Interview TV shows have been a staple of British television, around almost as long as television itself. People simply cannot get enough of guest celebrities asked the biggest and boldest questions by those familiar faces with their own chat show. It might be the USA that is perhaps more famous for the concept but that is not to say the UK has had more than its fair share. With the immense amount of talk shows, the questions asked, and the egos at play, there are always bound to be those interviews that are just car crash material to watch.
#5. Royal Ruination
Very few interviews can be as truly disastrous as that of Prince Andrew on Newsnight in November 2019.
Prince Andrew – the Duke of York, the son of Queen Elizabeth II, and shortlist heir to the throne – was accused of human trafficking of a 17-year-old Virginia Giuffe alongside close ally and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The relationship was already an odd one but the accusations were incredibly damaging to Andrew, who felt it appropriate to give an interview on BBC’s Newsnight to Emily Maitlis.
Tackling the issue publicly, the interview saw the Duke call convicted sex offender, solicitor of minors, and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s actions “unbecoming.” This term, used as if someone accidentally poured port from the left, left Maitlis shocked as she repeated the term with flabbergast. Also in that interview, Andrew came up with some truly bizarre pieces of evidence to disclude witness testimony such as his inability to sweat due to an overdose of adrenaline during the Falklands War and his presence at a Woking Pizza Hut which he managed to remember the exact date of.
These tall tales were not believed by the public, as Andrew’s interview had, if anything, been shambolic and further tarnished his name. A subsequent YouGov poll found only 6% of viewers believed him, with Head of Data Journalism Matthew Smith documenting:
“The lack of trust in the Duke of York is consistent across society. Only 5% of 2017 Labour voters believe in the prince, as do 8% of Conservatives and 9% of Lib Dems. Men and women are about as unlikely to say they believe him – 7% and 5% respectively – and among age groups the figure varies from 3% to 8%.”
Across the board, no one believed him.
In the end, Andrew decided to settle out of court with Giuffre, admitting no responsibility but paying out a huge sum. If we were to speculate – and only speculate – you may say this would not be a very likely thing for an innocent man to do, allegedly.
Andrew has since been stripped of royal honors and will probably never be reinstated into the royal family in the same way as he was ever again. In trying to redeem himself in the trial of public opinion, Andrew failed miserably.
Still, it’s not all bad, at least he had a top 20 single. What might not be so good is the song’s name: “Prince Andrew Is A Sweaty Nonce”.
#4. I Started A Joke
Clive Anderson seemed to be everywhere in the 1990s and 2000s, so much so that he even had his own TV chat show under one name or another for 12 years.
As an aside, looking up Clive Anderson All Talk (which ran from 1996-2001 with Clive Anderson Talks Back running from 1989-1996), I was staggered by their bizarre lineups. This includes:
- Series 1, Episode 9: Hugh Laurie, Neil Kinnock, Gary Glitter
- Series 1, Episode 12: Danny DeVito, Angus Deayton, Sylvester Stallone
- Series 3, Episode 5: Ben Elton, George Hamilton, Edward Heath
I only mention this because the guests on the episode in question were comedian/actor and all-round earsman Martin Clunes, former Conservative MP and Great Office of State-holder Douglas Hurd, and falsetto fathers of funk The Bee Gees. It was the latter with whom Clive had a bust-up with.
Now, this was not Anderson’s only hostile interview, indeed Clive saw a row with Jeffrey Archer and water poured over him by Richard Branson on the same show.
Barry Gibb, the de facto leader of the band in many people’s eyes, started out with what seemed a playful rivalry with Clive after the host lashed out a few digs at the band. Even Maurice Gibb at one point said all Bee Gee members shared the same sense of humor, a foreshadowing of events to come.
Despite calling “hit writers” with a letter missing at the front, it was a different jibe that was the real source of tension. Barry revealed the band’s old name of Les Tosseurs, to which Anderson snapped comically: “Well, you’ll aways be Les Tosseurs to me.” With a face like thunder, Barry remained defensive, before talk of ‘old’ egos and Barry referencing “Don’t Forget To Remember” which Clive jokingly said he forgot about. Whilst being one of, if not the, most inoffensive joke so far, it seemingly tipped Barry over.
Barry suggested a walkout before standing up and declaring “You’re the tosser, pal!” to Clive. You can hear murmurs of the band in the background as Anderson’s laugh turns to fear at a catastrophic interview blowoff. Maurice initially stayed but awkwardly had to leave. Clive quickly signed off thanking “those who stayed and those who’ve gone”, dipping his head as the show ended.
The Bee Gees have since spoken about their respect and admiration for Anderson, who himself has admitted his fault in his approach. Clive still says it is what he is most asked about to this day, over a quarter of a century later. As the ex-Footlights president said himself: “[it] went from the best to the worst in a few minutes.”
#3. A Laboured Hosting Job
In 1979, Harold Wilson became, to date, the only prime minister to host a TV show after power – despite Boris Johnson’s four occasions hosting Have I Got News For You before rising to the rank of PM.
Of all PMs over the years, perhaps Wilson was the best choice. With northern connections, a beloved persona (including omnipresent pipe-smoking), and distinct cadence, Wilson had the potential for a second wave of popularity albeit in a completely different profession. In fact, Wilson would go on to appear on the Morecambe and Wise 1978 Christmas special.
Snapped up by future Sir, David Frost, Wilson’s hosting capabilities soon came clear…he had none.
Created by the great Iain Johnstone and Will Wyatt, Friday Night, Saturday Morning was a unique show in many aspects from its fortnightly change of host to the freedom of allowing the host to choose interviewees.
Wilson’s first night was October 12th, 1979, only three years after leaving the role of PM, with Wilson immediately establishing an uncomfortably with the position including a pretty pitiful job at reading the autocue. His first guest was ex-Goon Harry Secombe, who even had to resort to whistling between questions to give Wilson time to think of something to ask. On one occasion after a long pause, Wilson asked the absolutely dire “What do you say you are doing tonight?” Wilson never quite captured the informality of the interview.
The next week was not so teeth-grindingly awkward. Although still quite dry, this is not down to Wilson but various other factors that distinguish this era from today’s interview format. His appearance was certainly aided through his chemistry with guest Mike Yarwood, who had made a career out of his famous impression of Mr. Wilson.
Moving on from his awful stint hosting, Wilson also had a car crash interview with the BBC when interviewed for David Dimbleby’s Yesterday’s Men documentary on Wilson. When asked about the fee he had been paid for his memoirs which were then being written, the ex-PM snapped.
Wilson was extremely taken aback and aggressive in response, commenting: “I’m really not having this!” and forcing the recording to be cut. Calling the question “ridiculous”, Wilson threatened Dimbleby if the interview or transcript were leaked, with Dimbleby perhaps best summing it up in the Days That Shook The BBC documentary as “a storm in a teacup.”
#2. Space Oddity
One of the most revered chat shows in British history has to be Wogan. Presented by the deadpan Northern Irish broadcaster Terry Wogan, the show has hosted many historical moments from Ronnie Corbett announcing his retirement to an unpredictable appearance from loose cannon Nicholas Cage.
Of course, the show, over its decade-long stint, naturally saw its fair share of heated moments.
Perhaps the most famous is the infamous David Icke interview in which Wogan mocked the conspiracy theorist and ex-Hereford goalkeeper, saying: “They’re not laughing with you; they’re laughing at you.”
Other instances of terrible interviews include an interview with Chevy Chase in which the guest stayed silent, a heated interaction with Patti Davis (daughter of Ronald Reagan), and Anne Bancroft who used single-word answers in a stilted interview.
Yet we will focus on perhaps the biggest name, especially in hindsight, that Wogan had difficulty with: David Bowie. At the time, Bowie was in the largely-forgotten Tin Machine band, with Wogan conducting an impromptu interview.
Dressed in blistering green, Bowie arguably acts somewhat unprofessionally although he had to do something as a tedious Wogan effectively asked the same question in different forms, effectively asking what the deal is with this new group. Bowie cut over a question to shout out to a friend, before giving a load of semi-answers before gesturing and allowing the quiet, mic-less band members to answer. There is even a failed bit of humor that simply does not resonate. Some actually argue the interview is not that awkward although Terry later claimed:
“David Bowie, well, he probably wasn’t at his best when I interviewed him […] I thought a solid slap would have helped the situation. I didn’t hit him, of course, but it came close.”
Bowie does not necessarily bloom in TV interviews, just look at his 1975 appearance on The Russell Harty Show. This was an interview made possible via satellite technology, with that and a lack of chemistry between the men leading to baffled looks from Bowie and cross-talk. Bowie was forced largely into one-word, monosyllabic answers.
Harty even came out with lines like: “What has brought you back, are you short of money?” and “Are you being absolutely honest and accurate when you say you are a disciplined musician?” What makes this worse is the fact the interview goes for 20 minutes, which is just too much of my life to waste watching the whole car crash in action!
#1. When Parky Met Mirren
We previously mentioned Wogan but there is simply one show and one interviewer who stands head and shoulders above the others: Michael Parkinson. Now, if you’re anything like me, your earliest memories of “Parky” are through his television commercials in which he tried to persuade viewers into life insurance through the addition of a free Parker pen.
A prelude to the interview saw Michael remark: “critics spent as much time discussing her physical attributes as assessing her acting ability”, an ironic comment precursing an interview today labeled as being misogynistic.
Parkinson firstly described her as an “in quotes serious actress”, not exactly a phrase you would want to use, in which you are perceived to be insulting your own guest. Next, Parkinson beat around the bush big-time for a question that asked how her “equipment” hindered her claims as a real actress because the bodies of women are perhaps too distracting for audiences being the implication. She’s a woman, you see!
The next stage of the interview is rather quaint. Helen gives insightful, compelling, and eloquent answers, proving her worth beyond those Parkinson had presented. The two even started binding for a while, with a few jibes added in including an implication of Parkinson being a “chauvinist”, although the social context of the era should be taken into account, whilst being no excuse for the conduct of the interviewer.
Mirren certainly conducted herself greatly here but I find myself against the majority pouring scorn over Parkinson’s approach. It was certainly sexist but I find sympathy for Parkinson, who was often an ace interviewer but was out of time and mind frame to conduct an interview with someone so different in style to the regular interviewee. Whilst I do feel sorry for him, it is an unavoidable fact that the interview saw Helen come off schooling Parkinson, coming out of the car crash interview the better.
Maybe it would have been better if Mirren was interviewed by Harold Wilson, at least that way he would never have thought of a damn thing!
