit more of it than we do but in this moment, it was one of the darlings of UK TV comedy, weren't it?
Speaker 1:Well, I think after Dustin G died, a lot of people suspected Les Dennis to. You know he never hear him anymore. I suppose it's like Vic and Bob. If Vic died or Bob died, you know, in the early stages of the career you think, well, that's them done. But Dennis, you know he went on to host Family Fortune for 15 years. You know, the most popular game show of his time, got a lot of time for him, a lot of time for him. But this particular part of his career he just didn't do it for me. This show, yep, so that was Les Dennis' laughter last Christmas. Laughter show Les.
Speaker 3:Dennis. Is that his real name? By the way? What? Les Dennis? Yeah, can't be. It's Des Lennis, isn't it? Is it Leslie Dennis' actual name? You've read his autobiography, haven't you? I have read his autobiography.
Speaker 1:I believe His name is actually Leslie Dennis'. Heseltime, really, yeah, so he dropped the Heseltime and just went Les Dennis.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, good episode, I think, yeah, sign of the Times, maybe.
Speaker 1:Sign of the Times the attribute to the man. Yeah, the attribute to the man Up. Next, we've got a watch along again and it's better than the other ones that we've done. Fivori recorded this one. I won't say it to you, though myself Stake words. Another watch. Last two watch along's have been a bit dodgy, but this one I think we've got it spot on in terms of yeah it works better. Yeah, it works a lot better, and it is EastEnders 2007 Christmas episode.
Speaker 3:Brad, where you?
Speaker 1:map it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where Max Branagh is, a fare with Stacey is revealed, so we'll have a watch along with that and that should be coming with you in the next couple of days, man.
Speaker 3:It is on the iPlayer. If you do. This is why it worked better, because it's an iPlayer, it won't get any out of there. So if you do want to do the watch along with us, it is available on iPlayer. It's like you know, eastenders specials episodes or something like that. It's not, it's in a separate category, but it's quite easy to find yeah, just put EastEnders Christmas in, you'll see it.
Speaker 1:You'll see Max Branagh's face, and that's enough, Right, Lio? Thank you very much for that one, and I will see you in a couple of days.
Speaker 3:Yeah, see you soon. If anyone wants to get in touch with us, send us anything. Find us on Twitter at Living with Made One, or you can send us an email at livingwithmadeleyatoutlookcom.