Phil Cornwell
It has been a quarter of a century since a little-known sports reporter was given his own radio chat show by the BBC. Two radio series, five TV series, four specials, two books and one movie later, Alan Partridge has an unrivalled place in the comedy pantheon. To celebrate Alan’s return to his rightful home at the BBC in 2018, this retrospective documentary will look back at his journey from broadcaster caricature to the award-winning study of complexity and pathos that he has become.
With fascinating facts and big laughs, this spoof edition of Dragons' Den travels through time as great (and not so great) inventors from history pitch their ingenious ideas.
Alan Partridge has had many ups and downs in life—national television broadcaster; responsible for killing a guest on live TV; local radio broadcaster; nervous breakdown in Dundee; and a self-published book that was subsequently recalled and pulped. Alan tries to salvage his public career while negotiating a potentially violent turn of events at North Norfolk Digital Radio.
A gang of bank robbers team up with the residents of an old people's home to try to survive a zombie outbreak.
A dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination.
CelebAir was a reality TV series in which 11 celebrities performed the duties of cabin crew and check-in attendants. The series was presented by Angellica Bell and aired on ITV2 from 2 September 2008 until 23 October 2008, when Lisa Maffia was declared the winner. For the show, Monarch Airlines repainted one of its Airbus A321 aircraft, registration G-OZBI, with the CelebAir logo along with a new tail fin design. The aircraft was used for the majority of CelebAir flights although the celebrities additionally worked on normal Monarch branded aircraft. CelebAir activity took place on Monarch flights which were already part of the summer schedule; with the rear of the aircraft allocated as the CelebAir cabin with the celebrities working from the rear galley along with their mentors. Before any of the celebrities were allowed to start their new jobs, they undertook a six-week training programme run by Monarch and were required to adhere to Monarch’s standards whilst working for CelebAir. The series is set in London Gatwick Airport and, in the finale, the private jet took off and landed at London Stansted Airport. There are seven destinations that CelebAir flew to; those being Tenerife South Airport, Faro Airport, Málaga Airport, Ibiza Airport, Mahon Airport, Larnaca International Airport and Alicante Airport.
The year is 2012 and only Buddhist kung-fu cop Terry Phoo and teenage ne'er-do-well Whitey Action can save London and the Nation as a whole from mutant criminals who are taking over.
Headcases was an ITV satirical animation show based on current affairs. It employed the same satirical style as Spitting Image, 2DTV and Bo' Selecta! but using 3D animation created by UK Visual Effects and animation house Red Vision. Red Vision evolved a series of unique production techniques and a sophisticated animation pipeline to deliver the weekly topical elements of the series to hitherto impossible deadlines. The programme's first series began on 6 April 2008, with weekly episodes until 11 May 2008, airing on Sundays at 10 pm. A seventh episode was televised on Friday, 30 May at 10:30 pm, and an eighth at 10 pm on Sunday, 15 June. The show included celebrities, politicians and members of the British Royal Family in their animated form, taking a role in sketches including scenarios from their own topical issues. The show's name comes from the fact that all the subjects' caricatured faces are out of scale with the rest of their bodies.
Phoo Action is a BBC Three 60 minute TV pilot, one of six drama pilots that were transmitted in early 2008, and was first broadcast on 12 February 2008 at 21:00 UTC. Phoo Action is based on the Jamie Hewlett-created strip Get The Freebies, which ran in The Face from June 1996 to June 1997. It stars Jaime Winstone as Whitey Action, Carl Weathers as Police Chief Benjamin "Ben" Benson and Eddie Shin as Terry Phoo. Ratings were reported at 232k. A full six-part series was commissioned to begin shooting later in 2008 for broadcast in 2009. However, just before production was due to begin the BBC announced that the series was cancelled. The show is set from the perspective of the disaffected teenage female protagonist, Whitey Action, who joins together with tough guy kung-fu cop Terry Phoo to form a dubious crime-fighting duo who thwart many mutant miscreants of The Freebies Gang on the streets of London in 2012. The screen adaptation was written by Matthew Enriquez Wakeham, Jessica Hynes and Peter Martin, and directed by Euros Lyn. Production began in September 2007 at a number of Glasgow locations. Some scenes were shot inside the main studio at BBC Scotland's Pacific Quay Studios.
Theres trouble brewing in Downtown Coventry. Mobster, Ray Carlton has a dreamcasinos! Hes got dirt on the local Mayor, Derek Osbourne and he wants his pound of flesh. In return for not flushing him down the toilet, Carlton has the Mayor greasing the way for a super casino on the site of the park where Lady Godiva actually rode!
Sally Lockhart crosses paths with the nefarious industrialist Axel Bellman, the richest and most powerful man in Europe. She's determined to prove him guilty of corruption and fraud, whilst Bellman will stop at nothing to destroy her case.
Ronni Ancona & Co is a comedy sketch show that aired on BBC One and began on 25 May 2007. The sketches all consisted of impressions of well-known celebrities amongst other comedy sketches of fictional characters created by Ronni Ancona. Phil Cornwell, Jan Ravens and John Sessions all starred in the series with Ancona. Bill Oddie also made a cameo appearance in the first episode. Fellow impressionist Alistair McGowan appeared in the first episode in a spoof of a perfume advertisement.
This movie follows a mother who falls for a younger man while her daughter falls in love for the first time. Mother Nature messes with their fates.
A documentary about Spitting Image (1984) and the impact it had, including clips of the most memorable moments and contributions from many of the cast, crew and some of celebrities portrayed on the show.
The true story of a man who posed as director Stanley Kubrick during the production of Kubrick's last film, Eyes Wide Shut, despite knowing very little about his work and looking nothing like him.
Colombian Luccio and his girlfriend Angie move into a respectable part of Berkshire, learning that Ron and Helen, the previous owners of their house, died mysteriously. Angie discovers that their neighbours, estate agent Roy and his wife Jane, high court judge Charles and his bickering wife Carol and Bilbo, a conceptual artist and his partner were all members of a wife-swapping circle who usually met at Ron and Helen's house. Luccio reveals himself to be a policeman and is curious as to how Ron and Helen died, lining up all the suspects.
King Arthur's Disasters is a British animated series which first aired on CITV, a now defunct programming block on ITV1. The series was Co-Created by Paul Parkes and Will Ashurst, the series follows and depicts attempts by King Arthur, assisted by the wizard Merlin, to woo the beautiful self-obsessed Princess Guinevere. Due to the popularity of the show, it was picked up for a second series which began transmission on CITV from 6 November 2005. Both were Executive Produced by Genevieve Dexter King Arthur's Disasters was the highest rated new CITV show during Spring 2005. It regularly achieved an audience share of over 20% of kids and it regularly won its time slot against CBBC. In 2006 the show was nominated for a children's BAFTA for Best Animation, however lost to The Amazing Adrenalini Brothers.
Encouraged by his editor to seek 'sexy stories that sell', a reporter preys upon the private life of an erstwhile friend, with disastrous results.
A group of American executives making a film about World War II decide that since their lead is rather unglamorous, they will draft in an American G.I. to play the part of Winston Churchill. Their take on the war depicts a handsome Churchill falling in love with Princess Elizabeth, who is herself involved in the war as an undercover agent.
Michael Caine, Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson and Roger Moore all live on a quiet street in Surbiton and Mick Jagger and Keith Richards run their corner shop - who knew?
Dead Ringers is a United Kingdom radio and television comedy impressions show broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and later BBC Two. The programme was devised by producer Bill Dare and developed with Jon Holmes, Andy Hurst and Simon Blackwell. It starred Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Phil Cornwell, Kevin Connelly and Mark Perry. The main writers for season 1-3 on Radio were Jon Holmes and Andy Hurst with Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain coming on board in Series 4. Other writers have included Simon Blackwell, Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, John Finnemore, David Mitchell, Richard Ward, Terry Newman, Jonathan Morris, Colin Birch, Carl Carter and Tony Cooke. It was revealed by star Jan Ravens that the BBC quietly cancelled the television run in 2007 after five years of broadcast.
Adapted from a monologue in his "Blue Jam" radio series, Chris Morris' first short film is a haunting black comedy about a man who no longer uses his name because he's decided he's ceased to deserve one, and a dog called Rothko who says he is the man's lawyer. As reality bleeds into hallucination, Rothko decides to take the man for a walk...
Celebrity Takedown is a compilation DVD by Gorillaz, released in November 2002. The DVD compiles the videos and animatics related to the release of the band's first album, Gorillaz, as well as the related singles.
World of Pub is a radio and television sitcom, set in a pub in the East End of London, written by Tony Roche and produced by Jane Berthoud. The radio version had two series on BBC Radio 4, between 4 March 1998 and 28 January 1999, both lasting four episodes. The series one episodes last 15 minutes, whereas series two had episodes lasting 30 minutes. The TV series ran for six episodes, lasting 30 minutes, between 24 June and 29 July 2001 on BBC Two.
Based on a true story and in the same mould as Get Carter and Nil by Mouth, Out of Depth is a hard hitting, contemporary character based thriller. A gritty expose of the South London Underworld, it tells the story of misguided good intentions, of family love and of the personal hopes and fears that lay behind several gangland killings.
I'm Alan Partridge is a BBC situation comedy starring Steve Coogan, of which two series of six episodes each were produced — the first in 1997 and the second in 2002. The series followed the titular Alan Partridge, a failed television presenter whose previous exploits had featured in the chat-show parody Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge, and who is now presenting a programme on local radio in Norwich. Both series were written by Peter Baynham, Coogan and Armando Iannucci; supporting Coogan were Felicity Montagu as his faithful, mouse-like personal assistant, Lynn Benfield; Simon Greenall as Geordie Travel Tavern handyman/BP garage attendant Michael; and Phil Cornwell as disc jockey Dave Clifton. It has been well received by both critics and fans, and was nominated for three BAFTAs, two British Comedy Award, and a Royal Television Society award.
Stella Street is a British television comedy programme, originally screened in four series on BBC Two between 1997 and 2001. It takes the form of a mockumentary filmed on a camcorder, based on the fantastical premise that a group of British and American celebrities who have all decided to move into Stella Street in Surbiton. The show was conceived and written by John Sessions, Phil Cornwell and Peter Richardson. The main characters are played by Sessions, Cornwell and Ronni Ancona. The characters themselves are impressions of famous celebrities such as Marlon Brando, Michael Caine, Jack Nicholson and, idiosyncratically, UK football pundit Jimmy Hill. Stella Street's depiction of celebrities is mainly rooted in the popular stereotypes surrounding them. For example, Stella Street's Jack Nicholson is an inveterate womaniser, drug taker, and has a tacky line in Hawaiian shirts. Michael Caine is seen as an awkward wanna-be cognoscente in horn-rimmed glasses and a shock of ginger hair. Dirk Bogarde is a posh buffoon only interested in his rose garden and Country Life magazine. Al Pacino is deluded that he is a "tall actor, like Danny DeVito and Dustin Hoffman", despite the viewer knowing that he are of short stature. Joe Pesci is portrayed in the light of his most well known roles in violent gangster films, while Jimmy Hill inevitably appears dull when talking about the FA Cup Final to plainly uninterested greater celebrities.
After reading a book entitled 'Modern Men', Del elects to have a vasectomy but backs out when he finds that the doctor concerned is still angry about the faulty paint he sold him. With Cassandra pregnant Rodney is seeking a better-paid job and answers a newspaper advertisement, only to discover that it is as Del's assistant. Cassandra is rushed to hospital but she miscarries and, whilst comforting Rodney, Del bursts into tears.
The Glam Metal Detectives is a comedy show produced by the BBC in 1995. Shown on BBC2 on Thursday nights at 9pm, it combined both sketch and sitcom elements, As with other shows launched in this timeslot, The Glam Metal Detectives attempted to innovate and combine genres, resulting in an off-the-wall mix of the sublime and the surreal which broke new ground with its 'multimedia' approach. The show consists of a single series of seven episodes. The scripts were written by the cast, and director Peter Richardson, and the series starred Gary Beadle, Phil Cornwell, Doon Mackichan, Sara Stockbridge, George Yiasoumi, and Mark Caven. The show was designed to appear as if the viewer was channel surfing through a multi-channel wasteland, happening upon spoof adverts, short sketches, and recurring show elements. Like other BBC content of the mid-1990s, it often lampooned the low-budget quality of satellite television available in the UK at the time.
As part of BBC Two's 50th birthday celebrations, this programme pulls from the shelf some rare and previously unseen comedy moments from some of the greatest names in comedy.
