Anita's Last Laugh in Vegas!

A new ITV series will follow a group of showbiz legends prepare for the gig of a lifetime in Las Vegas. And there are a couple of Carry On connections involved!

What happens when a group of British showbiz legends are let loose in Sin City? . . . ITV is about to find out in a brand new five-part series for 2018 called Last Laugh In Vegas.

Some of the most famous names from comedy, music and variety from the 60s, 70s and 80s are to be given one last shot at putting on their dream gig in the variety capital of the world.  The theatre is booked for one night only and eight acts will be given the chance to fulfil the dream they thought had long gone and put on a spectacular variety performance at one of the iconic venues in Las Vegas.

The eight showbiz legends are comedy double act Cannon & Ball, entertainer Bernie Clifton, comedian Mick Miller, pianist and entertainer Bobby Crush, singer Kenny Lynch, 60’s pop idol Jess Conrad OBE, actress and singer Anita Harris and actress, singer and comedienne Su Pollard.

Anita Harris is best known to Carry On fans for her two appearances in the series back in the mid 1960s. She played the featured role of Cork Tip in the 1967 film Follow That Camel and later the same year played Nurse Clark in the classic Carry On Doctor. Singer Kenny Lynch made a cameo appearance as a bus conductor in the 1970 film Carry On Loving and also sang the title track, Love Crazy, for the 1978 film Carry On Emmannuelle. 

Cameras will follow these stars from their departure from their homes in the UK to the moment they step onto the stage in Vegas.  They’ll live in a house together, enjoy and explore the Vegas Strip and rehearse and reminisce together to deliver a show that they'll all be proud of.   

Viewers will also be treated to a unique insight into the legends' vast and varied careers as they look back and talk firsthand about their incredible stories.  

The culmination will be an hour long special of their variety performance in Vegas.

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Do you remember George Webley?

 

I came across a photo online of the late great Carry On actor Patsy Rowlands with fellow comedy legend and one-off Carry On guest star Dandy Nichols. I did some digging to find out what production the photo came from and it turns out to be a sitcom I've never heard of...until now.

Inside George Webley was a comedy series produced by ITV over two series, the first of which was broadcast in the autumn of 1968. The second followed two years later. Although only running to twelve episodes in total, the series had a strong pedigree. It was written by Keith Waterhouse (Billy Liar, That Was The Week That Was, Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell) and Willis Hall (who often worked alongside Waterhouse and was at one time married to Carry On supporting actress Valerie Shute). One of the directors on the series was Bill Hitchcock who was married to Carry On actor and comedy great Liz Fraser until his death.

The main characters of George and Rosemary were played by two of my favourite actors - Roy Kinnear and Patsy Rowlands, both sadly no longer with us. The series also featured a peppering of amazing guest stars. Over the entire run of episodes the likes of Dandy Nichols, Hattie Jacques, Frank Thornton, James Bolam, Peter Butterworth, Les Dawson, Roy Hudd, Clive Dunn and Gorden Kaye all made appearances. 

The BFI website features scant information about Inside George Webley, however the British Comedy Guide provides the following summary:

George Webley, pseudo-intellectual, hypochondriac, obsessive compulsive and bank clerk - is married to Rosemary and they live 'happily' in their little council house in Leeds. He is constantly trying to better himself and his inability to see himself as others do leads him into situations where he is totally out of his depth.

So what happened to this sitcom then? Has it ever been repeated or dare I ask, has it been wiped from the archives? The quality of the writing team and cast of creative talent suggests it should be repeated or made available somewhere to download or buy. If anyone out there has more information on the show, has seen episodes or remembers it from its original broadcast, do please get in touch! 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also Facebook

 

Just Jim Dale

Jim Dale has been doing the rounds in interviews as he makes final preparations to bring his one man show Just Jim Dale to the London stage.

The show has already played in the United States to great acclaim and UK audiences have been promised more Carry On content. Excellent! I can't wait to see Jim live next month at the Vaudeville theatre!

Anyway, thanks to regular blog readers for bringing the following interviews to my attention. First of all Jim appeared on Robert Elms' BBC London radio show yesterday. You can listen to that here.

Jim also appeared on Paul O'Grady's chat show last Wednesday afternoon. Unfortunately I missed this being out at work and forgetting to set the television to record. Ah, I thought, lovely ITV Player would come to my aid. Alas not. On checking, for some reason every other episode of the show is available EXCEPT the one in which Jim appears. I did read somewhere that Jim uttered a couple of words not normally heard on teatime telly but surely that doesn't stop ITV making it available?! It is still available on STV Player however you must enter a Scottish postcode in order to view. Sort it out ITV!!

If you hear of Jim making any further television or radio appearances, do let me know!

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also Facebook

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