Barbara Windsor's Comedy Roast.

Yes I know it's a bit 'after the event' but I thought I'd give you my perspective of this event as I was actually in the audience.

What was recorded on the evening bore little resemblance to what was actually broadcast. The actual recording was about 2 hours long and VERY rude - in places it went beyond 'near the knuckle'. I am in no way a prude and thrive on innuendo and double entendres but this was actually quite nasty in places. Patrick Kielty was especially cruel.

Barbara looked genuinely shocked at times and kept muttering things like 'what time's this going out' etc... She had a few rather worried exchanges with a guy who was either her PA or something to do with her publicity. On occasion I couldn't even look at her following particularly vitriolic comments. I'm sure she's heard all the old gangster and toyboy jokes before but on this evening they descended into an unpleasant tirade of abuse from the alleged comedians. Apart from Bernard Cribbins, who was a perfect gentleman and Christopher Biggins.

I left the event quite shocked and I can't emphasise enough how un PC I am and how much I usually like quite 'rude' humour. There's a huge gulf however between something that's funny and something that's just plain crude. I really felt for Babs that evening. And 'gawd bless her', during one of the breaks in filming she trolled around the audience shaking hands and full of 'thanks for coming darlin'' etc... Thankfully Scott (her husband) wasn't there or I should imagine that the event may have made the 10 o'clock news that night. 'Comedians punched in face by irate husband' would have been the headline.

Carry On Henry - Behind The Scenes.

I found this little gem on Youtube and just love it. Interviews with Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Terry Scott as well as behind the scenes footage during the shooting of Carry On Henry. Have to love KW - he is SO snooty to the interviewer who doesn't know what the OED is - very funny I think.

Carry On Henry, Behind The Scenes

A Brief Encounter With Kenneth Williams.

Many years ago one of my uncles was a bus inspector and worked at Oxford Circus. One day whilst crossing the road he 'met' Kenneth Williams (probably popping to the co-op for his fags) half way across. He enquired as to how KW was and he rather gruffly replied ''fine thank you', then my uncle asked how his mother was to which he responded ''oh dear boy, she's very well, how kind of you to ask'' ''lovely weather we're having'' etc etc... This enquiry as to the wellbeing of Louie completely changed KW's frame of mind and just backs up what we already know of his fondness for his mother. I always loved this little story and would often get my uncle to repeat it. Has anyone else had any Carry On encounters they'd like to share?

Liz Fraser - What's She Really Like?

Many years ago when I was still at school I had a Saturday job in a department store in Fulham. I had the joyless experience of often having to 'serve' Liz Fraser. A most disagreeable individual if ever I met one. She would waft in with her basset hounds and it would be her and not they who did the barking. Barking orders to the staff and generally being 'the customer from hell'. If she's reading this (highly unlikely, she's probably somewhere charging 10 or 15 quid (or however much it was) for her autograph like she did at Vinmags in Soho,) and thinks my comments are libellous then she'd be wrong because if it's true then it's not libellous and this is 100% true. She still lives in Fulham, I see her occasionally walking her bassett hound (I assume it's a different one because when I used to see her in the shop it was about 23 years ago) and she always looks bloody miserable.