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Peter Fincham
Peter Arthur Fincham (born 26 July 1956) is a British television producer and executive. From 2008 until 2016, he was the director of television for the ITV network. He was also formerly the controller of BBC One, the primary television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation, until his resignation on 5 October 2007, following criticism over the handling of the '' Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work'' debacle. Early life Fincham was educated at the independent Tonbridge School, and then studied at Churchill College, Cambridge. He joined the Cambridge Footlights production team as musical director, alongside a committee which included Griff Rhys Jones, Jimmy Mulville, Rory McGrath and Clive Anderson. After leaving Footlights, Fincham composed songs, none of which were picked up for recording, and then worked on the touring version of ''Godspell''. During a period of increasingly common unemployment, Fincham was walking on Wandsworth Common in the rain and thinking to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for boys aged 13–18) in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde (sometimes spelt Judd). It is a member of the Eton Group and has close links with the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest London livery companies. There are currently around 800 boys in the school, aged between 13 and 18. The school occupies a site of on the edge of Tonbridge, and is largely self-contained, though most of the boarding and day houses are in nearby streets. Since its foundation, the school has been rebuilt twice on the original site. For the academic year 2023/24, Tonbridge charges full boarders up to £16,648 per term and £12,490 per term for day pupils, making it the 4th and 6th most expensive HMC boarding and day school respectively. The headmaster is James Priory who began his tenure at the school in 2018. The school is one of only a very few of the ancient public sch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Late, Late Breakfast Show
''The Late Late Breakfast Show'' is a British variety show that was broadcast live on Saturday evenings from 4 September 1982 to 8 November 1986 on BBC1. It was presented by Noel Edmonds, initially with co-host Leni Harper, and also featured Mike Smith and John Peel. The "Give It a Whirl" segments featured dangerous stunts. Several serious injuries resulted from these stunts, including the death of participant viewer Michael Lush in 1986. The show was cancelled in the aftermath of this fatal accident. Overview ''The Late Late Breakfast Show'' was the first show Noel Edmonds presented in the Saturday-evening variety slot, having left his Saturday-morning children's show ''Multi-Coloured Swap Shop'' earlier that year. Its theme tune was written by Gary Kemp and performed by Spandau Ballet. It was produced and directed by Michael Hurll. Initially, the programme struggled in the ratings and seemed unlikely to survive beyond its first series. Original co-host Leni Harper was dismis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I'm Alan Partridge
''I'm Alan Partridge'' is a British sitcom created by Steve Coogan, Peter Baynham and Armando Iannucci. Coogan stars as Alan Partridge, a tactless and inept broadcaster. The first series, broadcast in 1997, has Partridge living in a roadside hotel after having been left by his wife and dropped by the BBC. The second, broadcast in 2002, sees Partridge living in a static caravan after recovering from a mental breakdown. Iannucci said the writers used the sitcom as "a kind of social X-ray of male middle-aged Middle England". The supporting cast includes Felicity Montagu as his faithful but timid personal assistant, Lynn Benfield; Simon Greenall as Geordie handyman Michael; and Phil Cornwell as Partridge's rival DJ Dave Clifton. Series 2 also featured Amelia Bullmore as Partridge's Ukrainian girlfriend Sonja. The show received critical acclaim and was a success amongst audiences, being nominated for three BAFTAs (winning two), two British Comedy Awards (winning both), an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Never Mind The Buzzcocks
''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hosted by Mark Lamarr, then by Simon Amstell, and later by a number of guest presenters, with Rhod Gilbert hosting the final series. It first starred Phill Jupitus and Sean Hughes as team captains, with Hughes being replaced by Bill Bailey from the eleventh series, and Bailey replaced by Noel Fielding for some of series 21 and from series 23 onward. The show returned six years later, now hosted by Greg Davies, with Daisy May Cooper as the new captain and Fielding returning as a captain. The show is produced by Talkback. The title plays on the names of the Sex Pistols album ''Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols'' and the band Buzzcocks. The show was known for its dry, sarcastic humour and scathing, provocative attacks on peo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
They Think It's All Over (TV Series)
''They Think It's All Over'' is a British comedy panel game with a sporting theme produced by Talkback and shown on BBC1. The show's name was taken from Kenneth Wolstenholme's 1966 World Cup commentary line, " they think it's all over...it is now!" and the show used the phrase to sign off each episode. The show was originally broadcast from 1995 to 2006. Overview The show was originally presented by comedian Nick Hancock. Retired England football team captain Gary Lineker and former England cricket team captain David Gower were team captains from 1995 until they announced their retirement from the show in 2003. They were replaced as team captains by former England football goalkeeper David Seaman and former England cricketer Phil Tufnell. Former footballer Ian Wright took over from David Seaman in autumn 2004. From October 2005, Boris Becker replaced Tufnell and Lee Mack took over from Hancock as host. Occasionally, a team captain was unable to appear on the show due to oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knowing Me Knowing You With Alan Partridge (TV Series)
''Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge'' (also known as ''Knowing Me, Knowing You'') is a BBC Television comedy series of six episodes (beginning 16 September 1994), and a Christmas special ''Knowing Me, Knowing Yule'' on 29 December 1995. It is named after the song "Knowing Me, Knowing You" by ABBA (the main character's favourite band), a rendition of which was used as the show's title music. Steve Coogan plays the incompetent but self-satisfied Norwich-based talk show host Alan Partridge, who often insults his guests and humiliates himself in the process. Alan was a spin-off character from the spoof radio show '' On the Hour'' (which later transferred to TV as '' The Day Today''). ''Knowing Me, Knowing You'' was written by Coogan, Armando Iannucci (who produced the radio version) and Patrick Marber (who also starred), with contributions from the regular supporting cast of Doon Mackichan, Rebecca Front and David Schneider, who played Alan's weekly guests. Steve Brown p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and documentaries. BBC Two has a remit "to broadcast highbrow, programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio channels, it is funded by the television licence, and is therefore free of commercial advertising. It is a comparatively well-funded Public broadcasting, public-service channel, regularly attaining a much higher audience share than most public-service channels worldwide. Originally styled BBC2, it was the third British television station to be launched (starting on 21 April 1964), and from 1 July 1967, Europe's first television channel to broadcast regularly in colour. It was envisaged as a home for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Day Today
''The Day Today'' is a British comedy television show that parodies television news and current affairs programmes, broadcast from 19 January to 23 February 1994 on BBC2. It was created by Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris and is an adaptation of the radio programme '' On the Hour'', which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 9 August 1991 and 28 May 1992 and was also written by Morris, Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring, David Quantick, and the cast. For ''The Day Today'', Peter Baynham joined the writing team, and Lee and Herring were replaced by Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews. The principal cast of ''On the Hour'' was retained for ''The Day Today''. ''The Day Today'' is composed of six half-hour episodes and a selection of shorter five-minute slots recorded as promotional trailers for the longer episodes. The series won many awards including Morris winning the 1994 British Comedy Award for Best Newcomer. All six episodes are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alas Smith And Jones
''Alas Smith and Jones'' is a British comedy sketch television series starring Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones that originally ran for four series and two Christmas specials on BBC2 from 1984 to 1988, and later as ''Smith and Jones'' for six series on BBC1 until 1998. A spin-off from '' Not the Nine O'Clock News'', the show had a brief run in the United States on A&E and PBS in the late 1980s, as well as on CBS in the early 1990s during their late-night block. History Background The show's development came after '' Not the Nine O'Clock News'' ended in 1982. Rowan Atkinson and Pamela Stephenson pursued their solo careers, while Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones decide to formed a double act. Their first appearance as a duo was in a short sketch in the BBC1 comedy special '' The Funny Side of Christmas'' in 1982, in which Jones played a stranger who annoyed hospital patient Smith to the extent that Smith's character walked out in rage, leaving Jones's character to enjoy Smi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sketch Show
Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in music hall in Britain and vaudeville in North America, today it is used widely in variety shows, as well as in late night talk shows and even some sitcoms. While sketch comedy is now associated mostly with adult entertainment, certain children's television series such have used it, too. The sketches may be improvised live by the performers, developed through improvisation before public performance, or scripted and rehearsed in advance like a play. History Sketch comedy has its origins in music hall and vaudeville, where many brief humorous acts were strung together to form a larger programme. In the 1890s, music hall impresario Fred Karno developed a form of sketch comedy without dialogue, and in 1904 he produced a sketch called ''Mumm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radio Programming
Radio programming is the process of organising a schedule of radio content for commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting by radio stations. History The original inventors of radio, from Guglielmo Marconi's time on, expected it to be used for one-on-one wireless communication tasks where telephones and telegraphs could not be used because of the problems involved in stringing copper wires from one point to another, such as in ship-to-shore communications. Those inventors had no expectations whatever that radio would become a major mass media entertainment and information medium earning many millions of dollars in revenues annually through radio advertising commercials or sponsorship. These latter uses were brought about after 1920 by business entrepreneurs such as David Sarnoff, who created the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), and William S. Paley, who built Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). These broadcasting (as opposed to narrowcasting) business organizations ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mel Smith
Melvyn Kenneth Smith (3 December 1952 – 19 July 2013) was an English comedian, actor and filmmaker. He worked on the sketch comedy shows ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' and ''Alas Smith and Jones'' with his comedy partner, Griff Rhys Jones. Smith and Jones founded Talkback, which grew to be one of the United Kingdom's largest producers of television comedy and light entertainment programming. Early life Smith's father, Kenneth, was born in Tow Law, County Durham, and worked at a coal mine during the Second World War; looking after the pit ponies. After the war ended, he moved to London and married Smith's mother, whose parents owned a greengrocers in Chiswick. When the government legalised high street betting with the Betting and Gaming Act 1960, he turned the shop into the first betting shop in Chiswick. Smith was born and brought up in Chiswick. He was educated at Hogarth Primary School, Chiswick and passed his 11-Plus examinations. He was also a keen sportsman and play ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
