It is with great sadness that I heard news of the death of Bob Holness.
To many 30- and 40-somethings, he will be remembered as the host of iconic quiz show Blockbusters, but his career started long before that, being an early BBC Radio host (alongside Terry Wogan and Jimmy Young) and he was also the first person ever to voice James Bond.
However, my memories of him are more personal, having been lucky enough to appear on Blockbusters in the late 90s and a far less well-remembered primetime game show called Raise the Roof in the mid-90s.
The genial face he put across on screen was completely mirrored off-screen. The atmosphere backstage at Blockbusters was bit like a youth club, with up to 40 contestants waiting in the green room at any one time to appear on the next programme (some contestants waited up to 2 weeks to go on).
At lunchtimes in the canteen, Bob happily ate with all of us and chatted away about his life and experiences, as well as found out about all of us – it was clearly a fantastic gig, as far as he was concerned.
Much later – in 1995 – Yorkshire TV tried an ultimately-doomed Saturday night game show with Bob once again in the quizmaster’s chair.
He claimed he remembered me from my appearance on Blockbusters 6 years previously – which I know now probably wasn’t true, but at the time, it seemed emininently believeable.
As before, he was very warm, genuinely interested in all the contestants and merely confirmed my previous memories of him.
That Raise the Roof failed to become the star vehicle for Bob that he probably deserved was in no way down to him – the format and questions were the problem, not the host.
One of the nicest men in showbusiness – completely genuine and totally unstarry. RIP Bob!
* Yes, I know it wasn’t Bob who played on Baker Street – it was really Raphael Ravenscroft.
In case you hadn’t heard (arf, arf), Cheryl Cole has been booted off the X Factor USA judging panel and hasn’t even made the UK X Factor roster of judges.
But let’s leave aside the fantastic publicity that this has brought to both X Factors and try to examine this as if it was the scenario in a normal job.
I’ve worked for a number of companies over the years and seen, on more than one occasion, someone come into a job but not get past their probation period.
You see, no matter how great a person seems at the interview stage and regardless of their qualifications, sometimes a person just doesn’t fit in. More often than not, the harmony that’s required across a team is more important that one individual’s abilities.
Obviously, the world of celebrity is slightly different, but the fundamentals remain the same. If Cheryl didn’t gel with the rest of the judging panel and the management didn’t feel ‘it was working’, then it’s perfectly reasonable to let her go.
Now think about the UK X Factor situation in a more normal setting. Imagine you’ve just been offered a new job, signed the contract, etc and you suddenly hear on the grapevine that the previous incumbent hasn’t succeeded in her new position.
Now imagine there are rumours at your new company that she’s angling to get her old job back. Can you imagine how pissed off you’d be if she was brought back?
That’s exactly the position that Tulisa from N’Dubz is in currently. Doesn’t sound so hot now, does it?
We get blinded by the glitz, glamour and publicity of the world of TV and celebrity, but ultimately, the way things work there isn’t that different to the rest of the work world.
This week saw the transmission of the three-part drama on the BBC called Exile. It was an excellent piece that featured superb acting from John Simm, Olivia Colman (who you’ll know from Peep Show and Rev) and the ever-brilliant Jim Broadbent.
The BBC’s description of the programme is thus: ‘Psychological thriller that tells a story of prodigal redemption, as a son returns to his hometown to reconnect with his father and learn the truth about what happened between them years before.’
What made this drama different was the portrayal of social issues, in this case Alzheimer’s and the burden of caring for a loved one.
This drama was ostensibly about a father/son relationship, but the treatment of Jim Broadbent’s character’s Alzheimer’s was truly heartening to see and his performance, in particular, was mesmerising.
In addition, Olivia Colman’s lot as a put-upon single carer was a matter-of-fact part of the plot, rather than the reason for the entire drama.
Even down to the small things, such as the mention of Carer’s Allowance and the way Power of Attorney is decided, made it seem very real.
The distinction here is a fine one, but normally a disability or ‘social issue’ is the fundamental building block of a plot, but with Exile, that wasn’t the case. For that reason, along with the fine writing, acting and directing, we should applaud Exile and the BBC for commissioning it.
At lunchtimes in the canteen, Bob happily ate with all of us and chatted away about his life and experiences, as well as found out about all of us – it was clearly a fantastic gig, as far as he was concerned. 
