New classic interview series for Gold

Some of Britain’s legendary comedians are to be profiled in a new series using archive footage of their chat-show appearances.

Kenneth Williams, The Two Ronnies, Les Dawson, Spike Milligan, and Peter Cook and Dudley Moore will be the subjects of Gold’s The Interviews, as well as actor Oliver Reed, who was known for his often drink-fuelled appearances on such shows.

The talk-show interviews will be mixed with other footage from documentary interviews and radio specials, which producers promise will deliver a unique insight into the lives of the comedy icons.

The six-part series, to air in June, will be voiced by Dawn French and feature interviews with Michael Parkinson, Russell Harty, Terry Wogan, Melvyn Bragg, Jonathan Ross, Graham Norton, Michael Aspel, Des O'Connor, and Mavis Nicholson.

Iain Coyle, commissioning editor of the hour-long episodes, said: “The Interviews is a unique way of doing biography through chat show appearances, as the guests’ stories are told straight from the horse’s mouth.

‘We are delighted Dawn French will add her warm and authoritative voiceover which will bring each episode together.’

Gold’s general manager Steve North added: ‘This commission complements Gold’s other brand new series, Bob Monkhouse: Million Joke Man, and is a signal of our commitment to originating new and exclusive content for Gold.’

And John Quinn, who is executive producer of the shows for production house North One said: ‘The best biographies feature those closest to the subject, the ones who really knew them best. We have just extended that logic, limiting ourselves solely to first-person testimony. The wealth of archive footage where the subjects discuss their extraordinary lives really did exceed all our expectations.

‘From traditional talk-shows to more in-depth documentary films, the likes of Kenneth Williams, Oliver Reed and Spike Milligan never flinch from the truth – these are really moving and honest self-portraits.’

Published: 1 Apr 2015