Wednesday 12 September 2007

Whoops Baghdad

A few evenings ago, BBC Four screened two programmes from the old BBC Two Reputations series. Funnily enough, they made the same startling revelation about their two respective subjects, Frankie Howerd and Liberace. Can you guess what it was?

Anyway, the Howerd programme featured a rarely-shown clip from Whoops Baghdad, essentially Up Pompeii but set against the backdrop of the Caliphate. Well, they couldn't make that today, could they? But they really should re-make Whoops Baghdad, or at least make something with that title, giving Frankie Howerd's part (so to speak) to the much camper Miranda Blair.

4 comments:

  1. Good old Clarissa Dickson Wright. Of course everyone always knew it anyway. Didn't they?

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  2. Oh, I don't know, Martin. The BBC still felt it necessary to make hour-long programmes revealing "it" about Frankie Howerd and Liberace. Coming soon, 'Reputations: Miranda Blair'?

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  3. Miranda Blair! Brilliant!

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  4. See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/09/08/dp0801.xml:

    Just what was Clarissa Dickson-Wright suggesting about Tony Blair in an interview in this week's Spectator? The bombastic Fat Lady used to be a barrister at the time young Anthony Blair began practising at the Bar.

    "He was a few years younger than me, but I remember him well. He was very glib, a chancer and, you know, he wasn't really respected by anyone of my generation. Everybody used to say, it's just as well he's going into politics because he'll never succeed at the Bar. We used to call him 'Miranda'."

    Because he was a bit wet?

    "No, no. Remember that scene in The Tempest when Miranda sees the sailors? Well then. He got on conspicuously well with all the male junior clerks. Everybody knew it."

    Everyone except Anonymous, it seems. Do you have to let these nonentities on here, David?

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