Whistled up

The current whistle blower Sarah Sharpe has made her way to 3rd in the place of JAM whistle-blowers, bumping my all-time favourite Anne Ling.

Sarah still has a way to go to oust Janet Staplehurst or Ian Messiter!

Still, it's nice to have a reliable hand on the scorecard!

Miriam Margolyes

Have just been watching the actress Miraim Margolyes on Graham Norton's chat show. She was naughtier and funnier than Graham which is a tough challenge. One story was about how she ended up telling someone on a bus to "take your cock out of my arse!"

Miriam did a JAM way back in 1979 where she spent a great deal of time flirting with Nicholas. I guess that won't work again as she has since come out as a lesbian.

All the same I'm convinced Claire Jones should be getting on the phone to Ms Margolyes or her manager and pleading for her to come on the next show!

long-serving?

In the comments, Ian posted this question

with Clement's passing, who's the 'oldest' player who still appears? (Not old as in age, but old as in first appearance.) Paul is probably old guard now (1988?) but how about Tim Rice, etc.? Who's now the longest serving who still appears?

Here's a list of people who appeared either last year or this year in chronological order... (note: where the panellist appeared on TV first I have noted both that and their radio debut)

1967: Sheila Hancock
1980: Tim Rice
1982: Gyles Brandreth
1989: Paul Merton
1992: Stephen Fry, Helen Lederer, Tony Hawks
1994: Jenny Eclair, Kit Hesketh-Harvey (TV), Graham Norton (TV), Kit Hesketh-Harvey (radio)
1996: Graham Norton (radio)
1997: Julian Clary
1999: Pam Ayres (TV)
2000: Sue Perkins
2001: Liza Tarbuck, Charles Collingwood
2002: Chris Neill
2003: Pam Ayres (radio)
2006: Pauline McLynn, Janey Godley
2007: Dave Gorman
2008: Josie Lawrence, Jack Dee, Shappi Khorsandi, Mike McShane
2009: Josie Long, Justin Moorhouse, David Mitchell, Paul Sinha, Richard Herring, Suki Webster

I reckon a panel of Paul, Tim, Sheila and Gyles would be good fun!

Sheila and Graham together again

I'm delighted to see that the lovely Sheila Hancock has got a plum job as a judge on Britain's latest talent show. She will be judging on Over The Rainbow, the latest version of Idol/X Factor/Somewhere's Got Talent.

The series of shows based around trying to find someone to appear in a West End stage show musical is presented by Graham Norton.

I don't see Sheila as a Simon Cowell type judge or a Paula Abdul... maybe something closer to Sharon Osbourne.

But it does show that even at the age of 76, Sheila still has some weight in the industry.

Good on her!

numbers

Just did a quick count of appearances in the past year - since Clement's death. Newbies are bolded...

Paul Merton - 18 shows
Gyles Brandreth, Sue Perkins - 8 shows each
Tony Hawks, Graham Norton - 6 shows each
Pam Ayres, Charles Collingwood, Jenny Eclair, Josie Lawrence - 4 shows each
Julian Clary, Stephen Fry, Dave Gorman, Kit Hesketh-Harvey, Shappi Khorsandi, David Mitchell, Justin Moorhouse, Chris Neill, Tim Rice, Liza Tarbuck - 2 shows each
Janey Godley, Richard Herring, Mike McShane, Pauline McLynn, Paul Sinha, Suki Webster - 1 show each

At 8 out of 22 shows, Gyles and Sue aren't exactly "regulars" - but I think the list suggests Claire Jones has tried to consolidate around reliable players in the wake of Clement's passing. Also women are taking a larger proportion of the places - 27 out of 88 seats.

just confirming...

just confirming - the panel was indeed Paul, Tony, Graham and Sue... we even have a blurry pic! Unusually Tony Hawks isn't sitting at one of the ends!

great show today

I thought the team was hilarious today. Graham Norton who is usually good had one of his best shows ever. Sue Perkins was a star. Liza Tarbuck had some of her funniest moments ever, and Paul was quieter than usual but very funny when he did speak up. The best show in two or three years, I'd say.

I'll tell you who else had one of his funniest shows - Nicholas. I think he is in very good form this year.

Statistical oddity: until last year Sue Perkins had gone 22 shows without a win. Since then she's won six out of seven shows, including the last five in a row.

Haven't heard anything as yet about the recording today. Earlier today Sue Perkins tweeted that the panel would be Paul Merton, Tony Hawks, Graham Norton and herself, which if true, certainly makes for a very strong finish to the season.

Clement and Paul - a cute couple?

Very amusing

Meant To Be!

PS to previous post

According to a post in the comments, the recording is on MONDAY night, not Sunday.

last recording of season

the last recording of this season is taking place tonight, Sunday night - I think! Obviously if anyone reading this is at the recording, please post about it in the comments! If I read their tweets correctly, Chris Neill and Sue Perkins are both on the panel. I assume Paul will be too, though he is also down to appear at the Comedy Store tonight.

sad news

JAM guest Ian Carmichael has died - he did two shows in 1973-4 with Sir Clement Freud, Peter Jones and Aimi Macdonald.

An obit for him can be read here

last team

There is only one recording to come this season. Most of the people you would expect to pop up in a season have now popped up. So I'd expect a second outing for a semi-regular, either Tony Hawks or Sue Perkins. There will be someone who appears occasionally - Tim Rice or Stephen Fry or Kit Hesketh-Harvey or perhaps Chris Addison. And then I'd expect a newcomer. There hasn't been a debutant so far this season and I don't expect this will be the first season in five years not to introduce someone.

another great show

Again I enjoyed this week's show. I've been in love with Josie Lawrence for a long time so I can't plausibly claim impartiality on the subject. But I am very impressed with how funny she is on the programme and how competitive. She is giving the likes of Sue Perkins and Jenny Eclair stiff competition for the title of best current woman on the show. Chris Neill was funny again and Charles Collingwood had maybe his best show yet. And Paul, if slightly quieter than usual, was very funny when it counted. Nicholas too is sounding good. Graham Norton is a guest next week so that's something to look forward to.