Merton's fury at festival snub

Paul Merton has launched a no-holds-barred attack on the organisers of a silent film festival after being unceremoniously dumped from the bill.

For the past five years, The Have I Got News For You star – and huge silent movie buff – has been the face of the Bristol Silents festival, presenting the annual gala performance with a live orchestra.

But despite the popularity of the event, festival director Chris Daniels decided to drop Merton this year in favour of Michael Palin, much to his dismay.

The comic has now written a blistering attack on his website, listing a catalogue of apparent incompetence from the festival.

Merton said: ‘Every year we attracted a large and enthusiastic audience; over a thousand people every single gala night. The applause at the end of the evening was always deafening.

‘The continued loyalty of the Bristol audience was very special to me and was matched by my loyalty to them. At the end of every exceptional gala evening, I’ve stood on the stage and promised to return with more delights the following year.

“I’m proud that my name has played such a large part in building up the festival's reputation. I have programmed many events and have been happy to do the lion’s share of publicity.

‘So you could have knocked me down with a custard pie last August when Chris Daniels, the self appointed director of Bristol Silents, emailed my agent to say he was dropping my gala night because he believed that we would struggle to sell tickets!’

‘This was presented to me as a fait accompli. No discussion, no debate. Your Gala Night isn't happening. I suppose I was “sacked”.’

Merton says he previously spent £20,000 of his own money staging a production of Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush, even securing special permission from the Chaplin estate to show it with a 15-piece orchestra, when normally they insist on 50, and commissioning a new score for the piece.

Merton complained: ‘It was a great coup for Bristol Silents to stage a world premiere. I mention all of the above because you would not have learnt any of it on the night. Master of Ceremonies Chris Searle, good friend of Chris Daniels, didn't feel it necessary to share any of the above knowledge with the audience.

‘He also contrived to start the second half while I was still in the lit auditorium talking to members of the public. At the end Chris Searle rushed forward to be the first to congratulate Tim Brock who was expecting to present the published score to me on the podium in front of the audience.’

Merton, who has hosted TV series on silent films, also said than in the 2008 festival he was advertised to appear at a 9am discussion panel he had never agreed to; that thousands of leaflets for the Gold Rush had to be pulped after Daniels printed them without the date or time of the event; and that Daniels provided the wrong film clips for a show Merton did with Nicholas Parsons.

In another show about European comedy, Merton had been expecting to interview expert Serge Bromberg, who was not there on the day. The comic said: ‘Serge later told me he had never agreed to host the event, he was merely supplying the film clips. I was in a position of hosting an event that I knew very little about with films I had never seen.‘

Merton suggested ‘the whole business begins to whiff of sabotage’ and pointed out the festival’s website makes no mention of its past triumphs.

He said: ‘I'm sorry I won't be in Bristol this year, but my memories of those Colston Hall nights will live with me forever. To hear such applause and laughter for the films I love is very special to me. Thank you, the people of Bristol.

‘I'm sorry that Chris Daniels, the self-appointed Director of Bristol Silents, doesn't share other people's faith in my continued ability to attract audiences. If you see him – ask him why.’

The festival has not yet responded to a request for a comment, but in an interview with the Bristol Evening Post before Merton’s message appeared, Daniels offered anexplanation:

He said: ‘It was always our intention to have a range of guests and hosts. Paul Merton has made such a big contribution to the festival for the past five years. He has been amazing and we really hope that he will be involved in the future.

‘But Paul has always been very much associated with silent comedy, and we wanted to explore visual comedy after silent comedy. So it's Slapstick after Silents, if you will.’

Michael Palin is said to have been unaware that Merton had been dropped when he agreed to front the gala.

Meanwhile, Merton has just made a film about early European cinema for BBC Bristol, and this year will also direct a three-part BBC Two series The Birth of Hollywood.

Published: 27 Jan 2010