4633/17292
It was a long day of PR starting first thing in the morning with Channel 5 “The Wright Stuff†and ending at 6.30pm with an appearance on the Simon Mayo show on Radio 2. Both the hosts of the shows that top and tailed my day were on holiday so Matthew Wright was being played by Alexis Conran and Mayo (as if Radio 2 are trying to construct some audio version of a BLT) had morphed into Richard Bacon (can’t wait for Ian Lettuce and Samantha Tomato to take their turns at the helm).
My favourite part of the day was, after having talked to fellow Wright Stuff panellist Mark Little in the green room for about 15 minutes about Edinburgh and our respective careers, he introduced me to the make-up lady as Alexis. Perhaps there was no reason why he should know who I am (though I have shared the Leicester Square Theatre with his shows on two occasions), and I understand full well how the middle-aged brain can throw up this kind of memory blanks, especially early in the morning. I didn’t mind and just pretended I hadn’t noticed and introduced myself immediately. But had I been Mark Little I might have been tempted to laugh it off or apologise, but he also chose the route of trying to pretend that it just hadn’t happened. I considered referring to him as Joe throughout the TV show (after the Neighbours’ character he played) but I then I would have just looked like a prick! And anyway, I’d found it funny. And let he who is without memory issues throw the first wrong name.
I enjoyed the show which had subjects that suited me like offence in comedy and sexism in new dads (because I am a new dad, not because I am sexist. I think women should be treated as if they are equal) and the time passed quickly and I managed to get in a good couple of cracks at Gideon Osborne the chancellor of the exchequer. Having discussed if Ted Heath might be guilty of the crimes from 30 years ago, I wondered if this current Tory might be found guilty of some criminal act after he is dead. Just supposition. I have no evidence of him breaking any laws or being involved in anything seedy and any suggestions to the opposite are merely hearsay.
I also got to show a couple of my horrific T-shirts on TV. I have only done 3 of these so far and there will be at least 27 in total (if you want to get one then you must book tickets to all the shows before Friday evening)
Somehow I kept up the energy to do more interviews throughout the day and it struck me again how calm and relaxed I feel about this ridiculous challenge. If I was doing one show in Edinburgh I would be paranoid and depressed by now I am sure, but I am drifting around like a carefree lamb. Maybe I will wish I’d been more scared when I come to do the shows.
Oh no, I am terrified now.
At Radio 2 I bumped into Steve Wright and had a nice off-air chat with him about Edinburgh and happiness and why he felt he could never be a stand-up. He was in good form. He’s a solid professional on and off air and though his show can be a little cheesy I alway like talking to him, because he is always well-prepared (though it was nice to see that he knew who I was even though I wasn’t on his show today). Richard Bacon is also an enjoyable force, and managed to get me to critique the ten commandments on air, which is not something you would usually expect on a drive time show on this station.
A surprisingly fun day overall. Will it make any difference to sales? God knows. But I can't lose money on this run (as much as it would be nice to make a bit for the hard work I have to put in). I'd be very very happy if 200 people came to each show - looks like it's heading that way this weekend and the final show is already over that figure (and should sell out, so book ahead for that one). It's going to be a carnival. With the potential for a lot of embarrassment.
