Charles Murray Higson
Born	(1958-07-03) 3 July 1958 (age 53) Frome, Somerset, England
Occupation	Actor, Comedian, Author
Spouse	Victoria L Fullick (1995–present)
Children	3 children

Charles Murray Higson (born 3 July 1958), more commonly known as Charlie Higson is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer. He has also written and produced for television.

Biography[link]

Higson was educated at Sevenoaks School and at the University of East Anglia (where his brother has taught since 1986 and is now a professor of film studies) where he met Paul Whitehouse, David Cummings and Terry Edwards. Higson, Cummings and Edwards formed the band The Higsons of which Higson was the lead singer from 1980 to 1986. They released two singles on the Specials' 2-Tone label. This was after he had formed the punk band The Right Hand Lovers, where he performed as "Switch".^[1] Higson then became a plasterer – including plastering the student house of Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie^[2] – before he turned to writing for Harry Enfield with Paul Whitehouse and performing comedy. He came to public attention as one of the main writers and performers of the BBC Two sketch show The Fast Show (1994–2000). He worked with Whitehouse on the radio comedy Down the Line and is to work with him again on a television project, designed to be a spoof of celebrity travel programmes.^[3]

He worked as producer, writer, director and occasional guest star on Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) from 2000 to 2001. Subsequent television work has included writing and starring in BBC Three's Fast Show spin-off sitcom Swiss Toni. He has starred in Tittybangbang on BBC Three and appeared as a panellist on QI. He recently co-directed and starred in Bellamy's People.

He published many novels through the early to mid 1990s which take a slightly dystopian look at everyday life and have a considerably more adult tone than his other work, with characters on the margins of society finding themselves spiraling out of control, leading him to be described by Time Out as 'The missing link between Dick Emery and Brett Easton Ellis'.^[4]

In 2004, it was announced that Higson would pen the Young Bond series of James Bond novels, aimed at younger readers and concentrating on the character's school-days at Eton. Higson was himself educated at Sevenoaks School where he was a contemporary of Jonathan Evans, current Director General of MI5. The first novel, SilverFin, was released on 3 March 2005 in the UK and on 27 April 2005 in the U.S. A second novel, Blood Fever, was released on 5 January 2006 in the UK and 1 June in the US. The third novel, Double or Die, was published on 4 January 2007 having had its title announced the day before. The next, Hurricane Gold, came out in hardcover in the UK in September 2007.^[5] In this year he also made a debut performance on the panel show QI. His final Young Bond novel, By Royal Command, was released in hardcover in the UK on 4 September 2008.^[6]

Higson is currently writing a zombie-horror series of books for children. The first book, The Enemy, was released in the UK by Puffin Books in 2009 and in the US by Disney-Hyperion in 2010. Book 2, The Dead, was released in the UK in September 2010. The third book in the series, The Fear was published on 15 September 2011. Charlie is currently writing the fourth novel in the series that will be out next year.^[7] At a school event at Abingdon School on 14 September 2011, Charlie told children "Originally it was going to be three books and then my publisher, Puffin, said make it five and now we’re up to it being seven."^[8]

In 2011 it was confirmed that Higson would be appearing alongside the original cast (with the exception of Mark Williams) in an online-only version of The Fast Show sponsored by Foster's Lager.^[9]

Bibliography[link]

Novels[link]

• King of the Ants (1992), ISBN 0-241-13207-X
• Happy Now (1993), ISBN 0-241-13363-7
• Full Whack (1995), ISBN 0-241-00287-7
• Getting Rid of Mister Kitchen (1996) ISBN 0-316-88106-6
• Monstroso (2010) ISBN 978-0-14-132845-4

The Enemy[link]

• The Enemy (2009) ISBN 0-14-138464-6
• The Dead (2010) ISBN 0-14-138465-8
• The Fear (2011) ISBN 0-14-138466-2
• The Sacrifice (2012)

Young Bond[link]

1. SilverFin (2005), ISBN 0-14-131859-7
2. Blood Fever (2006), ISBN 0-14-131860-0
3. Double or Die (2007), ISBN 0-14-132203-9
4. Hurricane Gold (2007), ISBN 0-14-138391-7
5. By Royal Command (2008), ISBN 0-14-138451-4
6. SilverFin: The Graphic Novel (2008), ISBN 978-0-14-132253-7 (with Kev Walker)
7. Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier (2009), ISBN 978-0-14-132768-6 (authored short story included in book)

Non-fiction[link]

• The 'Fast Show' Book (1996), ISBN 0-7522-2267-8 (with Paul Whitehouse)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Charlie Higson Website
• BBC Talent Guide Profile
• Another BBC profile of Higson
• Charlie Higson profile at MI6.co.uk – interview series and biography
• CommanderBond.net interviews Charlie Higson
• The Charlie Higson CBn Interview II
• New interview (2008): Charlie in Command

Craig Ferguson
Performing stand-up in New York City, 2007
Born	(1962-05-17) May 17, 1962 (age 50) Glasgow, Scotland
Medium	Stand-up, television, film, music, books
Nationality	Scotland; United States
Years active	1980–present
Genres	Observational comedy, satire/political satire/news satire
Subject(s)	Everyday life, popular culture, self-deprecation, politics
Spouse	Anne Hogarth (1983–86) (divorced) Sascha Corwin (1998–2004) (divorced) 1 child Megan Wallace-Cunningham (2008–present) 1 child
Notable works and roles	Host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Nigel Wick on The Drew Carey Show Glaswegian in One Foot in the Grave Gobber in How to Train Your Dragon
Website	The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962^[1]) is a Scottish-American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, author, and producer. He is the host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, an Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning late-night talk show that airs on CBS. In addition to hosting that program and performing stand-up comedy, Ferguson has written two books: Between the Bridge and the River, a novel, and American on Purpose, a memoir. He became a citizen of the United States in 2008.^[2]

Before his career as a late-night television host, Ferguson was best known in the United States for his role as the office boss, Nigel Wick, on The Drew Carey Show from 1996 to 2003. He also wrote and starred in three films, directing one of them.

Early life[link]

Ferguson was born in the Stobhill Hospital in the Springburn district of Glasgow, Scotland to Robert and Janet Ferguson, and raised in nearby Cumbernauld, growing up "chubby and bullied".^[3][4] When he was six months old, he and his family moved from their Springburn apartment to a council house in Cumbernauld. They lived there as Glasgow was re-housing many people following damage to the city from World War II.^[4] Ferguson attended Muirfield Primary School and Cumbernauld High School.^[5] At age sixteen, Ferguson dropped out of Cumbernauld High School and began an apprenticeship to be an electronics technician at a local factory of American company Burroughs Corporation.^[6]

His first visit to the United States was as a teenager to visit an uncle who lived on Long Island, near New York City.^[7] When he moved to New York City in 1983, he worked in construction in Harlem.^[8][9] Ferguson later became a bouncer at a nightclub, Save the Robots.^[10]

Career[link]

British career[link]

Ferguson's experience in entertainment began as a drummer in a rock band called Exposure. He then joined a punk band called The Bastards from Hell.^[11] The band, later renamed "Dreamboys", and fronted by vocalist Peter Capaldi, performed regularly in Glasgow from 1980 to 1982.^[12] Ferguson credits Capaldi for inspiring him to try comedy.^[3]

After a nerve-wrecking, knee-knocking first appearance, he decided to create a character that was a "parody of all the über-patriotic native folk singers who seemed to infect every public performance in Scotland."^[3] The character, "Bing Hitler" (actually coined by Capaldi as Ferguson started with the monogram of "Nico Fulton" but admittedly later stole the name for his "own nefarious ends"),^[12] premiered in Glasgow, and subsequently became a hit at the 1986 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A recording of his stage act as Bing Hitler was made at Glasgow's Tron Theatre and released in the 1980s;^[13] a Bing Hitler monologue ("A Lecture for Burns Night") appears on the compilation cassette Honey at the Core.

Ferguson's first television appearance was as Confidence on BBC sitcom Red Dwarf during the episode "Confidence and Paranoia".

Ferguson made his starring television debut in The Craig Ferguson Show, a one-off comedy pilot for Granada Television, which co-starred Paul Whitehouse and Helen Atkinson-Wood.^[14] This was broadcast throughout the UK on 4 March 1990, but was not made into a full series.

He has also found success in musical theatre. Beginning in 1991, he appeared on stage as Brad Majors in the London production of The Rocky Horror Show, alongside Anthony Head, who was playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter at the time.^{[citation needed]} In 1994, Ferguson played Father MacLean in the highly controversial production of Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom at the Union Chapel in London. The same year, he appeared again at the Edinburgh Fringe, as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple, opposite Gerard Kelly as Felix and Kate Anthony as Gwendolin Pidgeon, who is now much better known as Aunty Pam in Coronation Street; the play, which was relocated to 1990s Glasgow, later toured Scotland.^[15]

After enjoying success at the Edinburgh Festival, Ferguson appeared on Red Dwarf, STV's Hogmanay Show,^[16] his own show 2000 Not Out, and the 1993 One Foot in the Grave Christmas special One Foot in the Algarve.

In 1993, Ferguson presented his own series on Scottish archaeology for Scottish Television entitled Dirt Detective.^[17] He travelled throughout the country examining archaeological history, including Skara Brae and Paisley Abbey.

U.S. career[link]

After cancellation of his show The Ferguson Theory, Ferguson moved to Los Angeles in 1994. His first U.S. role was as baker Logan McDonough on the short-lived 1995 ABC comedy Maybe This Time, which starred Betty White and Marie Osmond.

His breakthrough in the U.S. came when he was cast on The Drew Carey Show as the title character's boss, Mr. Wick, a role that he played from 1996 to 2003. He played the role with an over-the-top posh English accent "to make up for generations of English actors doing crap Scottish accents." In his comedy special "A Wee Bit O' Revolution", he specifically called out James Doohan's portrayal of Montgomery Scott on Star Trek as the foundation of his "revenge". (At the end of one episode, though, Ferguson broke the fourth wall and began talking to the audience at home in his regular Scottish accent.) His character was memorable for his unique methods of laying employees off, almost always "firing Johnson", the most common last name of the to-be-fired workers.^[18] Even after leaving the show in 2003, he remained a recurring character on the series for the last two seasons, and was part of the 2-part series finale in 2004.

During production of The Drew Carey Show, Ferguson devoted his off-time as a cast member to writing, working in his trailer on set in-between shooting his scenes. He wrote and starred in three films: The Big Tease, Saving Grace, and I'll Be There, which he also directed and for which he won the Audience Award for Best Film at the Aspen, Dallas and Valencia film festivals. He was named Best New Director at the Napa Valley Film Festival. These were among other scripts that, "... in the great tradition of the movie business, about half a dozen that I got paid a fortune for but never got made."^[19] His other acting credits in films include Niagara Motel, Lenny the Wonder Dog, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Chain of Fools, Born Romantic, The Ugly Truth, How to Train Your Dragon, Kick-Ass and Winnie the Pooh.

Ferguson has been touring the United States and Canada with a stand-up comedy show, and performed at Carnegie Hall on 23 October 2010.

[edit] The Late Late Show

In December 2004, it was announced that Ferguson would be the successor to Craig Kilborn on CBS's The Late Late Show. His first show as the regular host aired on 3 January 2005. By May 2008, Ben Alba, an American television historian and an authority on U.S. talk shows, said Ferguson "has already made his mark, taking the TV monologue to new levels with an underlying story. But he is only just starting ... He is making up his own rules: It's the immigrant experience."^[18]

The Late Late Show averaged 2.0 million viewers in its 2007 season, compared with 2.5 million for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.^[20] In April 2008, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson beat Late Night with Conan O'Brien for weekly ratings (1.88 million to 1.77 million) for the first time since the two shows went head-to-head with their respective hosts.^[21]

By the end of 2009, Craig Ferguson topped Jimmy Fallon in the ratings with Ferguson getting a 1.8 rating/6 share and Fallon receiving a 1.6 rating/6 share.^[22]

Ferguson's success on the show has led at least one "television insider" to say he is the heir apparent to take over David Letterman's role as host of The Late Show.^[18]

Television and appearances[link]

Craig Ferguson has made guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Rachael Ray, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Howard Stern Show, The Daily Show, The View, Loveline, Real Time with Bill Maher, The Soup, The Talk and The Dennis Miller Show. He also co-hosted Live with Regis & Kelly with Kelly Ripa.

On 4 January 2009 Ferguson was a celebrity player on Million Dollar Password.

Ferguson in April 2008

In 2009, Ferguson made a cameo live-action appearance in the episode "We Love You, Conrad" on Family Guy. Ferguson hosted the 32nd annual People's Choice Awards on 10 January 2006.^[23] TV Guide magazine printed a "Cheers" (Cheers and Jeers section) for appearing on his own show that same evening.^{[citation needed]} From 2007 to 2010, Ferguson hosted the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on 4 July, broadcast nationally by CBS. Ferguson was the featured entertainer at the 26 April 2008 White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, DC.^[24]

Ferguson co-presented the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama with Brooke Shields in 2008. He has done voice work in cartoons, including being the voice of Barry's evil alter-ego in the "With Friends Like Steve's" episode of American Dad; in Freakazoid! as Roddy MacStew, Freakazoid's mentor; and on Buzz Lightyear of Star Command as the robot vampire NOS-4-A2. Most recently, he was the voice of Susan the boil on Futurama, which was a parody of Scottish singer Susan Boyle. He makes stand-up appearances in Las Vegas and New York City. He headlined in the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal and in October 2008 Ferguson taped his stand up show in Boston for a Comedy Central special entitled A Wee Bit o' Revolution, which aired on 22 March 2009.

British television comedy drama Doc Martin was based on a character from Ferguson's film Saving Grace – with Ferguson getting writing credits for 12 episodes.^[25] On 6 November 2009 Ferguson appeared as himself in a SpongeBob SquarePants special titled SpongeBob's Truth or Square.^[26] He hosted Discovery Channel's 23rd season of Shark Week in 2010. Ferguson briefly appeared in Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup" music video released on 10 October 2011. ^[27]

Literature[link]

Ferguson's novel Between the Bridge and the River was published on 10 April 2006. Ferguson appeared at the Los Angeles Festival of Books, as well as other author literary events. "This book could scare them", Ferguson said. "The sex, the violence, the dream sequences and the iconoclasm. I think a lot of people are uncomfortable with that. I understand that. It was very uncomfortable to write some of it."^[28] Publishers Weekly called it "a tour de force of cynical humor and poignant reverie, a caustic yet ebullient picaresque that approaches the sacred by way of the profane."^{[citation needed]} His novel Between the Bridge and the River is dedicated to his son and to his grandfather, Adam. Ferguson revealed in an interview that he is writing a sequel to the book, to be titled "The Sphynx of the Mississippi".^[29] He also stated in a 2006 interview with David Letterman that he intends for the book to be the first in a trilogy.^[30]

Ferguson signed a deal with HarperCollins to publish his memoirs.^[31] The book, entitled American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot, focuses on "how and why [he] became an American" and covers his years as a punk rocker, dancer, bouncer and construction worker as well as the rise of his career in Hollywood as an actor and comic. It went on sale 22 September 2009 in the United States.^[32][33] On 1 December 2010 the audiobook version was nominated for a Best Spoken Word Album Grammy.^[34]

In July 2009, Jackie Collins was a guest on The Late Late Show to promote her new book Married Lovers. Collins said that a character in her book, Don Verona, was based on Ferguson because she was such a fan of him and his show.^[35]

Personal life[link]

As mentioned on The Late Late Show on 3 August 2009, Ferguson holds an FAA Private Pilot's License issued 31 July 2009.^[36] Ferguson announced on the 8 April 2011 broadcast that he is pursuing an instrument rating.

Ferguson is a fan of Scottish football team Partick Thistle F.C.^[12] as well as the British television show Doctor Who. He has three tattoos: his latest, the Join, or Die political cartoon on his right forearm;^[37][38] a Ferguson family crest with the Latin motto Dulcius ex asperis ("Sweeter out of [or from] difficulty") on his upper right arm in honour of his father;^[39] and the Ingram family crest on his upper left arm in honour of his mother. He has often stated that his Join, or Die tattoo is to signal his patriotism.^[37]

Family[link]

In an episode of The Late Late Show that aired 8 December 2008, a somber Ferguson talked about his mother, Janet (3 August 1933 – 1 December 2008). He ended the program by playing her favourite song, "Rivers of Babylon" by Boney M.^[40]

Ferguson has two sisters (one older and one younger) and one older brother.^[41] His elder sister's name is Janice and his brother's name is Scott. His younger sister, Lynn Ferguson Tweddle, is also a successful comedienne, presenter, and actress, perhaps most widely known as the voice of Mac in the 2000 stop-motion animation film Chicken Run. She is currently a writer on The Late Late Show.

Ferguson has married three times and divorced twice as a result of what he describes as "relationship issues". His first marriage was to Anne Hogarth from 1983 to 1986, during which time they lived in New York. From his second marriage (to Sascha Corwin, founder and proprietor of Los Angeles' SpySchool), he has one son, Milo Hamish Ferguson, born in 2001. He and Corwin share custody of Milo, and live near each other in Los Angeles. On 21 December 2008, Ferguson married art dealer Megan Wallace-Cunningham in a private ceremony on her family's farm in Chester, Vermont.^[42] Ferguson announced 14 July 2010 on Twitter that they were expecting a child. He wrote: "Holy crackers! Mrs F is pregnant. How did that happen? ... oh yeah I know how. Another Ferguson arrives in 2011. The world trembles."^[43] The child, a boy named Liam James, was born 31 January 2011.^[44]

Alcoholism[link]

A recovering alcoholic, Ferguson has been sober since 18 February 1992.^[45] Because of this, he declared he wouldn't mock Britney Spears' much-publicized alcohol problems in 2007.^[46] He said he had considered committing suicide on Christmas Day 1991, but when offered a drink by a friend for celebrating the holiday, he was distracted from jumping off Tower Bridge in London as he had planned.^[3]

Citizenship[link]

Holding dual citizenship, Ferguson is both a naturalized citizen of the United States and a British citizen.

During 2007, Ferguson, who at the time held only British citizenship, used The Late Late Show as a forum for seeking honorary citizenship from every state in the U.S. He has received honorary citizenship from Nebraska, Arkansas, Virginia, Montana, North Dakota, New Jersey, Tennessee, South Carolina, South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska, Texas, Wyoming, Pennsylvania and Indiana, and was "commissioned" as an admiral in the tongue-in-cheek Nebraska Navy.^[47] Governors Jon Corzine (New Jersey), John Hoeven (North Dakota), Mark Sanford (South Carolina), Mike Rounds (South Dakota), Rick Perry (Texas), Sarah Palin (Alaska) and Jim Gibbons (Nevada) sent letters to him that made him an honorary citizen of their respective states. He received similar honors from various towns and cities, including Ozark, Arkansas; Hazard, Kentucky; and Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

Ferguson became an American citizen on 1 February 2008^[2] and broadcast the taking of his citizenship test as well as his swearing in on The Late Late Show.

Filmography[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Between the Bridge and the River. Chronicle Books. 2006. ISBN 978-0-8118-5375-0. 
• American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot. HarperCollins. 2009. ISBN 978-0-06-171954-7. 

Comedy specials[link]

• A Wee Bit o' Revolution. Comedy Central. 2009.
• Does This Need to Be Said? EPIX, Comedy Central. 2011.

Discography[link]

• Live At The Tron (as Bing Hitler). Jammy Records. 1986. Catalogue number JRLP 861.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Craig Ferguson

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Craig Ferguson

• Craig Ferguson at the Internet Movie Database
• Craig Ferguson on Twitter
• Craig Ferguson Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos
• Craig Ferguson and Megan Wallace Cunningham
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

This article relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Discussion about the problems with the sole source used may be found on the talk page. (November 2009)

The Fast Show, known as Brilliant in the US, was a BBC comedy sketch show programme that ran for three series from 1994 to 1997 with a special Last Fast Show Ever in 2000. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams, John Thomson, Arabella Weir and Caroline Aherne. Other significant cast members included Paul Shearer, Felix Dexter, Rhys Thomas, Jeff Harding, Maria McErlane, Eryl Maynard, Colin McFarlane and Donna Ewin.

The show produced two national tours, the first in 1998 with the cast of the BBC surrealist comedy quiz show Shooting Stars and the second being their 'Farewell Tour' in 2002. The Fast Show was loosely structured and relied on character comedy, recurring running gags, and many catchphrases. Its fast-paced "blackout" style set it apart from traditional sketch series because of the number and relative brevity of its sketches; a typical half-hour TV sketch comedy of the period might have consisted of nine or ten major items, with contrived situations and extended setups, whereas the premiere episode of The Fast Show featured twenty-seven sketches in thirty minutes,^[1] with some items lasting less than ten seconds and none running longer than three minutes. Its innovative style and presentation influenced many later series such as The Catherine Tate Show and Little Britain.

It was one of the most popular sketch shows of the 1990s. The show has been released on VHS, DVD and audio CD. Some of its characters, Ron Manager, Ted and Ralph, Swiss Toni and Billy Bleach have had their own spin-off programmes.

Charlie Higson announced on 5 September 2011 that The Fast Show would return for a new online only series starting 14 November.^[2] The premiere date was changed later to 10 November.^[3]

Style and content[link]

The Fast Show was the brainchild of Paul Whitehouse and his writing partner and friend, Charlie Higson (who had previously enjoyed some success in the UK as a musician with the band The Higsons). After meeting through a mutual friend (Whitehouse's longtime flatmate, guitarist and writer David Cummings) comedian Harry Enfield invited Whitehouse to write for him and Whitehouse in turn asked Higson to help him out; soon after, Enfield got his break into TV with the series Harry Enfield and Chums and became nationally famous in the UK.^[1]

In the early 1990s Higson and Whitehouse worked extensively with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, writing for and performing in the series The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer and Bang Bang, It's Reeves and Mortimer (both of which Higson produced). These series also featured occasional appearances by future Fast Show cast members Caroline Aherne, Simon Day and Mark Williams. Higson made many appearances in minor roles, while Williams and Whitehouse had recurring roles (with Vic and Bob) in The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer, parodying the members of rock group Slade in the popular "Slade in Residence" and "Slade on Holiday" sketches.

Inspired by a press preview tape of Enfield's show, compiled by producer friend Geoffrey Perkins and consisting of fast-cut highlights of Enfield's sketches, the pair began stockpiling material and developing the idea of a rapid-fire 'MTV generation' format based wholly on quick cuts and soundbites/catchphrases. After unsuccessfully trying to sell the series to ITV through an independent production company, Higson and Whitehouse approached the new controller of BBC2, Michael Jackson; fortunately, he was then looking for new shows to replace several high-profile series that had been recently lost to BBC1, and their show was picked up by BBC2.^[1]

Whitehouse and Higson, the co-producers and main writers, then assembled the original team of writers and performers, which included David Cummings, Mark Williams, Caroline Aherne, Paul Shearer, Simon Day, Arabella Weir, John Thomson, Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (of Father Ted fame), Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer and Craig Cash (who went on to write and perform with Aherne in The Royle Family). Musical director Philip Pope was also an established comedy actor with extensive experience in TV and radio comedy, and had previously appeared in series such as Who Dares Wins and KYTV; he also enjoyed success as a comedy recording artist as part of the Bee Gees parody group The HeeBeeGeebees.

The Fast Show was a working title disliked by both Whitehouse and Higson but it went unchanged through production and eventually remained as the final title.^{[citation needed]}

The first series introduced many signature characters and sketches including Ted and Ralph, Unlucky Alf, The Fat Sweaty Coppers, Ron Manager, Roy and Renée, Ken and Kenneth (The Suit You Tailors), Arthur Atkinson, Bob Fleming, Brilliant Kid, Insecure Woman, Janine Carr, Denzil Dexter, Carl Hooper, Ed Winchester, the Patagonian buskers, "Jazz Club" and the popular parody "Chanel 9".

Many characters were never given any 'official' name, with their sketches being written to give their catchphrase as the punchline of each sketch. Examples include "Anyone fancy a pint?" (played by Whitehouse), "You ain't seen me, right!" (a mysterious gangster-like character played by Mark Williams), "I'll get me coat" (Williams) and "Ha!", a sarcastic elderly woman played by Weir.

Other long-standing running jokes in the programme included the fictitious snack food "Cheesy Peas" in various forms, shapes and flavours, in satirical adverts presented by a twangy, Northern lad (Paul Whitehouse) who claims, "They're good for your teas!"and has since become a reality thanks to UK TV chef Jamie Oliver [1]. The dire earnestness of the born-again Christian was parodied in another popular group of sketches where various characters responded to any comment or question by extolling the virtues of "Our Lord Jesus" and ended the sketch with the exclamation "He died for all our sins, didn't he?" or something similar; and most controversially, "We're from the Isle of Man", featuring a stereotype of weird, surreal, townsfolk in a setting portrayed as an abjectly impoverished and desolate cultural wasteland.

Some of the characters resembled parodies of well-known personalities: for example, Louis Balfour, host of "Jazz Club" was reminiscent of Bob Harris of The Old Grey Whistle Test^{[citation needed]} and Ron Manager of football pundits Trevor Brooking and Graham Taylor. However, the parodic intent of this character is broader, and portrays how often football pundits have little to say of any real substance and sometimes waffle.^{[citation needed]} Paul Whitehouse said that Ron Manager was based on ex-Luton Town & Fulham manager Alec Stock [2]. Arthur Atkinson is a composite of Arthur Askey and Max Miller.

The show ended in 2000, with a three-part "Last Ever" show, in the first episode of which Fast Show fan Johnny Depp had a guest-starring role as a customer of The Suit You Tailors, after three series and a Christmas special.

The theme tune was "Release Me", a song which had been a hit for pop singer Engelbert Humperdinck. In the first series it was performed over the opening credits by Whitehouse in the guise of abnormally transfiguring singer Kenny Valentine. In subsequent series, the tune only appeared in the closing credits, played on the saxophone.

Major characters[link]

The show featured many characters and sketches. Some of the more prominent recurring characters/sketches are:

• 'Unlucky' Alf, the lonely old pensioner living somewhere in northern England for whom nothing ever goes right. His hook is his resigned "Oh bugger!" as something terrible happens. He often predicts a bad event that is quite obvious, only to find something else occurs as he tries to avoid the first problem. (Paul Whitehouse, all series)
• Anyone fancy a pint? A man (Whitehouse) who find himself in boring or bizarre situations, such as a dinner party where a woman is talking about how she was abandoned as a child and crying about everyone letting her down. Whitehouse then interrupts at the most insensitive moment asking "anyone fancy a pint?", before he and most of the men in the room leave. One early sketch featured Higson portraying an earnest claymation animator (a parody of Nick Park) who describes the animation process in excruciatingly tedious detail by moving each feature "just a tiny amount" until Whitehouse's character sneaks away, whispering the punchline. According to the commentary in The Ultimate Fast Show, Nick Park loved the sketch and sent copies of it to friends and family that year as a video Xmas card.
• Archie the pub bore. Talks to people in the pub, and when they mention their profession, no matter what it is and however unlikely, he always claims to have had the same profession ("I used to be a single mother myself"), saying that it is the 'hardest game in the world. Thirty years, man and boy!' He has an obsession with Frank Sinatra, almost invariably steering the conversation towards the singer and weakly singing the title line of "High Hopes", after mentioning how he and his friend Stan fared on a recent fishing trip. (Whitehouse, series 3)
• Arthur Atkinson, parody of 1940s music hall entertainers such as Max Miller and Arthur Askey, played by Paul Whitehouse, introduced by Tommy Cockles (Simon Day), himself a parody of presenters of TV history, especially Denis Norden (Whitehouse, all series)
• Billy Bleach, tousle-mopped, interfering pub know-it-all who gets it all wrong, usually ending up with others losing money. His catchphrases include "Hold the bells" and "Someone's sitting there, mate". This character starred in his own series, Grass which was shown on BBC Three, later shown on BBC Two. (Day, all series)
• Bob Fleming, the ageing, incompetent West Country host of Country Matters, who has an extremely bad cough. The character's surname is a pun on 'phlegm-ing.' (Higson, all series) 'Country matters' is also an in-joke for those who know it is a Shakespearean euphemism for cunnilingus.
• Brilliant Kid. In the first draft of the script for the pilot, the character was called Eric and was described as "a young Yorkshire man"^[4] but in the series he is never named. He delivers an edited monologue listing everyday things, all of which he declares to be 'brilliant!' or 'fantastic!' as he walks through a series of random backgrounds (filmed in widely varied locations ranging from the Tees Valley to Iceland) during which the quality and format of the images also randomly changes (e.g. from colour to b/w). In one episode it is shown that he isn't sure about whether everything really is 'brilliant' or not, and as he's walking through one solid background, an abandoned funfair, he debates with himself half heartedly ("Everything is brilliant...right? I mean...it might not be...nah, it is!") (Whitehouse, all series)
• Carl Hooper, Australian presenter of That's Amazing, a spoof of pop-science shows. Normally the person on his show was trying to pass off an everyday animal or object as something magical. The one occasion where a guest had a truly amazing story to tell was unbroadcastable due to the guest's inability to refrain from swearing excitedly while relating the tale (Day, all series)
• Chanel 9, a low-budget television channel from a country known only as "Republicca", ruled by "El Presidente" who resembled a stereotypical Latin American dictator. Chanel 9 parodied the sort of programmes that British people end up watching on holiday around the Mediterranean. The stars, usually Paul Whitehouse, Paul Shearer and Caroline Aherne, speak a concocted language loosely based on Italian, Greek, Spanish and Portuguese, mashed together with nonsensical phrases (e.g. "sminky pinky") and incongruous English names and words (e.g. footballer Chris Waddle). Early segments featured the Chanel 9 news, read by anchormen Poutremos Poutra-Poutremos (Whitehouse) and Kolothos Apollonia (Shearer), followed by the weather forecast with meteorologist Poula Fisch (Aherne), invariably reporting a temperature for all locations of 45 °C (113 °F) while exclaiming "scorchio!" with apparent surprise. Sporting news was presented by Antonios Gubba - whose name is based on the commentator Tony Gubba - (Simon Day), seated at a much lower desk and talking with a low voice. Later Chanel 9 sketches consisted of several short segments, usually interspersed with parodic advertisements for the ubiquitous "Gizmo" a bizarre mechanical product which could be used with equal efficacy in the kitchen, garden or bedroom. Other Chanel 9 programmes, including a cartoon, a current affairs discussion, a quiz show, a soap opera ("El Amora Y El Passionna") and a variety series, were added in later sketches. Key catchphrases included the Republiccan greeting and farewell, "Buono estente" and "Boutros Boutros-Ghali" (the name of the then UN Secretary-General).
• Chip Cobb, the deaf stuntman, a TV and film stuntman who, because of his hearing problems, always mishears his instructions and proceeds to carry them out wrongly before anyone can stop him, much to the despair of the film crew. (Thomson, series 3)
• Chris the Crafty Cockney, claims to be an incurable kleptomaniac ("I'll nick anything, me"). He is left alone with something valuable and invariably steals it. Because of how up-front he is of his thieving nature, other people tend to believe he's joking. In one sketch, he even alludes to being an actual clinical kleptomaniac and involuntarily steals from his friend Dan after he trusts Chris to watch his newspaper stall, after extensively warning him of the risks involved in doing so. (Whitehouse, series 2–3)
• Colin Hunt, unfunny and irritating office joker whose name gives an indication of his personality (Higson, series 2–3)
• Competitive Dad, who is overcritical and demanding of his kids, and always has to get one up on them. (Day, series 2–3). Day explained in an interview that he had based the idea for the character from a man he noticed in a public swimming pool that challenged his two young children to a race. Day thought he'd let them win, but instead he took off and stood on the other end of the pool waiting for his toddler sons to struggle their way across the pool. He (Day) thought of it as "sick".
• Dave Angel, Eco-Warrior, a classic Essex geezer who, despite his get-up and rather lavish lifestyle, is improbably concerned about saving the planet (though this is often undermined by his wife's behaviour), Mike Oldfield records, and swinging. A parody of a late-night magazine programme presented by Mike Reid. "Moonlight Shadow" by Mike Oldfield & Maggie Reilly is used as the theme tune to sketches featuring the character (Day, series 3)
• Professor Denzil Dexter of the University of Southern California and his various bizarre scientific experiments, long-haired and highly laid-back. (Thomson, series 1–2, online series)
• The 13th Duke of Wymbourne, posh, rumpled dinner-jacketed, lecherous cigar smoker, reminisces about finding himself in wholly unsuitable places considering his 'reputation'. Based on the characters of Terry-Thomas. (Whitehouse, series 3)
• Ed Winchester, an American reporter. He beams at the camera and says "Hi! I'm Ed Winchester!" in a very upbeat voice, before the camera cuts to another scene. In his last appearance in Series 2 he appears to have been cut off as he then mentions Jesus straight after introducing himself. (Jeff Harding).
• Even Better Than That!, a slack-jawed, not too bright man who comes back from the shops with something ridiculously unnecessary instead of what his wife sent him for (Williams, series 3)
• The Fat, Sweaty Coppers A squad of police officers who cannot do their job properly as they are extremely overweight due to their constant eating and drinking.(Thomson and Weir included, series 1-2)
• Gideon Soames, white-haired, posh-talking architecture and history professor, possibly a cross between Simon Schama & Brian Sewell, with some elements of Bamber Gascoigne. Despite the serious tone of his speeches, the "history" of them becomes increasingly ridiculous. (Day series 2–3)
• Giggly Woman, a woman who seems very confident until a man she likes enters the room, and then goes all childish, as if she fancies him. The character debuted in series 1 during a small segment in the credits, but only became a recurring character later on. (Weir, series 3)
• The Historian, a jubilant, but emotionally imbalanced man who patrols the corridors of an historic boys academy alone whilst telling tall tales about former traditions both cruel and unreasonable. (Williams, series 3)
• I'll Get Me Coat, a socially inept Brummie, who is unable to make any appropriate contribution to a conversation, and therefore disgraces himself with a faux pas before using the punchline and leaving (Williams, all series)
• I'm not Pissed, a family - mother (Maria McErlane), father (Williams) and son (Day) - who are regularly pointing out that they are not drunk despite the fact they are taking regular swigs from gin bottles, beer cans etc. (series 2)
• Insecure Woman, who appears in a variety of different locations, usually exclaiming, "Does my bum look big in this?" (Weir, all series)
• Invisible Woman, who tries to converse with a group of men but is completely ignored, only for a man to repeat what she said and receive congratulations from the others for such a good idea. (Weir)
• Jesse, a taciturn country bumpkin who exclaims his strange diets, fashion tastes and experiments, in a single sentence "This week, I 'ave been mostly..." - except for one sketch, where he said "This week, I 'aven't been 'ungry." (Williams, series 2–3)
• John Actor, who plays Inspector Monkfish, the tough uncompromising cop who often exclaims to the nearest woman, "Put your knickers on and make me a cup of tea!" (Day, series 2–3, online series). Loosely based on the BBC series Dangerfield. There were variations on the show's format, two examples being Monkfish as a tough, uncompromising doctor in Monkfish M.D. and Monkfish as a tough, uncompromising vet in All Monkfish Great and Small. One Monkfish sketch even crossed over onto Chanel 9. Sometime between the end of series 3 and the last episode, John Actor died yet the series is apparently continuing in the manner of Taggart after the death of the lead actor.
• Johnny Nice Painter, who is painting a scene and describing all the colours. Whenever he mentions the colour "black", however, he becomes more and more depressed, eventually going somewhat insane and shouting wildly about the despair of mankind, despite the best efforts of his wife Katie (Weir) to prevent him from doing so. His appearance is based on TV painter Alwyn Crawshaw (Higson, series 3, online series)
• Ken and Kenneth, two tailors in a men's formal wear shop, who bombard potential customers with sexually explicit innuendo about their private life, frequently interjecting the catchphrase "Ooh! Suit you sir!", much to the discomfort of the customer. They become confused and even frightened in two episodes; one when they get a customer who is gay, and another with a customer (played by Day) who is as willing to talk about sexual deviance as they are. Due to Williams absence from the online series, his character Kenneth will be written out and replaced by Kenton, played by Charlie Higson. (Whitehouse and Williams: 1,2,3, and Whitehouse and Higson: online specials)
• Louis Balfour, pretentious and ultra laid-back presenter of Jazz Club (a parody of The Old Grey Whistle Test), based on a blend of Bob Harris and Roger Moore. He also has a remarkable similarity to Geoffrey Smith, presenter of Jazz Record Requests on Radio 3). Seemingly having done his 'research', he introduces his guests by comparing them to avant-garde jazz musicians or describing their style/technique by using complex musical phraseology. These guests usually turn out to be utterly talentless 'experimentalists', much to his bemusement. His catchphrase "Nice!" was delivered by turning to a different camera for that word only. Later he delivered other words in a similar manner. (Thomson, series 2–3, online series)
• Luvvie an over-the-top thespian describes his character and mentions that he needs to spend hours being made up when he is actually done in a few seconds (Thomson, series 3)
• Monster Monster, a vampire who creeps up on a slumbering woman and gives her betting advice (Whitehouse, series 3). The set-up is a parody of a scene from the 1922 German classic horror film Nosferatu, while the vampire's voice and catchphrase of "Monster, monster" are based on Eric Hall.
• No Offence, a rude, orange-faced South African department store cosmetics saleswoman who has no qualms about informing women of their physical imperfections, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she looks like a dried-out old orange herself. (Weir, series 3)
• "Our" Janine Carr, teenage mum with a unique world outlook. She refuses to reveal who the father of her baby is because "it's not fair to grass on your headmaster" (Aherne, series 1–2, online series)
• The Offroaders, Simon and Lindsey, despite their unusually high confidence and esteem, are useless at their hobby ("sorted!", "gripped!"). (Higson and Whitehouse, all series)
• Patrick Nice, a man who tells far-fetched, sometimes odd stories followed by him calmingly saying his catchphrase, "Which was nice." (Williams, series 2–3)
• Prawn Sandwich Man, a man who seems to talk a lot about football as if a true Arsenal supporter, but makes it glaringly obvious he knows nothing about the game (Thomson, series 3)
• Ron Manager, a football commentator who speaks in incoherent sentence fragments on randomly divergent trains of thought. He usually appears with interviewer (Day) and fellow commentator Tommy (Williams), and whenever a question is posed to Tommy, Ron Manager often begins one of his nonsensical train-of-thoughts based on one of the words or names in the question. Based on former football manager from the 60s and 70s, Alec Stock.^[5] (Whitehouse: all TV and online series)
• Rowley Birkin QC, a retired barrister, tells mostly unintelligible stories at the fireside. Occasionally, his speech becomes coherent for a short while, containing strange phrases such as "The whole thing was made completely out of matchsticks" or "Snake! Snake!". Almost always ends his stories with a sly "I'm afraid I was very, very drunk!" In the final episode of series 2, his rambling anecdote appeared to involve a woman for whom he had great affection and ended with a close-up of faint tears on his cheeks, while the usual "very drunk" line was delivered in an unexpectedly moving, sorrowful voice. . The character is reprised as a working barrister in the spin-off feature Ted and Ralph. Whitehouse revealed on the UK chatshow Parkinson that the character was based on Andrew Rollo whom he met on a fishing trip to Iceland; Rollo appeared in the Fast Show documentary, which revealed how closely Rowley's speech resembled that of his real-life inspiration. At the end of a Christmas episode the caption revealed that he died. "Rowley Birkin QC 1918 - 2000", however despite this on-screen demise he will appear in the 2011 online specials.(Whitehouse, TV series 2–3, and online series)
• Roy & Renée, endless chattering from Renée and her quiet, submissive husband Roy, whom she expects to meekly agree with everything she says. Roy always embarrasses her at the end of every sketch, after which he gets a stinging reprimand from his wife. She makes her last appearance in the show during the 1996 Christmas Special, when Roy's mother finally gives in to holding back the resentment towards Renée's smug attitude. (Thomson and Aherne, series 1–2)
• Rubbish Dad, the father and opposite of Brilliant Kid who proclaims everything to be "rubbish". He is usually only seen in an industrial scrapheap area. The one thing he does like is Des Lynam. (Thomson, all series)
• The Shags, a child-less couple who are seen in the midst of very graphic sexual intercourse, much to the discomfort of their neighbours. Among other things they were seen at it in a tent in a sports shop, in a tree in the park and even on a bed being carried by removal men as they moved into the neighbourhood.
• Swiss Toni, a car salesman who compares everything to seducing and making love to a beautiful woman, usually in the presence of his bemused trainee Paul (Rhys Thomas). This was also the title of a short-lived spin-off sitcom, featuring Toni in the car dealership which he worked. Swiss is the only non-original character in the show. He had previously appeared in the second series of The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer in 1995, which was produced by Higson and featured cameos from many members of The Fast Show. (Higson: TV series 3 and online)
• Ted & Ralph – country squire Lord Ralph Mayhew attempts to strike-up an intimate relationship with his introverted Irish estate worker Ted, by way of subtle romantic/erotic subtexts in his conversations with him (Whitehouse and Higson, all series). This was also the title of a one-off, hour-long spin-off feature, reprising the characters, with cameos from a few other characters as well. (Higson and Whitehouse: all TV and online series)
• "You ain't seen me: right?" - An unknown traveller who is probably a criminal who says "You ain't seen me: right?" to some minor characters in the show and sometimes the viewer of the show. He comes up in the show in various locations and is at one point on Chanel 9 Neus sitting in the sports reporter's seat. He is also seen in the background when the "Brilliant" Kid walks past talking about the usual things.(Williams, all series)
• Inept Zookeeper - a zookeeper who is frightened and/or disgusted by virtually every aspect of his job (cleaning up elephant dung, feeding the penguins, etc.) and is thus rendered unable to perform his tasks properly. (Williams, series 3)

In popular culture[link]

• Arabella Weir later turned Insecure Woman into Jackie Payne, heroine of her novel Does My Bum Look Big in This?
• In Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Jack Sparrow quotes the show; Johnny Depp is a fan and had a cameo role in the farewell special .
• In 2010, chef Jamie Oliver advertised his forthcoming cookery series (examining the cuisine of several European/Mediterranean countries) speaking in the made-up language used by Chanel 9 news.

Filming locations[link]

Unusually for a sketch show, a significant proportion of The Fast Show was shot externally. During the early series much of this filming was done around the Tees Valley, Yorkshire Dales and Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East of England. Locations include:

• Ashington, Northumberland – at least two scenes involving Unlucky Alf and one involving Brilliant Kid were filmed on Station Road.
• Aske Hall – Background in early Ted & Ralph scenes
• Darlington – 'The Running Family' were shown around various locations in the town centre, including The Cornmill Centre. Darlington was the childhood home of Jim Moir (Vic Reeves) whose longterm comedy partner Bob Mortimer was one of the writers. The Cornmill and The High Street with scenes involving Brilliant Kid.
• Durham – The market place with scenes involving Brilliant Kid
• Hartlepool – One Unlucky Alf scene saw him sat in the empty Rink End Stand of Hartlepool United's ground, Victoria Park. Also, one Ed Winchester scene is in front of the Mill House Stand. Some of the Brilliant Kid scenes were also fimed at nearby Seal Sands.
• Keld, North Yorkshire – The campsite used in a Dave Angel scene
• Langley Park – Railway Street is used in Unlucky Alf scenes
• Middlesbrough – docks used in 'hard of hearing stuntman' scenes, scene on Transporter Bridge as well as the Riverside Stadium
• Newcastle upon Tyne – including the 'Shore Leave' sketch, the scene where Chris the Crafty Cockney steals the woman's suitcases (shot in Newcastle Central station), and some of the Sir Geoffrey Norman MP sketches, such as the one where he is pulled over by a policeman for speeding and the one where he refuses to pay the taxi driver after getting out of the car (shot outside the main entrance to Newcastle Central station), one Ed Winchester scene is near Monument station. One scene from the Brilliant Kid showed him in Exhibition Park in Newcastle upon Tyne. Many scenes involving Janine Carr, filmed in greyscale, used the backdrop of the concrete flyover and underpasses of the junction of the A167(M) and the B1318 of the Great North Road in Jesmond. A few scenes were filmed inside the Newcastle City Library (which has now been demolished and a new Library building has replaced it).
• Richmond – The market place in Ted & Ralph's trip to the shops
• Scotch Corner – Garage used in Swiss Toni's early scenes
• Seaton Carew - One "You ain't seen me right?" scene sees the main character sat on a child's ride in one of the seafront amusement arcades.
• The Spanish City, Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear – a number of scenes involving Brilliant Kid
• Stockton On Tees, Swiss Toni scenes, filmed at a car showroom on Norton Road.

Also for the third series the production extended abroad:

• Iceland – Scenes with Brilliant Kid and Billy Bleach were shot with volcanic landscapes, waterfalls and hot springs in the background.

Down the Line[link]

In 2006, Higson and Whitehouse produced and starred in Down the Line, a spoof phone-in show for BBC Radio 4. The show also featured many of the regular Fast Show cast, including Simon Day, Arabella Weir, Rhys Thomas and Felix Dexter. Further series were broadcast in 2007, 2008 and 2011. A follow-on TV series, Bellamy's People, was broadcast in 2010.

The future[link]

Speaking on the BBC Two show Something for the Weekend on 9 September 2007, Higson mentioned the upcoming DVD boxed set release and that a reunion of some sort to help promote it was being considered. This took place at The Dominion Theatre in London on Sunday 4 November, and was a collection of some new sketches, videos of cast favourites and performances of classic sketches (including the return of Ed Winchester). Higson and Whitehouse stated they were working on a film script which would feature the Fast Show team, but wouldn't have any of the characters from the show. A new online only series was commissioned in a sponsorship deal with Foster's Lager, and aired beginning 14 November 2011; the trailer was released on 9 November on Foster's YouTube Channel^[6][7] New episodes featured the original cast with the exception of Mark Williams, who declined involvement in the project.^[8]

DVDs[link]

This section may require copy-editing.

Numerous Fast Show DVDs are available including :

• The Fast Show : Series 1 (includes cast interviews with Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Arabella Weir and Mark Williams)
• The Fast Show : Series 2
• The Fast Show : Series 3 and 1996 Christmas Special
• The Fast Show : The Last Fast Show Ever, Part One
• The Fast Show Live
• The Fast Show Farewell Tour
• A 7 DVD box set, The Ultimate Fast Show Collection, was released in the UK on 5 November 2007, which compiled nearly all their material, except the two live DVD releases and their spin-off series/specials.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Fast Show

[edit] You Ain't Seen These, Right!

You Ain't Seen These, Right! was a one-off programme, shown during BBC Two's Fast Show Night, featuring various sketches which were filmed but did not make it onto the final show. Some of these were:

• An ensemble series of sketches made by the whole male team, as members of a golf club, in which Charlie Higson's character was dating a beautiful young woman. The rest of the team are initially dismissive of him as a sad old man, but cannot help gawking over her.
• A chain-smoking car driver played by Mark Williams who rants about anything and everything through his wound-down window. A study of road rage. "Shoe shop?! Shoe Shop?!". He drives around in Harlesden, London.
• A medieval king played by Simon Day, who 'loves being king' because he gets to boss everyone about.
• A middle aged man, played by John Thomson, who always finds an excuse to leave the room as soon as the conversation gets round to "women's things."
• A Paul Whitehouse character who responds to almost every question, accusation and situation with the phrase "Sorry, but I was up all night, shagging."

These sketches are included in the UK edition of the boxed VHS videotape set of Series 3, and also on the 7 disc Ultimate Fast Show DVD box set.

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c} Dewhurst, Keith (2007), "The Fast Show - A Personal View" (notes for The Ultimate Fast Show Collection DVD set, BBC)
2. ^ https://twitter.com/#!/monstroso/status/110748812594790400
3. ^ http://fosters.co.uk/tagged/The_Fast_Show
4. ^ liner notes to The Ultimate Fast Show Collection, (BBC, 2007)
5. ^ http://www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/4024/29/}}
6. ^ http://www.youtube.com/fosters
7. ^ http://offlicencenews.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/12379/Fast_Show_returns_in_Foster_s_deal.html
8. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8744496/The-Fast-Show-returns.html

External links[link]

• The Fast Show at BBC Programmes
• The Fast Show at the Internet Movie Database

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis, Christopher Wood, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks and Jeffery Deaver; a new novel, written by William Boyd, is planned for release in 2013.^[1] Additionally, Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond and Kate Westbrook wrote three novels based on the diaries of a recurring series character, Moneypenny.

The fictional British Secret Service agent has also been adapted for television, radio, comic strip and video game formats as well as being used in the longest running and the second-highest grossing film franchise to date, which started in 1962 with Dr. No, starring Sean Connery as Bond. As of 2012, there have been twenty two films in the Eon Productions series, with a twenty third, Skyfall, due for release on 26 October 2012. The film will star Daniel Craig in his third portrayal of Bond: he is the sixth actor to play Bond in the Eon series. There have also been two independent productions of Bond films, Casino Royale, a 1967 spoof, and Never Say Never Again, a 1983 remake of an earlier Eon-produced film, Thunderball.

The films are renowned for a number of features, including the musical accompaniment, with the theme songs to the films having picked up Academy Award nominations on several occasions. Other important elements which run through most of the films include Bond's cars, his guns and the gadgets he is supplied with by Q Branch.

Publication history[link]

Creation and inspiration[link]

As the central figure for his works, Ian Fleming created the fictional character of James Bond, an intelligence officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond was also known by his code number, 007, and was a Royal Naval Reserve Commander.

Name

Fleming took the name for his character from that of the American ornithologist James Bond, a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field guide Birds of the West Indies; Fleming, a keen birdwatcher himself, had a copy of Bond's guide and he later explained to the ornithologist’s wife that "It struck me that this brief, unromantic, Anglo-Saxon and yet very masculine name was just what I needed, and so a second James Bond was born".^[2] He further explained that:

When I wrote the first one in 1953, I wanted Bond to be an extremely dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened; I wanted him to be a blunt instrument...when I was casting around for a name for my protagonist I thought by God, (James Bond) is the dullest name I ever heard.

—Ian Fleming, The New Yorker, 21 April 1962^[3]

On another occasion Fleming said: "I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, "James Bond" was much better than something more interesting, like "Peregrine Carruthers". Exotic things would happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure—an anonymous, blunt instrument wielded by a government department."^[4]

Inspiration

Fleming based his fictional creation on a number of individuals he came across during his time in the Naval Intelligence Division during World War II, admitting that Bond "was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the war".^[5] Among those types were his brother, Peter, who had been involved in behind the lines operations in Norway and Greece during the war.^[6] Aside from Fleming's brother, a number of others also provided some aspects of Bond's make up, including Conrad O'Brien-ffrench, Patrick Dalzel-Job and Bill "Biffy" Dunderdale.^[5]