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He was one of Britain's
favourite funny men.

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Good evening.

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One of the giants
of British television.

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00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:18,200
You paint a very pretty picture.
They could use you on Jackanory.

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Everything he did
had class about it.

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A master of monologue.

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The Football Association announced
today that any league player

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who changes his sex before half-time
will be allowed to finish the match.

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Provided, of course,
that there is alternative
dressing room accommodation.

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He was an absolutely
great comic actor.

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Good evening.

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Every kid in every school
knew all the shows.

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He was a clown and a wordsmith.

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Sometimes you get stuck
on one letter such as wubbleyou.

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And I said, "Well, I've got a tin of
woup, a woucumber, two packets
of wheese and a walliflower."

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A great chameleon, really,
as well as a great comedian.

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And a prolific comedy writer.

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You can't believe
the same man in Porridge

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is the same man as Open All Hours.

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He is rooted in being
a first-rate actor.

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These are the many faces
of Ronnie Barker.

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Ronnie Barker became one of the best
loved comedy faces of the 1980s.

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Oh, really?

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He was sensational in variety shows
as one half of The Two Ronnies.

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Sir Laurence Olivier is appearing
in 'No, No, Nanette'
at the Trellis Theatre, Totnes.

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And Nanette is appearing
in 'No, No, Sir Laurence Olivier'
at the Globe Theatre, Gosport.

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And as a solo star
in sitcoms like Porridge.

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You know, Fletcher, this is the part
of the job that I hate.

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Locking men up, caging them in.

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Yeah, it is a pity too, just when
the good telly is starting and all.

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It's a shame, isn't it, eh? All
we ever see is the news, isn't it?

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News and Nationwide. What's
the good of bleeding Nationwide
when you're stuck in here?

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He shone from an early age
but almost missed the stage
for a career in banking.

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In private it was an image
he never really shook off.

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If you met him
you would never ever think

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he was anything to do
with the theatre.

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You would think he is a very witty,
very witty, bank manager.

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But Barker on-screen
was an inspiration
for a generation of British comedy.

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Ronnie Barker was
a superstar in all our lives.

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'70s comedy was hugely important.

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Every kid in every school
knew all the shows.

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Ronnie's fame was international,

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the famous Four Candles sketch

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wowing audiences
all around the world.

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In every English-speaking country
in the world they were huge.

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Saw tips.

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Sore tips?

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What do you want?
Ointment or something like that?

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It was a work of genius,
that sketch was.

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Ronnie Barker
turned a desk job in theatre

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into a stage job
at the Oxford Playhouse,

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and instantly made his mark.

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Only gradually I realised that
whenever I had a little part,

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Ronnie would come up to me

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and give me, what I realise now,
were wonderful notes.

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I did always leap on them and said,
"Oh, I see what I'm doing now."

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But he was a brilliant actor.

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I can remember thinking
how good he was in things.

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But in this very quiet way.
There was no bombast about him.

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You wouldn't have known
he was an actor.

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Ronnie was good
but in the early 1950s

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a career in television
was a million miles away.

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We didn't speak about television.

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Television was
a very downmarket thing
that some people did for money.

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I don't remember anybody
speaking about television.

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Would you like to sit there, please?

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Television was still
the vulgar cousin of stage,

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but Ronnie had his eye on glamour.

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His first film appearance
was as a waiter
being upstaged by Frankie Vaughan.

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Very nice to see you here.

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Buenos dias, senor. Senorita.

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What is all this, eh?
Why all this argumentation?

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Well, I'm very sorry, Sir,
but for seven years now Sir Bertram
has been my special customer

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and I will not have him taken away
from me by this foreigner.

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Foreigner?

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I am British through and through.
Now, now, now.

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The movie, Wonderful Things,
turned out to be nothing special

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and Ronnie's cinema debut
came to nothing.

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But in 1958 the wireless
was the mass medium of the day,

80
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and it was here that Ronnie Barker
began to get noticed in the comedy
The Navy Lark.

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Betty Marsden told me about this
very funny actor who was in a radio
show,

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The Navy Lark.

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I want two halves.
Do you mind? I've only got
one pair of hands, you know.

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Yeah, I had noticed.

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They performed
at the Playhouse Cinema

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which was taken over by the BBC, so
I went along and I saw Ronnie Barker

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and was knocked out by him.
I thought he was brilliant.

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Radio was the place where comedians,
star comedians, had their shows

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and when television gradually took
over, they created their own stars.

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When radio star Jimmy Edwards
moved to television

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Ronnie Barker was part of the team.

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It's 1961 and already
somebody has noticed that Ronnie
looks good behind a desk.

93
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And here is the news. The sports.

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There is no sign of any decrease

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in the widespread changing of gender.

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The clothing exchange centres

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set up by the WBS

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will now remain open until 10pm.

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Muir and Norden were
the top comedy writers on radio.

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And they'd done this series
with Jimmy Edwards

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which they'd asked me to do,

102
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and in that series
we had Ronnie Barker,

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and as soon as Muir and Norden
saw Ronnie Barker in one episode

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they started rewriting the scripts
to bring him in more,

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because he was obviously
a major talent.

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Jimmy Edwards was very much
a traditional comedy performer

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but now, in the 1960s,
the new kids wanted
to make their own radical shows.

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Jimmy Gilbert was to produce the
landmark review The Frost Report.

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We had John Cleese, Ronnie Corbett,

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and I was looking for
a third member of the cast.

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And of course
I didn't have to look very far.

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I rang up Ronnie Barker
and asked him if he would do it.

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But he was appearing in a play at
Stratford East, with Robert Atkins,

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but he asked if he could be released
and they let him go.

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So we got him.
We nearly didn't get him,

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in which case where
would The Two Ronnies have been?

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Because it was The Frost Report
where Ronnie Barker
and Ronnie Corbett met, of course,

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and they were
marvellous together.

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Good evening. Tonight in the studio
we have the chairman

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of The League Of Television Decency,
Mr Whitewood. Good evening.

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Good evening.

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Now, Mr Whitewood, I understand
that the purpose of your campaign

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is in fact to clean up television.

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Yes, we take exception most strongly
to some of the double entendre

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and suggestive dialogue in BBC plays,
for example.

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Would you like to give us
an example?

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Yes, willingly.

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The other night a character was heard
to say, and I quote, "Look here."

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That sounds
perfectly harmless to me.

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It depends on which way
you look at it, doesn't it?

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I mean, to me, "look here" suggests

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look here through this keyhole

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at this young female person

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divesting herself of her clothing.

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It was fresh, it was different,

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and it was topical as well,
and fairly cutting.

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There were some really, you know...

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And there were some very silly,
sharp, little silly bits.

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Waiter, could I have
the baked jam roll, please?

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Not till you've finished
your cabbage.

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The Frost Report was live,
and that was very frightening.

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But it actually... You know,
adrenaline running around.

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I remember John Cleese
was absolutely petrified.

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You go ahead.

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I think I'll begin
with a little Dubrovnik caviar

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with just a twist of lemon.

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Then the lobster without dressing,
please,

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covered with a mixture
of mushrooms and onions
the way the chef knows I like it.

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The Ronnies had so much experience
and I had none.

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None at all.

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And I do remember looking into
the mirror in the bathroom one day

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where I'd gone to wash my hands
just before the show

153
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and thinking,
"I could not be more frightened

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"if I was a matador
going into a ring with a bull."

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After that a small cup
of Brazilian coffee, not the Cuban

156
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and a glass of Courvoisier 21.

157
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Thank you, sir. And Madam?

158
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I'll have a plain omelette.

159
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Sounds rather nice.
Do you mind if I change?

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The terror is drying, you know.

161
00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:11,640
We had a live audience, it was going
out live, and it was really scary.

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A lot of it was David
sitting and looking into camera

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and reading lots of jokes
off the Teleprompter, the autocue.

164
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Of course,
the traditional standard of cooking

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we used to associate
with the British

166
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was that of a guest house
at a certain unnamed seaside resort

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famous for its Blackpool rock.

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With his experience
of repertory theatre, Ronnie Barker

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brought acting skills to
the increasingly dramatic sketches.

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Ronnie was in on an exciting
revolution in television.

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The Frost Report brought together

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old school
and new school musical comedy

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in a fast-moving sketch format.

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Enjoying your steak, are you?

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Yes, thank you very much.

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What he did was put together
the intellectual mob,

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00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:05,040
the university people,

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with more traditional performers.

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The Chinese eat pussycats...

180
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..covered all over in melted
chocolate. It's a well-known fact.

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I don't care and I'm not interested.

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And monkeys.

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It is an amalgam
of different backgrounds,

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and that was a clever thing to do,
sort of comedy fusion, almost.

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Gone off it, have you? Yes.

186
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Just going to eat vegetables,
are you? Yes.

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Vegetables have nervous systems
too, you know.

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Scientists have recorded
their screams of agony

189
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as they are torn out the ground
by their roots.

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00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:52,680
Carrots shriek.

191
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HE SQUEAKS

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Ronnie Barker extraordinarily
sort of crossed...

193
00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:01,360
He could work
with the university types

194
00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:04,880
and he could work
with the lowbrow types,

195
00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:07,080
Ronnie Corbett amongst others.

196
00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:10,960
He was amazing

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00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:17,880
at bridging those two
class distinctions, if you like.

198
00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:20,840
But he was essentially an actor.
He wasn't a comedian.

199
00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:31,680
I look down on him
because I am upper-class.

200
00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:34,320
I look up to him
because he is upper-class.

201
00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:39,200
But I look down on him
because he is lower-class.

202
00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:40,840
I am middle-class.

203
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I know my place.

204
00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:50,360
I look up to them both,

205
00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:52,200
but I don't look up to him

206
00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:54,120
as much as I look up to him.

207
00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:58,720
Cos he has got innate breeding.

208
00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:02,560
I have got innate breeding
but I have not got any money.

209
00:13:02,560 --> 00:13:05,600
That famous sketch
that illustrates class difference

210
00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:08,040
with Cleese, Corbett
and Barker together,

211
00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:13,480
it has become the lazy shorthand for
all debate about class in the '60s.

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00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,960
Every time you see a TV documentary
that refers to the idea of class

213
00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:20,240
or a Newsnight discussion,
let's say, about class,

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00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:23,680
that image is projected up
on the screen.

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00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:26,520
In a way,
it is because it's brilliant.

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00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:30,200
It captures that idea
of social mobility,

217
00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:34,440
or in fact the lack of it in the
'60s that people were talking about.

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00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:35,880
Barker is in the middle

219
00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:39,000
but actually Barker could have been
anywhere in the line-up.

220
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:44,000
Rather hard to imagine
John Cleese playing
the working-class guy at the end,

221
00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,280
rather hard to imagine
Ronnie Corbett

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00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:50,920
embodying that kind of upper-class
hauteur that Cleese does
so effortlessly.

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00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:53,360
Barker could have been
anywhere in that.

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00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:56,400
I shall now pronounce sentence.

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00:14:02,680 --> 00:14:05,280
There were two series
of The Frost Report on the BBC

226
00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,160
before the show moved
to ITV as Frost On Sunday.

227
00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:12,240
John Cleese had already decided
to leave the show.

228
00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:15,080
He would go on to create
Monty Python

229
00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:17,320
after his first attempt
at a dream team,

230
00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:20,120
including Ronnie Barker, failed.

231
00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:25,520
Silence in court.

232
00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:31,000
If there is any more noise I shall
have to ask the orchestra to leave.

233
00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:36,480
I can't remember quite why
we went our different ways.

234
00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:41,280
I do know that at one stage
I tried to put them all together.

235
00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:47,440
Graham Chapman and I wrote a movie
for the Frost organisation

236
00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:50,800
which was called
Piglust And Company.

237
00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:56,920
And Ronnie Barker was Mr Piglust,
and I liked the script very much.

238
00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:59,880
And it had Ronnie Barker,
Ronnie Corbett,

239
00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:02,080
Marty, Tim, Graham and me in it

240
00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:05,040
so it was very much an attempt
to put the group together.

241
00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:09,320
Unfortunately Frost sold it
to Ned Sherrin.

242
00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:11,960
I thought he'd brought
Ned Sherrin in as producer,

243
00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:16,240
and Ned, who I didn't like very much
as a person, or professionally,

244
00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:18,880
I thought there was
a coarseness to his taste,

245
00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:22,720
he would not use Charlie Crichton,
who was of course the director
for A Fish Called Wanda,

246
00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:26,160
and so Graham and I
walked away from the project

247
00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,440
and so did Ronnie Barker and Ronnie
Corbett, and we just went off.

248
00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:32,040
I would love
to have got us together.

249
00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:34,960
The Frost shows
were hungry for scripts

250
00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:38,360
and attracted some of the best
comedy talent of the generation.

251
00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:39,480
Hello?

252
00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:43,640
British Hormone Company here.
Miss Thompkin speaking.

253
00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:50,760
We wrote hundreds of sketches,
so many.

254
00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:54,600
The pressure is therefore huge.

255
00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:58,080
You can't sort of...
You can't hang around.

256
00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:01,120
There are certain rules, techniques.

257
00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:04,160
You can't hang around
without a laugh for too long.

258
00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:06,960
The worst of the lot was
you've got to have a punchline.

259
00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:14,320
I mean, look, it says here
in the paper "intimacy took place".

260
00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:16,840
Now why can't they
come straight out with it

261
00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:18,360
and say he gave her a jolly good...

262
00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:19,800
Did you see the cricket?

263
00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:24,560
Why can't they say he gave her
a jolly good... Cricket!

264
00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:28,360
Why can't they just say he gave her
a jolly good dinner

265
00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:30,800
then he took her home and then...

266
00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:32,600
And then what?

267
00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:36,760
And then intimacy took place.

268
00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:40,080
Ronnie also knew a good script
when he saw it.

269
00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:45,400
I think that's one of the key things
of a genius performer.

270
00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:50,240
Out of all the comedy people
almost in British comedy history

271
00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:54,120
he is probably the one
who has done the least crap.

272
00:16:54,120 --> 00:17:01,120
He, by and large, everything
he did had class about it.

273
00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:07,120
Many of the writers on the show
would go on to be household names -

274
00:17:07,120 --> 00:17:09,840
Michael Palin, Graeme Garden,
Barry Cryer.

275
00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:13,200
There was another writer, though,
who was as prolific

276
00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:16,600
and would have been revered
if he hadn't been a complete enigma.

277
00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:22,600
Some sketches started coming in that
were really classy, very funny,

278
00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:25,000
and the writer was never there.

279
00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:30,080
And we started to ask,
"Where is he?"

280
00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:33,760
They said, "He just sends them in.
Don't know who it is."

281
00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:37,200
The notorious episode
of Gerald Wiley

282
00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:41,200
who we were told was a recluse.

283
00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:44,040
And he started submitting sketches.

284
00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:47,120
And we used to say, "Anything
from Gerald Wiley this week?"

285
00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:49,400
Disappointed if there wasn't.

286
00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:52,640
And then at the very end -
nobody knew -

287
00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:54,280
we were all taking bets who it was,

288
00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:58,320
because you thought, this person is
too good, he is too good at writing,

289
00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:00,000
he must be a writer or something.

290
00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:03,800
The first one they ever did
was set in a doctor's waiting room,

291
00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:05,800
had a very big part
for Ronnie Corbett,

292
00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:07,560
and a small one for Ronnie Barker.

293
00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:10,280
And I was going to say
they both liked the sketch,

294
00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:11,720
but of course they both did.

295
00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:14,760
Ronnie Corbett didn't know
who Gerald Wiley was.

296
00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:18,880
And then Wiley starts submitting.

297
00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:22,720
The funny thing was
Ronnie Barker sometimes
turned down a Gerald Wiley sketch.

298
00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:25,920
He'd say, "No, it's not up
to his usual standard."

299
00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:28,160
It got to the end of the series

300
00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:33,040
and David took us all out
for a Chinese meal, big table,

301
00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:35,200
and they invited this man.

302
00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:38,280
It was like Agatha Christie.
We were all there.

303
00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:43,360
We all turned up and Frank Muir
popped his head in as our boss

304
00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:46,040
and we thought,
"It was you having a laugh." No!

305
00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:49,080
We thought it was Tom Stoppard
who was with that agent.

306
00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:53,320
We're sitting there agog
waiting for this bloke to arrive,

307
00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:59,240
and all of a sudden
up jumps Ronnie Barker

308
00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:02,480
and says, "I am sorry to disappoint
you all but it's me."

309
00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:05,120
I think most of us laughed
and thought, "Very good gag,"

310
00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:06,960
and kept looking around
for Gerald Wiley.

311
00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:08,800
He then said, "No, it is me."

312
00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:13,240
I stood up and said the toast is
nobody loves a smart arse.

313
00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:16,520
That was Wiley revealed.

314
00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:18,520
And then of course
he'd lost his cover.

315
00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:20,160
I respected why he did it
in the first place.

316
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,040
He didn't want sketches accepted
just cos he'd written them.

317
00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:25,520
But then his cover was blown.

318
00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:27,720
Rather embarrassingly,

319
00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:31,560
Gerald Wiley began to take ideas
from other writers

320
00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:33,840
and use them for himself.

321
00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:37,440
The famous sketch
with the spoonerisms in it,

322
00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:42,920
not originated by Ronnie Barker
or Gerald Wiley,

323
00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:45,920
but added to
sequels written to this sketch.

324
00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:51,200
Good evening. I am the President Of
The Loyal Society For The Relief Of
Sufferers From Pismronunciation.

325
00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,360
People who can't
say their worms correctly.

326
00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:56,040
Or who use the wrong worms entirely,

327
00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:59,560
so that other people cannot
underhand a bird they are spraying.

328
00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:01,800
The pismronunciation of worms,

329
00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:04,880
one of the
most famous of those sketches

330
00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:06,920
where Barker
talks directly to camera

331
00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:09,760
and gives you a kind of Ministry
Of Information lecture.

332
00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:11,760
The first one
was not written by him,

333
00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:13,880
but all the subsequent others were.

334
00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:16,840
It's just that you open your mouse
and the worms come turbling out

335
00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:20,160
in wuck a say that you dick not
what you're thugging to be.

336
00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:22,920
And I know that there was
a little bit of tension,

337
00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:25,840
because I think they felt sometimes

338
00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:29,040
that Ronnie kind of
rewrote ideas of theirs

339
00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:31,320
without them
really getting any credit.

340
00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:35,120
And sometimes they felt
he changed the material.

341
00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:40,200
David Frost had taken
the show to ITV

342
00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:43,440
and was keen to make the most of
his stable of comedy thoroughbreds.

343
00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:45,880
Ronnie would be tried out
in longer formats

344
00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:48,320
including a film he both
wrote and produced,

345
00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:50,160
Futtocks End.

346
00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:52,280
It was a slapstick movie
of sound effects

347
00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:54,200
with no dialogue.

348
00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:56,240
And was not his finest moment.

349
00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:01,720
There's only one criticism
I would make of Ronnie.

350
00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:05,560
He had a little bit of
the Benny Hill streak of humour.

351
00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:09,880
He could put in a bosom
or bottom joke

352
00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:11,880
when it just
slightly lowered the tone

353
00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:15,160
of the absolutely excellent work
he was doing everywhere else.

354
00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:22,480
It was 1970 and Futtocks End
was at one extreme of a very wide
spectrum of acting roles for Ronnie.

355
00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:26,560
At the other end
was an offer of Shakespeare.

356
00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:30,160
"It is sad," he said.
"I'm not going to be able to do
this. I have been offered this."

357
00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:31,800
I said, "Why can't you do it?"

358
00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:33,680
He said, "It's during
the school holiday."

359
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:35,840
I thought, "What has that
got to do with it?"

360
00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:39,120
He said, "Well, Joy and I and the
kids always go to Littlehampton."

361
00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:45,440
I said, "Yes, but it's television!
It's not doing a play every night
where you can't get there."

362
00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:49,240
"Course you can. You can
rehearse during the day and
they'll give you the weekend off."

363
00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:51,240
He said,
"No, it's the school holiday."

364
00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:58,200
I'd have given them au pairs
to die for down in Littlehampton
to look after them all.

365
00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,880
Ronnie did in fact play Bottom
in A Midsummer Night's Dream

366
00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:04,920
with his old colleague
Eileen Atkins.

367
00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:08,120
HE BRAYS

368
00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:11,200
I suppose I might
have thought whether

369
00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:15,880
because he had been doing
these sketches on television

370
00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:19,360
I wondered whether he would have,
when he played with you,

371
00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:24,040
you would still feel the engagement
with what you were doing as well.

372
00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:26,520
But it was all there, absolutely.

373
00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:32,920
He is rooted in being a first-rate
actor and nothing had shifted.

374
00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:36,000
No, he was lovely.

375
00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:37,720
I've had a dream.

376
00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:42,200
Past the wit of man
to say what dream it was.

377
00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:46,760
Man is but an ass if he go about
t'expound this dream.

378
00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:53,560
While at ITV
Ronnie appeared in six plays,
The Ronnie Barker Playhouse,

379
00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:55,080
and Six Dates With Barker,

380
00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:59,720
each intended to but failing to find
a sitcom for the rising star.

381
00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:02,720
The character of Lord Rustless
did emerge

382
00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:06,080
and featured regularly
in the sketch show Hark At Barker.

383
00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:09,280
He would go on to make
regular appearances
throughout Ronnie's career.

384
00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:11,000
There you are.

385
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:15,040
I suppose some of you must be
wondering why I have sent for you.

386
00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:22,680
The point is the television people
thought that you might like
to have a look around.

387
00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:29,000
Ronnie was named
ITV Personality Of The Year in 1969.

388
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:31,640
ITV must have known
they had a star in Barker

389
00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:34,880
but his destiny
was about to be forged,

390
00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:37,240
not by his talent,
but by his contract.

391
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:43,440
There was a very poor decision made
at London Weekend Television.

392
00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:47,440
There was a lot of politics
and David Frost,

393
00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:51,160
an absolutely brilliant
entrepreneur, apart from anything,

394
00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:55,000
who helped to create
London Weekend Television,

395
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:57,400
had The Two Ronnies under contract,

396
00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:00,440
and there was some politics
that went on,

397
00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:04,360
and the management at
London Weekend Television

398
00:24:04,360 --> 00:24:07,600
said they wouldn't continue
with The Two Ronnies

399
00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:11,960
by buying them
through David Frost's company.

400
00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:14,800
Which was a ridiculous decision.

401
00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:18,200
And so they left and the BBC
couldn't believe their luck.

402
00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:20,200
And they signed The Two Ronnies.

403
00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:23,080
ITV had The Two Ronnies,
and lost them,

404
00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:27,080
in the same way the BBC
had Stanley Baxter, and lost him.

405
00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:35,120
The BBC launched
The Two Ronnies TV show in 1971.

406
00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:37,120
Their trademark opening address

407
00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:41,120
would welcome millions of families
in Britain for the next 16 years.

408
00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:45,480
Thank you. Good evening
and welcome to the show.

409
00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:47,720
It's very nice
to be with you all, isn't it? It is.

410
00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:49,840
It's very nice to be with you.
Thank you, Ron.

411
00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:57,360
Every Two Ronnies show
was closely formatted.

412
00:24:57,360 --> 00:24:59,200
Viewers expected
to see the newsreaders,

413
00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:01,400
sketches and song parodies.

414
00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:09,160
# I would love to eat
anything I wanted

415
00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:13,200
# Bangers and beans
and enormous lumps of fried bread

416
00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:16,440
# Fed chop and chips
and steak and kidney pies

417
00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:19,120
# By a girl who likes cooking
who's big and good-looking

418
00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:20,920
# Whose dumplings
are double the size

419
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:24,760
# We'll all have a damn good time

420
00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:26,600
# All peaches and cream. #

421
00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:29,760
They complement each other
very well.

422
00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,120
There's the physical thing
going on, of course,

423
00:25:32,120 --> 00:25:34,120
the big chubby man
with the short man.

424
00:25:34,120 --> 00:25:38,960
We've seen that
from time immemorial in comedy.

425
00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:41,120
But there's something about
the way...

426
00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:44,080
The rhythm of
their performances together,

427
00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:46,000
there is a naturalness about it.

428
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:49,760
In those sketches
where they meet at a party

429
00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:52,040
you can almost believe
that those people are real,

430
00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:55,880
no matter how absurd
their afflictions
and their verbal ticks are.

431
00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:59,000
Hello. I don't believe we've met.
Clive Winfrey.

432
00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:00,120
Hello, my name is...

433
00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:02,040
No, no, no, don't tell me,
don't tell me.

434
00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:05,240
It is a little game I like to play
at parties, guessing people's names.

435
00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,680
I'm very good at it too.
I always guess their name
by what they look like.

436
00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:16,000
It might be partly because Ronnie
Corbett accepted his secondary role
in that partnership

437
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:20,440
that he wasn't trying to muscle in
on the writing process as well

438
00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:23,280
and was in a way happy
to let Ronnie Barker

439
00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:26,280
be kind of the originator
in that act.

440
00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:30,000
I am so sure you will not be able
to guess my name,

441
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:31,960
if you get it right I will allow you

442
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:36,080
to spend the night with my wife,
the beautiful lady in the red.

443
00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:39,120
She's smiling, looking...

444
00:26:39,120 --> 00:26:40,320
How many guesses can I have?

445
00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:42,560
You can have as many as you like.

446
00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:46,440
All right, well,
you look to me like a prat.

447
00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:52,480
Sidney Pratt.

448
00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:53,880
No. No.

449
00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:57,000
Perhaps you're more like a wally.

450
00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:00,760
Are you a Wally Partington-Smythe?
No.

451
00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:02,280
Monty Rothermere.

452
00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:03,720
No. Look, I'll give you a clue.

453
00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:07,280
My surname sounds like something
that comes out at night.

454
00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:09,400
Malcolm Dentures.

455
00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:14,760
But actually
I think what makes it work

456
00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:17,720
is that they just seem
to like each other.

457
00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:21,480
There is a sort of ease about
the way they work with each other

458
00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:25,040
when they are sitting out
as the village idiots on the wall

459
00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:27,840
or the two old guys
in the allotment.

460
00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:31,560
You know we live in
the same sort of house? Yes?

461
00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:37,360
Same road, same shape,
same size rooms? Yes.

462
00:27:37,360 --> 00:27:41,600
You know when you papered
your front room you told me

463
00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:44,440
you bought eight rolls
of wallpaper?

464
00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:45,960
That's right, yeah.

465
00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:50,520
Well, I've just papered our front
room. Oh, yeah?

466
00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:53,480
I bought eight rolls of wallpaper.

467
00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:57,200
When I finished I had two over.

468
00:27:57,200 --> 00:27:58,960
That's funny.

469
00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:02,440
So did I.

470
00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:05,160
Together The Two Ronnies
perfectly complemented each other,

471
00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:07,960
but they had a different approach
to being on their own.

472
00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:12,680
I am feeling a little bit drained.
I spent the weekend potholing.

473
00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:15,000
Ronnie Corbett's armchair monologues

474
00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:17,640
seemed a natural portrayal
of the man himself.

475
00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:22,520
I say potholing. To be honest,

476
00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:24,760
actually I was in the back garden

477
00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:27,400
trying to pull up a worm
and it got the better of me.

478
00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:32,360
But Ronnie Barker always
appeared in character.

479
00:28:32,360 --> 00:28:33,480
What about that?

480
00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:41,320
A? A! I didn't help you
at all with that one.

481
00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:46,280
I. No, that's the hatstand.

482
00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:56,880
H. No, you are reading
all the furniture.

483
00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:05,760
See if you can grab
the end of this long pole.

484
00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:08,880
I've got it. Got it?
Thank goodness for that.

485
00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:18,600
I think Ronnie was never comfortable
performing as himself.

486
00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:22,600
He always had to be in character,
something he always made very clear,

487
00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:27,440
which was why he would always
have just a moustache

488
00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:30,680
if nothing else when he was playing
those announcers at the desk.

489
00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:32,800
Always made him feel
more comfortable.

490
00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:38,680
And yet in conversation and
as himself he was supremely funny.

491
00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:42,760
In a very straight, very dry way.

492
00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:45,480
Do you ever experience a general
feeling of wobbliness?

493
00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:47,240
A, yes. Or B, no.

494
00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:50,360
Yes, A. Yes, I do get
wobbliness in the head.

495
00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:56,560
There are several possible
causes of wobbliness.
Please state number of legs.

496
00:29:57,920 --> 00:29:59,400
Two when I last looked.

497
00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:02,840
Oh, sorry, wrong button.
Wait a minute.

498
00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:04,280
No! Oh, dear, wait a minute.

499
00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:08,960
You appear to have 12 legs.

500
00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:12,200
Are you A, the Nolan sisters?

501
00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:18,320
B, the Parliamentary
Social Democratic Party?

502
00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:21,480
C, three teams
of one-legged polo players?

503
00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:23,160
Or D, was this a mistake?

504
00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:26,200
Ronnie Barker
was starring in The Two Ronnies

505
00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:28,320
and he wrote much of the material.

506
00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:30,920
Good evening, here is the news.

507
00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:34,680
But the sheer volume of scripts
demanded outside writers

508
00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:38,400
and attracted contributions
from all over the world.

509
00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:41,240
The news desk items famously came in

510
00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:45,320
from all quarters across the
British Isles, maybe even the world.

511
00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:53,440
They had this vast
sort of pool of submitters.

512
00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:57,800
Dentists from Aberdeen,
I don't know who they were,

513
00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:00,960
as well as a core
of more professional writers

514
00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:02,400
who did it for a living.

515
00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:06,640
In the divorce courts today
an 85-year-old farmer
divorced his 17-year-old wife

516
00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:09,000
because he couldn't keep
his hands off her.

517
00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,760
He has now sacked all his hands
and bought a combine harvester.

518
00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:17,640
They would whittle it down
to 100 lines a week

519
00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:19,840
which they themselves
would then rewrite anyway

520
00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:22,720
to give them a greater crispness.

521
00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:27,400
These 100 would be submitted
to each of the two Ronnies,

522
00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:32,240
and from that 100
they would pick 12, 15 or something,

523
00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:34,320
that they would actually
use on the show,

524
00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:37,320
and every one had to get two
ticks from each of them.
That was the rule.

525
00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:40,400
# With what anguish

526
00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:44,760
# I await my beloved

527
00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:48,600
# My poor frail body

528
00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:51,960
# Is wasting away. #

529
00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:55,800
It was a kind of seemingly
bottomless well of characterisation,

530
00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:59,240
particularly that Ronnie Barker
managed to achieve,

531
00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:02,080
which was just
marvellous to behold, really.

532
00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:05,760
# In yon gloomy tower

533
00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:09,600
# The cause of my pinings
at present reclining

534
00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:11,560
# In her chamber

535
00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:14,480
# Ah, me, when will she

536
00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:19,560
# Be free to be mine own?

537
00:32:19,560 --> 00:32:23,440
LAUGHTER DROWNS SINGING

538
00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:28,880
Good evening. I'm from
the Ministry Of Sex Equality.

539
00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:34,840
I'm here tonight to explain
the situation man to man.

540
00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:37,640
Or as we have to say,
person to person.

541
00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:40,280
My name is Mr stroke Mrs Barker.

542
00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:46,440
But I don't advise any of you
to try it - stroking Mrs Barker.

543
00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:50,400
He is absolutely brilliant
at those lectures to camera.

544
00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:55,480
He can just turn on that pomposity,
that silliness,

545
00:32:55,480 --> 00:32:58,400
but still make it
sort of convincing.

546
00:32:58,400 --> 00:33:01,200
He had such a good ear
for these things,

547
00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:03,760
his wordplay was so dexterous,

548
00:33:03,760 --> 00:33:08,120
he knew how to kind of copy
the rhythms of the sermon

549
00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:09,840
or the public information film,

550
00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,800
and twist them until
they became utterly preposterous.

551
00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:15,240
The recent idea by the ministry,
to avoid confusion,

552
00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:18,080
is to call a man a doings
and a woman a thingy.

553
00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:21,520
This offends no-one
and makes conversation clearer,

554
00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:24,760
thus we instantly recognise
the book called Little Thingies

555
00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:28,440
or the musical called My Fair Thingy,

556
00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:32,960
or the play by George Bernard Shaw
called Doings and Superdoings.

557
00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:39,080
ITV had tried Ronnie Barker
in sitcom showcases twice
without success.

558
00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:43,920
The BBC also realised they had
an extraordinary talent.

559
00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:48,720
In 1973 they commissioned a series
of one-off comedy pilots, 7 Of 1,

560
00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:54,240
with the intention of finding
that elusive sitcom blockbuster.

561
00:33:54,240 --> 00:34:01,120
Ronnie must have been pretty special
on the sixth floor at the Beeb

562
00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:03,960
and in the eyes of the viewers
by the time he did 7 Of 1.

563
00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:05,880
Alan, tea?

564
00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:08,840
One Man's Meat paired Barker
with Prunella Scales

565
00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:11,080
making much of
the man's rotund stature.

566
00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:17,600
Just about a man
who was on an enforced diet.

567
00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:21,040
His wife emptied the fridge,
took all his clothes away

568
00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:22,880
and he couldn't eat a thing.

569
00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:25,720
She even got the inside out
of a boiled egg

570
00:34:25,720 --> 00:34:28,360
so when he thought he had got
a boiled egg it was empty.

571
00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:32,200
It was very funny, and it was
written by a man called Jack Goetz,

572
00:34:32,200 --> 00:34:34,280
who turned out to be Ronnie.

573
00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:39,520
Oh, I'm awfully sorry.
I accidentally spilt them
all over your nice trousers.

574
00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:42,400
Why don't we take them off?
I'll dry them on the radiator.

575
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:46,640
One Man's Meat failed to impress,

576
00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:49,560
but two of the seven experiments

577
00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:51,920
would eventually
make extended series.

578
00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:56,360
Open All Hours
introduced a young David Jason

579
00:34:56,360 --> 00:34:58,640
when first broadcast in 1973.

580
00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:04,320
Hey, Granville,
have you been courting again?

581
00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:07,600
Fat chance.
We don't close till nine.

582
00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:11,000
Mrs Sculley said it could have been
you she saw coming out of
their Margaret...

583
00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:14,880
You what? ..'s place on Frith
Street. Let me finish!

584
00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:17,000
Go and get them papers in.

585
00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:20,560
I told you not to go
and see that Ken Russell film.

586
00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:22,160
BELL RINGS

587
00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:26,040
You've hardly got your spots
cleared up from the last one.

588
00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:32,760
Another pilot, Prisoner And Escort,

589
00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:36,040
led directly to a sitcom
some people consider to be

590
00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:38,840
the pinnacle
of Ronnie Barker's career.

591
00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:42,040
Don't give me
any of your facetious lip, Fletcher.

592
00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:44,800
I know you were trying
to work one last night.

593
00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:47,360
On what do you base
that supposition, Mr MacKay?

594
00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:50,320
On the evidence of our motor
mechanic's report on the van.

595
00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:59,760
It appears that the petrol tank
had more in it
after our journey than before.

596
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:06,440
Only what was in the tank
was certainly not 5-star.

597
00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:12,760
Now, I'm going to be watching you,
Fletcher.

598
00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:15,600
I'm going to be
watching you like a hawk,

599
00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:20,280
because nobody, nobody goes
over the wall in my prison.

600
00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:23,720
Oh no, Mr MacKay, no-one would dare
take the petrol out of you.

601
00:36:28,800 --> 00:36:30,120
Norman Stanley Fletcher.

602
00:36:31,720 --> 00:36:35,160
Small-time villain Norman
Stanley Fletcher is convicted.

603
00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:37,120
He takes his sentence
one day at a time,

604
00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:39,880
winning minor victories
against the system

605
00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:43,200
and in particular
the stern warder, Mr MacKay,

606
00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:45,880
played by Fulton MacKay.

607
00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:49,520
Morning, Mr MacKay.

608
00:36:49,520 --> 00:36:51,040
Thanks again, mate, see you.

609
00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:55,920
Thanks. What was all that about?

610
00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:58,680
That was just a bit of friendly
advice, Mr MacKay, that's all.

611
00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:02,880
Just a bit of friendly advice
on matters of the heart
between him and me.

612
00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:08,840
Tell me, Fletcher, is it true
this is the office of Slade Prison's
Miss Lonely Hearts?

613
00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:11,440
Is that why you're here, then?
Problems of that nature?

614
00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:13,600
I have no problems of that nature.

615
00:37:13,600 --> 00:37:16,600
h, come off it, Mr MacKay.
All screws - beg your pardon -

616
00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:19,760
all prison officers have problems
in that area, don't they?

617
00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:22,640
Matrimonially you and me
is very similar.

618
00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:24,280
Because while we are both
stuck in here

619
00:37:24,280 --> 00:37:27,400
we can't be sure what our old ladies
are up to. There's no difference.

620
00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:29,680
There is a major difference,
Fletcher.

621
00:37:29,680 --> 00:37:32,760
Your wives are criminals' wives,

622
00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:34,640
they belong to the criminal classes

623
00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:38,200
with all their hidden traits
of slovenliness and promiscuity.

624
00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:42,040
Our wives are the wives
of uniformed men,

625
00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:46,200
used to a life of service, duty,
decency and moral fibre.

626
00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:52,400
My house, my house reflects my wife.
Big, is it? Spotless.

627
00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:56,160
Ronnie just disappeared, you know,

628
00:37:56,160 --> 00:37:58,680
inside those people that he played.

629
00:37:58,680 --> 00:38:02,120
Fletcher!
I mean, what a wonderful creation.

630
00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:07,800
He did say to me once, he said,
"It's me, Sam, really.
It's me, really. It's easy."

631
00:38:07,800 --> 00:38:12,800
But, you know, it was a complete
full-blooded character,

632
00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:17,440
and that's what
he was so brilliant at.

633
00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:19,480
I think there was
a touch of genius really.

634
00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:23,840
Hello. What do you want?
Will you do the honours?

635
00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:27,120
What, read it out to you,
do you mean? Yes. Yeah, all right.
From the wife, is it?

636
00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:29,480
Yeah, know her perfume anywhere.

637
00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:31,520
Oh, yes, very distinctive.

638
00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:34,560
I should think this kills 99%
of household germs.

639
00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:39,720
I knew it was good, it was really
good and the scripts were great,

640
00:38:39,720 --> 00:38:44,080
but I didn't know it was going to be
a huge hit as it turned out to be,

641
00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:46,560
I mean with books written about it,

642
00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:54,840
and the top viewing figures one
Sunday night in 1976 or '75
or something, of 22 million.

643
00:38:54,840 --> 00:38:57,280
I will get Saturday morning
off at the laundry.

644
00:38:57,280 --> 00:38:59,120
I miss you and think of us

645
00:38:59,120 --> 00:39:01,960
when you was at home
and you used to take my...

646
00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:05,840
Used to what?

647
00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:10,880
Well, it's a bit personal, the next
bit, you know what I mean?

648
00:39:10,880 --> 00:39:15,560
I don't think I should really read
it out, aloud, not in front of me.

649
00:39:19,040 --> 00:39:21,880
Well, you know, it's intimate.
What does she say?

650
00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:24,520
You read it. Oh, you can't read,
can you?

651
00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:26,760
'Half past seven, eight o'clock,
whenever it was,

652
00:39:26,760 --> 00:39:28,760
'was a bit of an event.
We'll be there for that.'

653
00:39:28,760 --> 00:39:30,600
Did you see Porridge last night?

654
00:39:30,600 --> 00:39:34,200
That episode of Porridge
where he and Richard Beckinsale

655
00:39:34,200 --> 00:39:35,880
are confined in their cell

656
00:39:35,880 --> 00:39:39,680
fantasising about a day out
that they will never have...

657
00:39:39,680 --> 00:39:42,280
Dreams is your escape, ain't they?

658
00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:45,560
There's no locked doors,
barriers, frontiers,

659
00:39:45,560 --> 00:39:46,840
dreams is freedom.

660
00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:51,560
..is one of the most brilliant
examples of acting control

661
00:39:51,560 --> 00:39:57,720
and writing too,
that I think '70s TV ever produced.
It is absolutely perfect.

662
00:39:57,720 --> 00:40:03,720
And there is something about the way
Barker can conjure those fantasies,

663
00:40:03,720 --> 00:40:07,200
the way he narrates
that day of pleasure,

664
00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:12,040
fantasising about being out
in the countryside when
they're within the prison walls,

665
00:40:12,040 --> 00:40:14,560
it is just
a masterclass in acting.

666
00:40:14,560 --> 00:40:18,120
Kids like you, they shouldn't be
in prison, not really.

667
00:40:18,120 --> 00:40:20,960
It's the system, isn't it?

668
00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:24,800
You're not here to be reformed
or rehabilitation, are you?

669
00:40:24,800 --> 00:40:27,280
You're just here for public revenge,
ain't you?

670
00:40:27,280 --> 00:40:32,360
With me it's a different kettle
of fish. It's occupational hazard.

671
00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:36,800
Being as how my occupation
is breaking the law.

672
00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:39,880
Still, my family
has never gone short.

673
00:40:39,880 --> 00:40:43,720
I've got a wife and three kids.
Want a bit of this?

674
00:40:43,720 --> 00:40:45,760
Ta.

675
00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:49,120
Wife and three kids, I'll show you
their picture when it gets light.

676
00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:52,240
Now my youngest,
he's just got into grammar school.

677
00:40:52,240 --> 00:40:53,680
Has he?

678
00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:56,560
Yeah. Very expensive school it is.
Nice, though.

679
00:40:56,560 --> 00:40:58,040
But costs a lot.

680
00:40:58,040 --> 00:41:00,360
Books, equipment,
all that sort of thing.

681
00:41:00,360 --> 00:41:04,040
When my son went there on the first
day he didn't want for nothing.

682
00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:07,160
Rugby boots, blazer, cap,
scarf, the lot.

683
00:41:07,160 --> 00:41:11,360
He wouldn't have had them
if his father had just been
a struggling clerk, would he, now?

684
00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:16,440
Reason he had them
was because his father
had just robbed a school outfit.

685
00:41:18,080 --> 00:41:21,720
Any actor who'd never done
comedy or TV,

686
00:41:21,720 --> 00:41:24,760
who perhaps played
the Royal Shakespeare Company

687
00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:26,400
and the National Theatre,

688
00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:28,280
would look at those performances

689
00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:33,880
and say, "My God, that is acting
of the highest calibre."

690
00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:35,520
Take one.

691
00:41:38,360 --> 00:41:39,800
Action.

692
00:41:41,840 --> 00:41:45,480
The character of Fletcher had
broken into the hearts of the public

693
00:41:45,480 --> 00:41:49,320
and Porridge was a huge success
with a cinema feature film spin-off.

694
00:41:50,960 --> 00:41:52,960
Oh, dear.

695
00:41:52,960 --> 00:41:56,040
Where's Elaine work?
Tarpaulin factory?

696
00:41:56,040 --> 00:41:57,080
Read it.

697
00:41:57,080 --> 00:41:59,320
All right,
I'll just give you the highlights.

698
00:41:59,320 --> 00:42:04,000
"Dearest bunny, blah blah blah,
blah blah blah blah."

699
00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:05,400
Blah blah blah, what?

700
00:42:05,400 --> 00:42:07,320
It's all trivia, it's nothing.

701
00:42:07,320 --> 00:42:09,880
It's the weather,
her mother's catarrh,

702
00:42:09,880 --> 00:42:12,520
she's retiled the lav,
the canary's got haemorrhoids,

703
00:42:12,520 --> 00:42:15,560
she met a welder at the Fiesta Club,
she's thinking of moving in with him.

704
00:42:15,560 --> 00:42:18,400
I must be off. I can't hang about.

705
00:42:18,400 --> 00:42:21,320
We haven't got a canary.

706
00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:22,280
Cut.

707
00:42:23,400 --> 00:42:26,840
# I'm going straight

708
00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:29,880
# I am straight as an arrow. #

709
00:42:29,880 --> 00:42:31,640
And when Fletcher
had served his time,

710
00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:34,440
there was a sequel
following his release.

711
00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:36,880
# I'm going straight, I am

712
00:42:36,880 --> 00:42:41,000
# Along the straight and narrow. #

713
00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:45,600
Left something behind, have you?
Yes, three and a half years
of my life.

714
00:42:45,600 --> 00:42:48,040
You'd better move on a bit sharpish.
All right, all right.

715
00:42:58,600 --> 00:43:00,240
Oi!

716
00:43:00,240 --> 00:43:02,040
Oi! Let me in!

717
00:43:05,440 --> 00:43:09,800
Porridge won
a Royal Television Society Award
for outstanding achievement.

718
00:43:09,800 --> 00:43:12,960
Barker would win
four BAFTAs over his career.

719
00:43:12,960 --> 00:43:17,480
In 1975, accepting a Best Light
Entertainment Performance Award,

720
00:43:17,480 --> 00:43:21,120
he was moved by the sudden death
of his Porridge co-star.

721
00:43:21,120 --> 00:43:26,040
Ladies and gentlemen,

722
00:43:26,040 --> 00:43:27,880
the tragic and untimely death

723
00:43:27,880 --> 00:43:32,120
of my good friend and colleague,
Richard Beckinsale, three days ago,

724
00:43:32,120 --> 00:43:34,960
has robbed me
of the joy of this award,

725
00:43:34,960 --> 00:43:38,200
but the pride in winning it
still remains.

726
00:43:38,200 --> 00:43:41,280
Richard's contribution to Going
Straight will always be remembered,

727
00:43:41,280 --> 00:43:44,320
but this award
is also for The Two Ronnies

728
00:43:44,320 --> 00:43:46,960
and I would also like to pay tribute

729
00:43:46,960 --> 00:43:51,280
to my equally close friend
and colleague Mr Ronnie Corbett.

730
00:43:51,280 --> 00:43:52,440
Thank you very much.

731
00:43:53,840 --> 00:43:57,760
Later in life Ronnie would achieve
a BAFTA Lifetime Achievement Award

732
00:43:57,760 --> 00:44:05,040
but The Two Ronnies received
their biggest double act accolade
with two OBEs in 1978.

733
00:44:05,040 --> 00:44:07,160
Can you describe the ceremony?

734
00:44:07,160 --> 00:44:09,520
It was rather moving.

735
00:44:09,520 --> 00:44:11,640
I thought the bride's father
looked wonderful.

736
00:44:11,640 --> 00:44:16,200
It was lovely and nerve wracking
and moving. You got very nervous.

737
00:44:16,200 --> 00:44:20,160
We both had to spend a penny.
I had to use the royal we, twice.

738
00:44:21,280 --> 00:44:25,400
Through the '70s, Ronnie acted in
both Porridge and Open All Hours.

739
00:44:25,400 --> 00:44:28,280
He later claimed Fletcher in
Porridge was his favourite creation,

740
00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:31,040
but he was worried
about typecasting,

741
00:44:31,040 --> 00:44:32,760
so he moved between the two series.

742
00:44:42,600 --> 00:44:45,040
I'll kill that flaming mouse.

743
00:44:47,120 --> 00:44:48,320
What gets me is

744
00:44:48,320 --> 00:44:51,680
if he can move like that why
hasn't he got a number on his jersey?

745
00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:54,880
He's faster than you are.

746
00:44:54,880 --> 00:44:56,040
Well, I know that, don't I?

747
00:44:56,040 --> 00:45:00,480
It's no good hanging around here
waiting for a cheese-eating tortoise.

748
00:45:01,680 --> 00:45:04,360
By the 1980s,
television had moved on.

749
00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:08,200
Traditional family
light entertainment

750
00:45:08,200 --> 00:45:11,800
was being challenged
by young, alternative comedians.

751
00:45:13,040 --> 00:45:16,920
The tide did turn
against this kind of humour.

752
00:45:16,920 --> 00:45:21,000
I think we've forgotten now
that rather awkward moment

753
00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:24,480
when the two Ronnies
were doing shows

754
00:45:24,480 --> 00:45:28,520
at the same time as the alternative
comedians coming through,

755
00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:32,280
and there was a kind of battle
between those people,

756
00:45:32,280 --> 00:45:37,960
and Barker and Corbett did become
whipping boys for these comedians.

757
00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:42,760
Not The Nine O'Clock News saw
The Two Ronnies as an easy target.

758
00:45:44,200 --> 00:45:48,400
It was a very legitimate pastiche
and extremely affectionate
and very well done.

759
00:45:48,400 --> 00:45:52,840
But Ronnie Barker really didn't like
it at all and wrote a letter.

760
00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:56,160
I have this from John Lloyd
who produced the sketch.

761
00:45:56,160 --> 00:46:02,760
He said it was excrement.
He basically complained to the BBC.

762
00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:04,840
That wasn't Ronnie's finest hour

763
00:46:04,840 --> 00:46:08,240
but we are all very sensitive
to criticism.

764
00:46:08,240 --> 00:46:11,640
It is hard to see yourself
as others see you and I'm sure...

765
00:46:11,640 --> 00:46:14,440
I think I did get the chance
to ask him about it.

766
00:46:14,440 --> 00:46:17,480
I think he realised later
it was legitimate and fun.

767
00:46:17,480 --> 00:46:19,160
But probably he felt threatened,

768
00:46:19,160 --> 00:46:22,760
I think everybody feels threatened
in show business.
It's a bit of a paranoid career.

769
00:46:24,040 --> 00:46:26,920
New wave comedians had grown up
watching family entertainment

770
00:46:26,920 --> 00:46:31,080
but now wanted their own comedy
to be less like their dads'.

771
00:46:31,080 --> 00:46:35,160
The two generations collided
at a BBC Christmas party.

772
00:46:35,160 --> 00:46:39,640
It was a magical thing
for me to go into this room,
Russ Abbot over there,

773
00:46:39,640 --> 00:46:43,480
and suddenly, my goodness,
there's Ronnie Barker.

774
00:46:43,480 --> 00:46:46,520
I was with Stephen Fry
and we edged into his orbit

775
00:46:46,520 --> 00:46:50,800
because we were both extremely
starstruck. Out of admiration.

776
00:46:50,800 --> 00:46:53,520
This is a man who is a comedy great.

777
00:46:53,520 --> 00:46:57,480
Anyway, he sort of turned to us
and looked rather imperial

778
00:46:57,480 --> 00:47:00,120
and pointed at Stephen and said,
"Like you."

779
00:47:00,120 --> 00:47:03,160
And he pointed at me and said,
"Don't much like you."

780
00:47:03,160 --> 00:47:05,320
Jolly nice party this, isn't it?

781
00:47:07,400 --> 00:47:11,280
That was it. I wasn't... It's not
so much I wasn't having it,

782
00:47:11,280 --> 00:47:13,240
everybody was kind of,
"That was a bit much!"

783
00:47:13,240 --> 00:47:15,160
Rather nice wine.

784
00:47:18,280 --> 00:47:22,520
And we began to talk and of course
I was completely besotted

785
00:47:22,520 --> 00:47:26,560
and he was pleased that I knew his
catalogue pretty comprehensively.

786
00:47:26,560 --> 00:47:30,400
Anyway, at the end of it
he kind of nodded and said,
"Well, I like you better now."

787
00:47:30,400 --> 00:47:34,280
Supposing I kept an eye
on that hand of yours,

788
00:47:34,280 --> 00:47:37,600
and every time it came up,
you know, to give me a thing,

789
00:47:37,600 --> 00:47:41,160
I duck my head? We could have
quite a reasonable conversation.

790
00:47:41,160 --> 00:47:42,800
He wasn't pompous

791
00:47:42,800 --> 00:47:46,480
but there was a touch of
the Captain Mainwarings about him,
there really was,

792
00:47:46,480 --> 00:47:52,120
and he could be prickly.
He decided, "There's a young punk
and I'm going to tell him off."

793
00:47:52,120 --> 00:47:57,200
In the end he liked me better
and eventually we became friends.

794
00:47:59,480 --> 00:48:05,560
There had been 16 years of success
in The Two Ronnies, Porridge
and Open All Hours.

795
00:48:05,560 --> 00:48:09,680
But in the '80s Barker realised
his magic touch was failing.

796
00:48:09,680 --> 00:48:13,880
The sitcom Magnificent Evans about
a Welsh photographer did badly.

797
00:48:13,880 --> 00:48:18,720
It's not working out right at all,
this. Is it the light?
No, it's not the light.

798
00:48:18,720 --> 00:48:22,200
Ronnie came to see me privately
when I was controller of BBC One,

799
00:48:22,200 --> 00:48:24,240
he asked to see me privately.

800
00:48:24,240 --> 00:48:29,920
I thought, "Oh, there's a problem.
Doesn't like the script,
doesn't want to work with Ronnie."

801
00:48:29,920 --> 00:48:31,800
I didn't know what to expect.

802
00:48:31,800 --> 00:48:33,920
And he came in
and shut the door and said,

803
00:48:33,920 --> 00:48:38,320
"I haven't told anybody else,
but I'm going to retire.
I've had enough."

804
00:48:38,320 --> 00:48:41,280
He said, "I just want to plan
the next year.

805
00:48:41,280 --> 00:48:44,920
"I want to know
what you want me to do,

806
00:48:44,920 --> 00:48:47,400
"this is what I'd like to do,
can we just plan it now?

807
00:48:47,400 --> 00:48:52,440
"Then I've got that banked in my
mind and then that's it, finished."

808
00:48:52,440 --> 00:48:54,160
He was running low on ideas

809
00:48:54,160 --> 00:48:57,120
and wrote Clarence
under the name Bob Ferris

810
00:48:57,120 --> 00:48:59,520
about a shortsighted removal man

811
00:48:59,520 --> 00:49:03,840
recycling a character
and a script from his time at ITV,

812
00:49:03,840 --> 00:49:05,680
some 16 years earlier.

813
00:49:07,240 --> 00:49:09,520
Look at the old Chelsea
pensioner over there.

814
00:49:12,760 --> 00:49:15,520
What's that? Nice day
for the Coronation, isn't it?

815
00:49:18,680 --> 00:49:21,320
I love to see them
old Chelsea pensioners, don't you?

816
00:49:21,320 --> 00:49:24,960
I though I might nip off and
have a look at the procession.

817
00:49:24,960 --> 00:49:28,080
He absolutely had his life balance.

818
00:49:28,080 --> 00:49:30,600
Family came first,
theatre came next,

819
00:49:30,600 --> 00:49:34,920
and I think that is why
when he eventually retired,

820
00:49:34,920 --> 00:49:37,640
I don't honestly think
it worried him.

821
00:49:37,640 --> 00:49:41,000
The rest of us old troopers
go on as long as we possibly can,

822
00:49:41,000 --> 00:49:43,440
but he'd done everything he wanted
to do. That's what he said.

823
00:49:46,520 --> 00:49:49,320
Stop! Those are goldfish.

824
00:49:50,560 --> 00:49:53,600
Oh, yes, that is another thing
about you women.

825
00:49:53,600 --> 00:49:56,600
You're all soft when it comes
to animals, you're all soft.

826
00:49:56,600 --> 00:49:58,480
Go on, flush them down the lav.

827
00:49:58,480 --> 00:50:00,840
I will certainly not flush them
down the lav!

828
00:50:00,840 --> 00:50:02,080
PHONE RINGS

829
00:50:02,080 --> 00:50:04,800
Here he comes now. Now we've done
half the packing he's turned up.

830
00:50:04,800 --> 00:50:08,840
It's just a lot of Mr Magoo jokes
recycled,

831
00:50:08,840 --> 00:50:13,720
and almost that form is dying,
really,

832
00:50:13,720 --> 00:50:16,560
by the time that comes along.

833
00:50:16,560 --> 00:50:21,440
The trunk and suitcases are going
with the master and mistress to
Rangoon. They aren't to be touched.

834
00:50:21,440 --> 00:50:25,680
Righto. I'll just move
this standard lamp out me way.

835
00:50:27,960 --> 00:50:29,960
What are you doing? Put me down.
Who's this then?

836
00:50:29,960 --> 00:50:33,000
Somehow he began to crumble,
I think,

837
00:50:33,000 --> 00:50:37,240
when he was robbed
of really good writing.

838
00:50:37,240 --> 00:50:40,120
Either his writing
or somebody else's writing.

839
00:50:40,120 --> 00:50:43,640
He couldn't quite lift
that material.

840
00:50:43,640 --> 00:50:46,400
It's Miss Angela.
Do please put her down.

841
00:50:46,400 --> 00:50:48,840
She's going through
an unhappy time.

842
00:50:48,840 --> 00:50:51,680
Oh, dear. I'm sorry, no harm done.

843
00:50:51,680 --> 00:50:53,880
I was just guessing your weight.
9 stone 5.

844
00:50:53,880 --> 00:50:55,960
I'm never wrong.
Used to lifting wardrobes.

845
00:50:55,960 --> 00:50:59,400
There is something faintly
depressing, actually,

846
00:50:59,400 --> 00:51:02,240
about those late sitcom vehicles,

847
00:51:02,240 --> 00:51:04,280
and the absence of laughs

848
00:51:04,280 --> 00:51:06,680
and the broadness
of the characters in them.

849
00:51:06,680 --> 00:51:09,360
Look at that. My old granny
had a piece just like that.

850
00:51:11,200 --> 00:51:13,240
You will be careful, won't you?

851
00:51:13,240 --> 00:51:15,840
Careful? I've got hands
like a surgeon, me.

852
00:51:15,840 --> 00:51:18,120
What's that? I cut myself.

853
00:51:19,520 --> 00:51:20,840
There is always a dip,

854
00:51:20,840 --> 00:51:24,000
there is always a point when you
have been around a long time,

855
00:51:24,000 --> 00:51:27,200
everybody loved you, and then
they're kind of... Not bored,

856
00:51:27,200 --> 00:51:30,480
but you're the big guy, nobody
is going to give you plaudits.

857
00:51:30,480 --> 00:51:33,320
And then comes the next phase,
as did happen with Ronnie Barker,

858
00:51:33,320 --> 00:51:37,600
finally when he gets
the full old man glory stuff.

859
00:51:37,600 --> 00:51:40,880
I don't know whether...
I wish he hadn't retired

860
00:51:40,880 --> 00:51:44,920
and I think
if he had decided to just
reduce his workload and keep going,

861
00:51:44,920 --> 00:51:47,400
I'm certain there would have been
another great sitcom.

862
00:51:47,400 --> 00:51:51,440
By that stage he'd already had
a bit of a scare,

863
00:51:51,440 --> 00:51:54,040
a few alarm bells about his weight.

864
00:51:54,040 --> 00:51:56,840
He had been told
he'd got to lose weight.

865
00:51:56,840 --> 00:51:59,240
And he was determined that wasn't
going to happen to him

866
00:51:59,240 --> 00:52:01,960
and Tommy Cooper
had gone around that time as well.

867
00:52:01,960 --> 00:52:04,920
He wasn't just going to keep
performing until he dropped.

868
00:52:04,920 --> 00:52:09,040
So it was...
I applauded him for it at the time.

869
00:52:09,040 --> 00:52:12,960
I thought that decision
was very laudable.

870
00:52:12,960 --> 00:52:15,880
Quite surprised, I have to say,

871
00:52:15,880 --> 00:52:21,280
when he then came back to do
Churchill's butler much later on.

872
00:52:22,880 --> 00:52:26,120
Ronnie was tempted back with
a small part in a feature film

873
00:52:26,120 --> 00:52:28,040
alongside the great Albert Finney.

874
00:52:28,040 --> 00:52:32,520
The Gathering Storm
told the story of
Winston Churchill's pre-war years.

875
00:52:32,520 --> 00:52:35,080
Ronnie Barker played
his long-suffering butler, Inches.

876
00:52:35,080 --> 00:52:38,320
Mr Churchill, sir? Mr Churchill?

877
00:52:38,320 --> 00:52:40,040
It is a drunk.

878
00:52:40,040 --> 00:52:42,520
She's here, sir. She's here.

879
00:52:42,520 --> 00:52:43,640
What?

880
00:52:43,640 --> 00:52:47,280
The taxi's coming down the drive.
What on earth are you talking about?

881
00:52:47,280 --> 00:52:50,880
Mrs Churchill, sir.
She's here? Yes, sir.

882
00:52:50,880 --> 00:52:53,960
Ronnie had retired,
I think quite a few years...

883
00:52:53,960 --> 00:52:57,040
I think four or five at least,
maybe more.

884
00:52:57,040 --> 00:53:00,480
He was running his antique shop with
Joy, his wife, in Gloucestershire.

885
00:53:00,480 --> 00:53:05,000
And I went to meet him
and he just... We got on, I suppose.

886
00:53:05,000 --> 00:53:07,760
And listen, anyone...

887
00:53:07,760 --> 00:53:12,040
To have the opportunity to work with
Finney, you don't turn it down.

888
00:53:12,040 --> 00:53:14,080
Out. I'm in the middle of a letter.

889
00:53:14,080 --> 00:53:17,280
Telephone, sir. Out.
The man says it's important, sir.

890
00:53:17,280 --> 00:53:20,040
Get him to call back later.
Really important.

891
00:53:20,040 --> 00:53:22,600
Who is it? Major Sankey, sir.
Who the hell is Major Sankey?

892
00:53:22,600 --> 00:53:25,560
One of your constituency workers.
I think you should talk to him.

893
00:53:25,560 --> 00:53:28,720
What, now? Yes, Mr Churchill,
he's been ringing all morning.
All right.

894
00:53:28,720 --> 00:53:31,760
You're the most irritating
clod that ever walked the earth.

895
00:53:31,760 --> 00:53:33,800
I was in the middle
of a letter to my wife.

896
00:53:33,800 --> 00:53:35,920
Now I have completely
lost my train of thought. Idiot.

897
00:53:35,920 --> 00:53:37,680
Have you no sensitivity whatsoever?

898
00:53:37,680 --> 00:53:41,080
There is no need to be insulting,
sir. I was merely
passing on a message.

899
00:53:41,080 --> 00:53:43,160
Shut up. How dare you?

900
00:53:43,160 --> 00:53:46,360
Tell the girl
to put the call through up here.

901
00:53:46,360 --> 00:53:48,680
She's gone to lunch.
Do it yourself.

902
00:53:48,680 --> 00:53:51,640
I am not acquainted
with the mechanism, sir.

903
00:53:51,640 --> 00:53:55,040
Bloody hell.
You are very rude to me.

904
00:53:55,040 --> 00:53:56,920
You are very rude to me, sir.

905
00:53:56,920 --> 00:54:00,080
Yes. But I'm a great man.

906
00:54:01,400 --> 00:54:03,040
You're a stupid old bugger.

907
00:54:03,040 --> 00:54:06,400
He stood out because not only could
he just do the job,

908
00:54:06,400 --> 00:54:07,800
it was effortless.

909
00:54:07,800 --> 00:54:09,920
It's like the old thing
of the tightrope walker

910
00:54:09,920 --> 00:54:12,680
that can walk along
and do a trick fall,

911
00:54:12,680 --> 00:54:15,000
because it makes it look like
it's more difficult.

912
00:54:15,000 --> 00:54:18,440
Ronnie could just do anything he
wanted to on that acting tightrope.

913
00:54:18,440 --> 00:54:21,520
Mr Inches, I think a glass
of champagne might be in order.

914
00:54:21,520 --> 00:54:24,720
With respect, sir, I think
we might save that for happier days.

915
00:54:24,720 --> 00:54:28,960
It was a small part, and a return
to his serious acting roots.

916
00:54:28,960 --> 00:54:33,360
Just a year later the same team
travelled to Italy
to film My House In Umbria,

917
00:54:33,360 --> 00:54:37,960
another straight role for one of
Britain's funniest actors,
now in his twilight years.

918
00:54:39,600 --> 00:54:43,640
Well, the situation, as it were,
my staying here...

919
00:54:43,640 --> 00:54:46,920
Umbria was hard, it was hard for
all of us. It was incredibly hot,

920
00:54:46,920 --> 00:54:49,360
we were in the middle of Tuscany,

921
00:54:49,360 --> 00:54:53,200
and the temperatures
were unbelievably hot,

922
00:54:53,200 --> 00:54:55,240
you've got lights as well,

923
00:54:55,240 --> 00:54:58,480
and they were wearing
quite heavy clothes,

924
00:54:58,480 --> 00:55:01,560
because some of it was meant to be
set in the winter.

925
00:55:01,560 --> 00:55:06,600
I think everybody found it tough
and I think Ronnie did as well.
But he never complained.

926
00:55:06,600 --> 00:55:09,440
I was wondering whether it's not
time for me to pack my bags.

927
00:55:09,440 --> 00:55:12,440
'He said he wasn't going to do
anything after The Gathering Storm.

928
00:55:12,440 --> 00:55:17,000
'I slightly bullied him coming back.
But I'm pleased I did.

929
00:55:17,000 --> 00:55:21,840
'He was happy. We found him a nice
little villa, not grand,

930
00:55:21,840 --> 00:55:24,000
"but we used to go round
and barbecue in the evenings

931
00:55:24,000 --> 00:55:26,320
"and he was always pleased
to see me,"

932
00:55:26,320 --> 00:55:28,080
wearing his Panama hat

933
00:55:28,080 --> 00:55:31,400
and sitting under an umbrella and
doing a bit of barbecuing with Joy.

934
00:55:31,400 --> 00:55:35,080
I think he enjoyed the time
out in Italy.

935
00:55:36,480 --> 00:55:41,240
He's no fool.
He knows Francine will be jealous.

936
00:55:41,240 --> 00:55:45,000
I doubt very much
whether he'll ever come back.

937
00:55:45,000 --> 00:55:50,480
On the other hand, he may
very well come back next month.

938
00:55:50,480 --> 00:55:52,520
I may be dead next month,

939
00:55:52,520 --> 00:55:55,160
the moon may have
crashed into the earth,

940
00:55:55,160 --> 00:55:58,360
who knows what dreadful things
may come to pass?

941
00:55:58,360 --> 00:56:03,880
But at the moment I'm happy.
What else matters?

942
00:56:03,880 --> 00:56:05,920
Carpe diem.

943
00:56:05,920 --> 00:56:08,560
I am never really sure
what that means.

944
00:56:08,560 --> 00:56:12,280
Seize the day, embrace the present,

945
00:56:12,280 --> 00:56:15,360
enjoy life
while you've got the chance.

946
00:56:17,520 --> 00:56:20,200
Ronnie Barker passed away
just two years later,

947
00:56:20,200 --> 00:56:25,840
a master of comedy, at home on
stage, television, and big screen.

948
00:56:28,440 --> 00:56:30,720
I wrote a book about him recently,

949
00:56:30,720 --> 00:56:34,760
and Ronnie Corbett said that in 40
years they'd never had an argument,

950
00:56:34,760 --> 00:56:39,160
and that was my experience.
He was a delight to work with.

951
00:56:41,080 --> 00:56:43,280
Your game, m'lady.

952
00:56:43,280 --> 00:56:46,560
When you look at the 20th century
in terms of what we laughed at

953
00:56:46,560 --> 00:56:48,120
and what brought us all together

954
00:56:48,120 --> 00:56:51,920
and what gave us
a wonderful warm feeling
of being part of the same community,

955
00:56:51,920 --> 00:56:53,360
sharing a sense of humour,

956
00:56:53,360 --> 00:56:55,840
Ronnie Barker will be
without question

957
00:56:55,840 --> 00:56:57,840
a member of a small and elite group.

958
00:56:57,840 --> 00:57:01,000
I have to keep my hands
at room temperature

959
00:57:01,000 --> 00:57:05,040
in case I ever have to decant
any of that sparkling vintage
of a full-bodied white,

960
00:57:05,040 --> 00:57:08,080
known locally
as Nurse Gladys Emmanuel.

961
00:57:08,080 --> 00:57:12,360
He certainly would rank alongside

962
00:57:12,360 --> 00:57:16,240
people like Spike Milligan
and Eric Morecambe.

963
00:57:16,240 --> 00:57:19,760
I'm the only bloke
that keeps the tone of this place up.

964
00:57:19,760 --> 00:57:23,720
Those monologues, tongue-tripping
lines and everything,

965
00:57:23,720 --> 00:57:26,760
I didn't know anybody
who was as good as he was.

966
00:57:26,760 --> 00:57:28,680
Good ovening.

967
00:57:30,720 --> 00:57:32,880
Horo is the nows at ton.

968
00:57:33,880 --> 00:57:36,320
At the Primo Minister's country
household, Choqours...

969
00:57:38,200 --> 00:57:44,640
He was in the best sense
a comic actor where you can put
the "comic" in brackets.

970
00:57:44,640 --> 00:57:46,920
He was a terrific actor.

971
00:57:46,920 --> 00:57:50,960
Dreams is your escape, ain't they?
No locked doors,
no barriers, no frontiers.

972
00:57:52,360 --> 00:57:53,840
Dreams is freedom.

973
00:57:53,840 --> 00:57:57,240
There aren't many people who
slot into that kind of tradition,

974
00:57:57,240 --> 00:58:00,320
because he could do
so much more than that too.

975
00:58:00,320 --> 00:58:02,920
But I think that's essentially
what he is.

976
00:58:02,920 --> 00:58:07,000
He was a great actor
who was very good at comedy.

977
00:58:07,000 --> 00:58:11,400
And we've just been told the police
are desperately seeking the man

978
00:58:11,400 --> 00:58:14,000
who steals the ends of news items.

979
00:58:14,000 --> 00:58:16,560
The man is described as tall
and grey-haired with a very big...

980
00:58:18,160 --> 00:58:21,240
That's all we have time for this
evening so it's good night from me.

981
00:58:21,240 --> 00:58:24,440
And it's good night from him.
Good night. Good night.

982
00:58:32,560 --> 00:58:36,480
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