What’s on TV – 27 July 2019

7

Farewell...

Words:

Caren Clark, Joanne Lewis, Sean Marland

Photos:

BBC, Getty, PA Images

Apron strings...

Roger with mum Edith

What’s Not!

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What’s on

TV

Tennis is top!

The most-watched

programme was

the men’s final at

Wimbledon on 14

July, with a peak

of 10.2m tuning in

to see Novak

Djokovic defeat

Roger Federer.

The audience

averaged 6m

across the game.

Money

misery

BBC1 drama Dark

Mon£y, starring

Jill Halfpenny,

which began on

8 July, got off to

a slow start with

just 2.5m tuning

in. It lost out to Long Lost

Family on ITV (3.3m) and Love

Island on ITV2 (3.5m).

8-14 July 2019

Best known for...

With his trademark

outlandish hats,

distinctive wide

sideburns and

cigar, the legendary

horse-racing pundit

brought viewers

all the latest odds

from trackside for

more than three decades, first

for ITV and later for C4.

Other achievements...

John caused controversy when

he was a housemate in the 2005

series of Celebrity Big Brother.

He also appeared in Celebrity

Wife Swap, Celebrity Coach Trip

and Weakest Link.

Family life...

Tributes to John, 79, poured

in from the world of horse

racing when he passed away

on 5 July. He is survived by

Jenny, his wife of 48 years,

who revealed he had been

battling lung cancer.

Q

Where do we find your

character Roger in the

second series?

A

His mum Edith [Alison

Steadman] and her

boyfriend Phil [John Cleese]

are trying to sell Phil’s house

and move, but Roger is still

living with Edith and doing

his best to scupper their

plans! He’s also in need of

income, so he rents out part

of Edith’s house as a B&B

and also tries busking. But

nothing he does pans out...

Q

He takes his crocodile

ventriloquist’s dummy

Methuselah busking...

A

Yes, we’re a double

act! Methuselah’s

a delightful device

as he says what

Roger is thinking

but hasn’t the

gumption to

voice. He’s

fun and, out

of respect,

between

takes

I will sit him up in a chair

as I have a rather unnatural

consideration for him!

Q

Can you tell us about this

series’ new characters?

A

Sue Johnston is back

[from the Christmas

special] as Edith’s sister

Joan. She is so funny and

butts up against Roger.

And Shauna Macdonald

is Edith’s ex-boyfriend

Bob’s wayward daughter,

Georgie, and Roger starts

to fall in love with her...

Q

What do you

enjoy about

playing Roger?

A

He’s a joy

because

he is... I’d

like to say

childlike, but

he’s actually

childish! He

forgets his

responsibilities and feels

the world owes him a living.

And it’s just great doing

comedy again. Having done

Trollied on Sky One, I enjoy

using my funny bones.

Q

Do you have fun working

with John and Alison?

A

Oh, yes, John’s unique,

a real one-off, and has

this natural comic anarchy

that bubbles up during

filming. And Alison is

completely irreverent – we

often do little improvisations

and make each other laugh.

Q

You play former Prime

Minister Harold Wilson in

the third series of Netflix’s The

Crown. What was that like?

A

Amazing! I shot most

of my stuff with Olivia

Colman, who’s playing

the Queen, and it’s a

privilege to be in such

a special show. I admire

Harold Wilson – the more

I researched, the more I saw

how remarkable he was. n

HOLD THE SUNSET

Friday, 9pm BBC1Comedy

John McCririck

1940-

Game, set and

match... Djokovic

Cashing out...

Jill as Sam

A

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8 pagesofallth eeek’sbiggestTV

TV eee

Playing

for laughs!g

Hold the Sunset’s Jason Watkins on revisiting his

comedic side and bonding with a singing crocodile...

All-star cast...

John Cleese as Phil and

Sue Johnston as Joan

new