manuelgate 29 October 2008
For those of you on the ‘other’ side of the pond who might not know, there’s a huge showbiz scandal here involving two very highly paid BBC presenters who made inappropriate and tasteless calls to the, now elderly, actor who plays Manuel in the sit-com FAWLTY TOWERS about his granddaughter, who is a glamour model and burlesque performer. So, Jonathan Ross and Russell BRand, for it was they, are the subject of nearly 20,000 complaints and have been suspended. Both apologised and tonight Brand resigned. What I can’t believe is that the show in question was pre-recorded yet still it was decided to broadcast it. Then again, although what they did was crass and unacceptable, it wouldn’t normally have created such a ballyhoo, I don’t think. Reason? I think the nation is TOTALLY cheesed off and not in the mood for pranks and japes, especially from very well paid pundits. People are depressed and angry about this recession we’re in, possibly worried too. They’re fractious. On top of that, David Tenant announced tonight that he’s to step down as Dr Who, and he has been one of the most popular Doctors ever. Having taken all of these events into consideration, strikes me that Russell Brand did very well in his movie acting debut recently and he is currently jobless…so I’ll count the hours before some genius suggests he’d be a great replacement for that famous BBC flagship programme – you KNOW it’s only a matter of time…
