The Late Late Breakfast Show

Revision as of 15:01, 6 June 2006

Synopsis

The oldest, and arguably least fondly remembered, of the Edmonds Saturday night entertainment vehicles. Nevertheless, it did set out the ingredients for BBC 1's fun-time schedule for around 15 years, namely: random celebrity appearances, large-scale stunts and gunge.

Main game feature was Give It A Whirl (a.k.a. the Whirly Wheel), where a punter gets to perform a Don't Try This at Home!-style stunt. The wheel's action was somewhat erratic, mainly because it was rigged by a bloke at the back ensuring it landed on the segment relating to the stunt that the production team had lined up for that week. (In a typical Edmonds move, this bloke was brought out in front of the camera to be ridiculed when one week the wheel landed on the 'wrong' space.)

In October 1986, 25-year-old Michael Lush was killed in a Whirly Wheel stunt. The stunt was meant to be a bungee jump where the bottom of a box opened and the volunteer bounced on the bungee rope. However, during a rehearsal the bungee rope was not properly attached to the box. In the subsequent investigation it transpired that the safety supervisor hired to set up the stunt was not properly qualified.

The programme was back just two years later, using the new title of Noel's Saturday Roadshow.

Theme music

Signature tune composed by Garry Kemp and performed by Spandau Ballet.

Trivia

For some reason, Christmas morning specials were broadcast live from the Post Office Tower.

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