All posts by Neil

Irish Times

March 19, 2016 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have been by my standards fairly quiet really. Which has actually been quite nice. A bit of calm before the storm, as the next month or so is going to be nice and busy for me. Although short listed to be a contestant on a big new ITV show I did not in the end get chance to go on it and play the game.

The first series of it was filmed up in Manchester last week. It is a fun quiz called Alphabetical. Which is hosted by the excellent Jeff Stelling. It is really just an old school style general knowledge quiz with a couple of nice little twists to make it more original. Watch out for it on your television screens later this year. It is definitely worth a watch. It was lots of fun to play at the audition.

Neil Quigley TV Radio & Live — Neil Quigley TV, Radio & Live

A while ago now I did some recording sessions for a project a very good friend of mine Andy Holmes was working on. He has written a series of short radio plays. Which have now been produced starring an all star cast, including me. He is starting to release them on a weekly basis.

So far the first two episodes have been made available. I am personally involved in two of them. Playing a futuristic tour guide in one of the stories and then popping up and making a quick cameo guest appearance as a Radio Presenter in another of them.

It was good fun going in to the studio to record my bits for these productions. I have worked with Andy Holmes on several things over the years and we always have a good time working together. It was a little different for me getting to play characters and doing a little bit of acting.

I am of course just more used to being myself on the radio. The great thing about radio plays of course is you do not need to learn the script as you can just read your lines during the recording itself.

The first one featuring me was released last weekend. The series is called The Andy Holmes Angle and the episode I appear in, which is episode two. Is called “The Empty Space”. That is the one where I play the Tour Guide in a galactic fantasy trip set in the future. A snapshot of what holidays could be like in the feature and in many ways a suggestion that the human race learns very little from past experiences.

As I said it was great fun to record and do listen out for an uncanny Ruth Madoc impersonation from me about half way through it. So here is a link to the play, for you to enjoy at your own convenience. Just simply click on it to hear it. The Empty Space

I am still suffering from nose bleeds due to my team Tottenham Hostpur still being up in second place in the English Premier League. This is the first time ever in my life that I have felt that just may be we could actually have a slight chance of winning the league. It is an odd and strange feeling that I am totally not used to at all. But that said long may it continue, please.

It was a bit of a shame going out of the Europa Cup to Borussia Dortmund. But the main prize of winning that is a place in the Champions League. Which hopefully we should achieve from our final league position. It is going to be an exciting run in with lots of twists and turns still to come, I’m sure. I just plan to enjoy every minute of, whatever happens in the end. Come on you Spurs.

I am looking forward to going up to Liverpool for the Grand National Meeting next month. However this week it was the other big event in the jump horse racing season the Cheltenham Festival. Unfortunately I did not manage to make it along to the famous race course this time around. Although lots of my mates and even my parents enjoyed a day’s racing there this year.

I watched as many of the races as I could on television. It really is a great spectacle. It is retired former champion jockey AP McCoy’s favourite meeting. This year was the first year he had not had a ride there for twenty years. He was there still though working for Channel 4 and I found his comments and insight into the whole thing fascinating personally.

It was an exciting week’s racing and you really get to see how close nit the racing community are. They are very competitive but at the same time very supportive of each other and do seem genuinely happy when others are successful. They really do love and take great care of those horses. There were also bumper record crowds there to witness lots of great races.

I thought the television coverage was brilliant and because they are all known people within horse racing, presenting it. They get access to and so get to speak to everybody. And because they know them all personally you get some really nice and intimate interviews with the jockey’s, trainers and owners alike.

The festival this year also saw a debut appearance from the Olympic Gold Medal cyclist Victoria Pendleton. She has retired from professional cycling and has dedicated the last twelve months to horse riding. With the big aim of being certified to ride in one of the biggest racing occasions in the world. She has been taught by the best and worked with some great trainers and top jockeys along the way.

She rode a Paul Nichols trained horse “Pacha Du Polder” in the prestigious Foxhunter Chase on the famous Gold Cup Day of the championships. Over the Gold Cup course itself. So from having never ridden a horse before to going over the jumps at one of the most testing race courses in the whole world inside twelve months is quite an achievement.

I was lucky enough to meet and interview Victoria Pendleton a few years ago at a cycle event she was an ambassador for at Whipsnade Zoo. She was I have to say absolutely lovely and clearly very passionate about her sport and keen that as many people as possible should get involved with it. To enjoy the obvious health benefits and at least some of the satisfaction that she got from training and competing at the high level that she did.

She clearly had great drive and dedication. So I was not surprised that she managed to fulfil her horse racing dreams. She is a great person and I wish her all the best with her next project, whatever that may be. This lady can probably just do anything she sets her mind to, to be honest.

Neil Quigley with Olympic Gold Medal Cyclist Victoria Pendleton

Last Thursday it was of course St Patrick’s Day. Now as someone with some Irish roots (my Granddad was born in Southern Ireland) and a name like Quigley. I always like to celebrate this special occasion. In my opinion the best place to do this is at my favourite pub in London Waxy O’Connors. So I was in there during the afternoon enjoying a few pints of Guinness and listening to some brilliant live music. The atmosphere inside the place was as ever brilliant and perfect for the day.

I got in there just after midday and they had a band called Walking on Cars booked to play a short thirty minute set from around one thirty. They were brilliant and are definitely a name worth looking out for in the future. I spotted Chris Moyles’s producer the very lovely Pippa Taylor in there enjoying the music to. And the friend that I was meeting there Kayleigh Gill had an even better celebrity spot. As she saw Suggs from Madness having dinner in a restaurant on her way to the pub.

The staff and customers in there are always so nice and friendly. It really is a wonderful place to spend the afternoon. The decoration and styling of the place is also amazing. Some parts have a church feel to it, some parts are like an old fashioned country pub. And who does not like a pub that is right in the middle of Central London and has a tree running right down the middle of it. You are in the heart of the city but once you head down the stairs and in to the lower bar. You feel like you are miles away from anywhere.

The music was great and perfect for the occasion all afternoon. Then from six they had yet more live music for the evening with a traditional Irish Trio featuring of course a fiddle player. They played a host of classic Irish Songs. Which had the whole place singing along to them. It was quite a sight with the bar full of people wearing Guinness hats and waving Irish flags. It was another brilliant St Patrick’s Day celebrated in my favourite pub in London.

The latest series of Newsjack has come to an end. The topical news comedy show will return to BBC Radio 4 Extra for another run later in the year. It was as ever brilliant fun writing jokes for the show once again. It is produced and performed by a very talented team. Plus it is a great stepping stone for new comedy writers to cut their teeth and progress their careers. A lot of people credited on the show have gone on to write and produce on a more regular basis for the broadcaster. So to be just a small part of that is a lovely feeling.

Newsjack is recorded in the Radio Theatre, which is part of the BBC Broadcasting House building in Central London. They record lots of top comedy radio shows there and that is where Radio 2 also do a lot of their music specials from. So if you hear that a band or singer is playing a small gig for the radio station. That would normally be coming from the theatre.

I was there though at the end of last year to watch a television show being filmed. It was called Live at the BBC. It is a new comedy show showcasing new and upcoming acts many of whom were spotted at the latest Edinburgh Festival. They are on line on BBC Three plus they have started showing some of them on BBC Two as well. They are well worth a look. I saw both James Acaster and Felicity Ward do their full latest stand up shows during the recording and they were both very funny. So do keep an eye out for it.

I do have a few exciting things coming up over the next month of so. I am going to see a recording of the television show Safe Word in London in the next couple of weeks. I will also be at one of the new Tonight Live at The Palladium shows. That is always a great theatre to visit and I do really like a bit of variety, so that will be fun. And next month I will be attending the Gadget Show Live at the NEC in Birmingham. Which I am sure will be very interesting and a good laugh.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

Going Out For A Takeaway

March 4, 2016 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Mine have been pretty busy with some interesting things happening. I went to the brilliant Phoenix Pub in central London to see a top comedian perform a pretty intimate work in progress gig for starters. It was part of a mini comedy festival they had there. The place is a well known venue to see stand ups perform new material. They have a Monday night comedy club called The Old Rope. Which I believe is run by the excellent Tiff Stevenson and it always features a great line up of acts.

The man I went to see was Russell Howard. I have been following his career for many years since he appeared on one of my favourite television shows Mock The Week. He now of course has his own BBC series called Good News. Which always makes me laugh. I saw him on one of his previous tours in Yeovil about eight years ago and he was brilliant that night. This recent gig saw him already trying out some new stuff for the big nationwide tour that he is planning on doing next year. There is nothing like being organised.

He walked out super confident after being introduced by Tiff Stevenson, had a bit of a chat with the audience and then just sat on a stall in the middle of the stage and reeled off great gag after great gag. If this is just the early stages of this show by the time it is finished it is going to be amazing. He did have his notebook with him but he hardly used it. He already knew at least eighty percent of it, I would say. Which bearing in mind he did just over an hour and possibly a lot of these jokes will not even make the final cut. That is some pretty impressive work, whichever way you look at it.

He is a man in my opinion at the top of his powers. He was captivating, entertaining and supplying original very personal material that most crucially was very funny. And this was only a warm up gig. He was so assured and looked so at home sat up there. Then when he finished he told us he was just dashing off to another gig to do it all over again. A great hour of live comedy at a great venue.

I did of course watch the Brit Awards on television. I do not think I have missed one for at least fifteen years I reckon, possibly longer. I did actually go along to it once. Mind you that was about seven years ago now. It was the last one they held at Earls Court hosted by James Corden, Matthew Horne and Kylie Minogue. It was great to be there but nowadays with Twitter I think it is nearly equally as much fun watching it unfold from the comfort of your own home. This year’s show was presented by the super charged duo that are Ant & Dec. Which was another reason why I was not going to miss it.

This is how dedicated I am to enjoying it. I also watched the ITV2 Red Carpet Pre- Show and the ITV2 After Show Party. I wanted to soak up the whole of the night and not miss anything. I really enjoyed watching it. I am biased because I am a huge fan of theirs but I thought the Geordie Duo did an ace job fronting it. Keeping it light, making it fun but getting on with it and getting the acts on and the awards given out.

As you would expect there were some great live performances from Coldplay, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, James Bay, Jess Glynne, Adele and my personal favourites Little Mix. But I did feel a proper old school Brits unusual one off duet was missing like when Tom Jones performed with Robbie Williams, when Lady Gaga sang with the Pet Shop Boys or when Jarvis Cocker joined Michael Jackson on stage.

I thought all the winners were totally deserving of their accolades, especially the big winner on the night Adele, who walked away with four statues. It is always nice to see a fellow Spurs supporter doing so well. Her voice and the songs she writes are very unique. Plus as she always simply names her albums after her age when they are released. She never has to have any boring naming meetings. She tells the record company in seconds what it will be called. To be fair it has always been a winning formula for her from the start, that.

And there was of course the lovely tribute to David Bowie with the poignant words from Annie Lennox and Gary Oldman. Then that stunning cover of Life on Mars by Lordes accompanied by the great man’s own band. Which was out of this world. Ant and Dec have announced they are stepping down as the hosts, so whoever takes over next year has some big shoes to fill. It is fair to say it was not as wild and crazy as previous years. In fact the only person to swear was Adele. I enjoyed it and thought it was a fitting celebration of the music and artists we have enjoyed over the last twelve months.

So last Saturday then I got to do something I have been wanting to do for several years now. See Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway while sitting in the ITV Studios on London’s South Bank. I finally managed to get myself invited along and got given a cracking seat just a couple of people along from the best seats in the house. That big sofa where the people who went to the mystery sofa somewhere in the UK the previous week and got selected sit. I mean sadly they did not share any of their champagne with me but they did look to be enjoying themselves.

The warm up man for the show is the brilliant Andy Collins, who is lively and hilarious. I have seem him perform a few times in the pantomimes at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury. Which as that is where he lives makes lots of sense geographically. He is always wonderful in that, by the way. So on the night he comes out first and gets the audience laughing and cheering. Before explaining what will be happening. And then what we will need to do during various points throughout the evening.

Next they introduced us to the guest announcer who was Lee Mack. He then gets taken up to his booth ready for the start of the show. This week the introduction was a little different as the show started with a live performance from Bryan Adams of his latest song. While Ant and Dec were basically all over the place messing about behind the scenes and while the audience were up on our feet singing and dancing along.

Then the two hosts start the show as normal with a little piece to camera. From my point of view as I have a huge interest in presenting and television, it was fascinating watching them prepare for each bit and the little things they do just before they go live.

While they throw to a pre-recorded piece I have to stand up in my seat to let little Ant & Dec and the lovely Ashley Roberts get past, so they can chat to the people in the best seats in the house. Having seen the former Pussy Cat Doll so close. I am happy to confirm that she is tiny but totally stunning. She was great fun to, very relaxed and also happy to have a quick chat to the people around her.

The show just flies by so quickly from the great Coronation Deceit skit to set up the lying barmaid featuring several regulars from the huge ITV soap opera. And of course Ant in a dress for the second time in a week. We get to sing along with Bryan Adams on Summer of Sixty-Nine for sing-along-live which I have to say was a pretty cool moment. We witness Gino D’Acampo relive his I’m a celebrity get out of my ear. So we are watching him see it all for the first time while he is sat on stage with the Geordie’s. Some of their reactions are priceless.

Evelyn from the audience wins big on win the ads. And we get treated to the first episode of Who Shot Simon Cowell? Which already looks brilliant. Then to top it all off the extremely talented Little Mix looking sensational come on to perform a special Country and Western version of their huge hit Black Magic. To act as the soundtrack for the Cowboy saloon sketch, that was the end of the show, show. Brilliant fun, I loved every second of being there in person in the studio. I have to say the two lads and the whole crew, which are one of the best in the country work really hard. None of them gets much time to rest during the show. I bet they are all completely shattered by the time the final titles role.

At the end after the transmission has ended they thank all the guests and then Ant and Dec both say a few words of thanks to the whole audience for coming along and creating the atmosphere, which is really the heart beat of the show. Ant did say it was a bit of a tough week for them rehearsing and getting the show done, with the after effects of a slight Brits hangover. But you couldn’t tell, as they did a fantastic job as always. Brilliant fun, great night.

We are already half way through the latest series of BBC Radio 4 Extras topical news show Newsjack. Once again I have been writing some jokes for it. So far a few of them have made it in to the script and have been performed during the recording at the BBC Radio Theatre but none have made the cut as yet. But with hundreds of people supplying gags for it.

To be honest making it in to that stage is pretty satisfying and I have had material included in it before and hopefully I will again in the next couple of weeks. If I do manage it rest assured that I will probably mention it here. Nish Kumar and the team are doing an excellent job with it once again. I am really enjoying listening to it.

This week I went to the wonderful Noel Coward Theatre in London to see the brilliant Mrs Henderson Presents. They did make a film about the story around ten years ago now, which featured Dame Judi Dench and Will Young but predictably like many films I have never seen it.

Though I did know roughly what it was about I had no idea how it would actually be portrayed. It is a really interesting and clever piece. Which as well as looking at many different generations and the views they held and decisions they made in life. It also gives quite a decent account of England and London during the second world war.

It is basically about an old widower who decides to buy an old cinema, turn it in to a Theatre and then when it struggles to make money she decides to stage London’s first nude review show. Which takes a bit of creative thinking to get it past the in those days very strict sensors and law makers. So yes there is some nudity on stage but it is all very tastefully done, as it was at the time when it was happening for real.

The cast are amazing they all sing, dance and act brilliantly and it is actually a wonderful and in many ways heart warming story. As people are thrown together and form in a way their own little family. Some catchy poignant songs and a nice amount and humour as well. For me it was a perfect night out at the theatre. It is a very enjoyable show in which everyone really plays their part.

Still surprised if I am honest but certainly delighted with how well the football season is going for my team Tottenham Hostpur I really cannot think of a time when we were still in with a chance of winning the Premier League this close to May. It has been a tremendous effort by the manager, staff and the whole team and I am loving watching Spurs and being a supporter of theirs at the moment. I mean could we win it? Who knows? If so that would be a great achievement and one I would definitely be celebrating. Probably all summer. Fingers crossed, come on you Spurs.

I still may be a contestant on a brand new Quiz Show. If I am selected my appearance will be filmed in the next couple of weeks and I will let you know what I can about it when I am allowed to by the production company.

If you remember a while back now I said I went to a filming of “It’s Not Rocket Science”. Well the show I saw was on television last Tuesday. And the reason I ended up high fiving Romesh Ranganathan that night was because he scored that amazing penalty at the end. If you watched it, you will know what I mean.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

Play Away

February 20, 2016 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Mine have been very busy with lots of fun things going on. Although I did not make it up to Manchester as planned a few weekend’s ago, sadly. I was meant to be heading north to see an old school friend and his family for a few days. As part of the visit we were going to a party to celebrate his in-laws fortieth Wedding Anniversary.

About an hour before I was due to catch the train I got a phone call from my mate saying his wife and children had been struck down by a sickness bug which appeared to be working its way through the family. So we had a chat and we decided I would not go and see them. Which was a shame but made sense as you do not want a house guest when you feel rough and I will be totally honest I did not fancy getting it.

So instead I stayed at home and had a quiet night in breaking my self imposed month long ban from alcohol with a few glasses of a very nice red wine, while listening to some ace music. The plan now is to go and see my friend and family in a few weeks time instead when they are all back to full fitness. Unfortunately none of them were even well enough to attend the party themselves but the good news is they are all better now.

A couple of weeks ago now I went to an audition to be on another brand new fun general knowledge television quiz show. Which will be on one of the major networks. It will be hosted by an excellent presenter, who has presented big classic television contests in the past and is also known as a sports broadcaster to.

As ever this experience involved going to the production companies office, playing a few light hearted games and talking to them about my favourite subject, me. Then we actually got to play a quick trial version of the show’s end game. Which was brilliant fun. All of this is filmed, so the casting team can watch it back and then decide from the footage who they want to appear on the show.

There were some interesting people there including the actor who used to play the postman in Rainbow. He also appeared regularly in Super Gran for a bit as well. I also met the women who was surprised live on national TV last year by This Morning when Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby took over her house and presented the whole of the show from there. Everyone was great fun, all fascinating people with some great stories to tell.

I am still currently in contention to appear on the show. Which if that comes off will be brilliant. It is due to be filmed around the middle of March. So fingers crossed I get selected to do it. I cannot say any more about it at the moment but when I can I will. I will let you know if anything develops with it and ultimately and also hopefully when I will be on your television screens playing it. It is a simple, fun and new concept for a game. Which I really do like.

Last Friday I went along to the Press Night for the latest West End production of Nell Gywnn at the lovely Apollo Theatre in London. It is written by Jessica Swale and stars Gemma Arterton in the title role. It has most recently enjoyed a highly successful run in Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Before getting a new cast and then moving to its new home until the end of April. Which is the Apollo.

I had no real idea what to expect if I am totally honest but I really enjoyed it. And I had a fantastic evening. I thought Gemma Arterton was absolutely sensational in the lead role. She played it brilliantly even to the point where as her status in life improved by association, so did her accent. As it got a little bit posher. Nell Gywnn is a quite amazing historical character. With her confidence, humour and straightforwardness you could argue that she was well ahead of her time in many ways.

The whole cast were brilliant and it really was a slick performance. There is lots of clever and in parts slightly risque comedy with plenty of innuendo thrown in for good measure. Plus some singing and dancing to. So it is the total all round entertainment package. I would recommend seeing it, if you at all can. It is an intriguing story told perfectly by a talented bunch of performers and will leave you feeling upbeat and possibly humming to yourself as you leave the theatre. And finally watch out for the cutest little dog almost stealing the whole show.

I actually enjoyed a theatre double bill last weekend. On the Saturday night I went to see the new Matthew Perry play. That he stars in and has written called “The End of Longing” I was a massive fan of the American sitcom Friends, to be fair I mean who wasn’t? And I will confess that although I did really fancy Jennifer Aniston. Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing was always my favourite Friend.

I think I liked the fact he was constantly trying to make a joke out of every single comment he heard and every situation he was in. I think he may have reminded me of somebody! When I found out this production was on in London. I decided I had to see it. The play in itself is a very modern piece and supposedly slightly autobiographical about some of the demons and problems he faced during his own alcohol addiction issues.

It is quite a dark play dealing with some very tough and serious subject matter. But it is funny with lots of laughs. The dialogue is quite fast paced. The plot and the story unfold very nicely and cleverly in front of your eyes. It has a lot of pathos to it and personally I liked the way it showed a lot of us are all fighting our own addictions and issues whatever they may be. But that with the support and love of the right person it can make these manageable.

If you are expecting to see a version of Chandler from Friends on stage you will be disappointed. But if you want to see a gritty hard hitting current yet humorous play then make sure you go and see it. The whole cast led of course by the writer and star Matthew Perry are all excellent. Especially in my opinion Jennifer Mudge, who plays her role of the stars love interest brilliantly. It was another lovely night out at the theatre. Which I really did enjoy. You cannot beat any live entertainment in my opinion.

So I am currently reading Chris Evans’ latest book. I have read his previous two, which were both autobiography’s about different stages of his life and career. This third one though appears to be a more overall look at life in general. And from his own individual perspective what considerations should he be making as he approaches his fiftieth birthday this year.

It is interesting and he has looked at health and marriage speaking to experts in each of those fields. But I just want to know a bit more about his life and what happens at Radio Two. I will be sticking with it as there is a good chance I may well learn something from it. Plus I think the later chapters describe how one of my favourite television shows TFI Friday ended up making a big comeback.

I am still in a little bit of shock at the moment. I have been a Tottenham Hotspur fan all my life. They are very much my team. I support them in every game they play in. I remember crying in the garden after Coventry beat them in the FA Cup Final in 1987 and I remember the huge celebrations at the old Wembley Stadium when we beat Leicester in the Worthington Cup Final in 1999.

But never in all my years of supporting Spurs can I remember them in mid February being second in the Premier League. Just two points behind the leaders. This has never before happened in my lifetime. And I can’t believe I am saying this but there is actually a chance my team Tottenham could win the league. Whatever happens between now and the end of the season I am going to be proud of my team and support them in every game. As the club motto says To Dare is to do. Come on you Spurs!

The excellent Radio 4 Extra topical comedy show Newsjack is back for a new series currently. It is on every Thursday night at 10.30pm for the next five weeks. I will once again be writing some short one liner jokes for this series. I really enjoy trying to write up to the minute topical comedy, that is of course perfectly suitable for the type of listeners that the show attracts.

It is being hosted for the third series running by Nish Kumar. And I have to say he is sounding brilliant on it. He has made it very much his own. I will keep you updated about the programme as the series continues and do rest assured I will let you know which of my jokes make it in.

I did pop along to the wonderful Hospital Club in London the other week to see a recording of Alan Davies As Yet Untitled. The show he makes for the digital television station Dave. It is such a great and iconic renowned showbiz gathering place. The studios there are cosy but well laid out. If you have not seen it the programme involves the comedian talking and drinking around a little table with a selection of guests. The one I saw had a nice mix of personalities and people, all with some great if not occasionally slightly harrowing stories to tell.

You know what its like when you and your mates are sitting around having a few drinks and just chatting, random things come up in the conversation. Which in turn reminds different people of different stories from the past. Well that is exactly what the show was like. I think as it is quite an intimate setting some of the guests might even forget they are being filmed momentarily judging by some of the things they admitted to. The new series comes out later this year, so do keep a look out for it.

Tonight sees the return of another one of my favourite shows Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Take Away is back. The total entertainment show. Where a member of the audience can win a huge prize, celebrities get tricked, members of the public get surprised and then there is always the great end of the show, show as a finale. It is a cross between Noel’s House Party, Game for a Laugh and The Generation Game on acid and then all rolled in to one. But I do absolutely love it, it is top weekend fun.

The two Geordie’s are for me the masters of live television, so natural and funny. I am really hoping that I can manage to get along to watch one of the episodes from in the studio this series. I am working on trying to make that happen, so fingers crossed hopefully it will soon. This series will feature a weekly whodunit comedy drama written by the creator of Broad Church no less and featuring an all star cast.

If you remember from a few years ago when Michael Buble ended up doing Karaoke from a pub at the end of one of the shows. I have been in there for food and drink a couple of times. I have to say it is a lovely place and also it is so handily close to the studios. I am really looking forward to watching the chaos unfold on our screens later.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

The Science of Television

February 5, 2016 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Mine have been pretty busy with some interesting things going on. I have still not heard back from the new game show audition I did a fortnight ago as yet. But as it is being recorded at the end of this month I expect to find out one way or another very soon.

While I was waiting to go in for my turn with the producers at their production office I got talking to one of the other potential contestants. Around a year ago I helped to do some development work on a brand new quiz called Smart Ask.

This included me playing the game in front of some Channel 4 executives. To try and convince them to buy it.Well from speaking to the guy I met at my latest audition I found out that he was used as a contestant when they recorded the pilot episode of it in the studio.

It was nice to find out that something I had been involved in had made it to the next stage in its development. They have not commissioned a series as yet and I can’t say much more about it at this stage. But all I will say is this, the presenter who hosted the pilot episode was not the one that Channel 4 used when we ran through the quiz for them privately.

Recently I went to the BBC Elstree Studios to see an episode of a brand new ITV1 show called “It’s Not Rocket Science” being recorded. I was very well looked after and had a great seat, right in the middle on the very front row.

It is presented by Ben Miller, Rachel Riley and Romesh Ranganathan. As its title suggests it is a science and technology gadget show that features a mixture of weird and wild experiments. As well as a look at new innovations that are being introduced to try to make our lives easier.

They do some of the tests live in the studio during the filming and others have already been pre-recorded in advance but we still got to see them while we were there. The main guest on the show I saw was Eamonn Holmes. Who although he was on very briefly was very good, friendly and professional, as you would expect from a man of his calibre.

It was an extremely fun and different kind of show to watch. I can’t say why but during it I did get to hi five Romesh. If I am honest I would have much rather it had been Rachel but you can’t have it all can you? The series starts on Tuesday 16th February at 8pm. I not sure when the one I was at will be broadcast but keep an eye out for when Eamonn Holmes is the guest on it and then see if you can spot me.

For the second year running I attended the final London audition for Britain’s Got Talent. They hold them at the fabulous Dominion Theatre on the Tottenham Court Road. It really is a fantastic venue. Once again I was very well looked after. They sat me a few rows behind the judges. I had a good view of the stage and also more importantly a very good view of the judges, so I could see their reactions to what was happening in front of them.

Now if you have seen the show of course, you will know that at the auditions Ant & Dec only really interview the acts off the stage before and after they have performed. Happily before the recording starts they do come out on to the stage to say hello, explain what will be happening and they introduce the judges. During the filming you do sometimes see them popping up at the side of the stage watching the acts or more likely messing around. While the filming was taking place we did also get treated to a cameo appearance from ITV2’s “Britain’s Got More Talent” host Stephen Mulhern.

The judges all looked great and were in fine form. Joking with each other and messing about in between the acts appearing. While the stage was being reset. At one point Simon Cowell appeared to steal Amanda Holden’s phone and post something on her twitter page. They were also happy to chat to the audience during any down time.

Alesha Dixon and David Walliams were on fine form to. In fact David seemed to take control and keep things in order moving them forward more so than even Simon, which seemed slightly odd as he is technically the boss of the whole thing.

I think since the birth of his son Simon has very much mellowed a bit. Although I have to confess I do normally agree with everything he says when he is critiquing the acts. At the audition I witnessed there were the usual mixture of excellent and terrible acts. And the judges did rightly have to buzz a few of them off. There was one point when I actually wished that I had my own buzzer.

I obviously do not want to give anything away but I think I saw two acts that could well both make it to the grand final. One of them was a singer and the other a pretty unique impressionist. I look forward to seeing the show when it is shown in April. The game you can play when it is on is to try and spot me sitting behind Simon Cowell. It was a lovely evening watching one of my favourite shows being made in a great city.

Before I went to the Britain’s Got Talent auditions I stopped off for some food in a well known comedy venue pub in London called The Phoenix. It is a place where a lot of comics drink and it is also home to the Old Rope Comedy Club, which is on in their basement bar every Monday Night. It normally attracts some very well known comedians, who use it to try out new material.

The pub is holding its own comedy festival next month and I am looking forward to seeing Russell Howard perform there as part of it. Just while I was standing at the bar ordering my soft drink the other day. The Welsh comic and former flat mate of Rhod Gilbert, Lloyd Langford appeared next me. It is a cracking pub and just for the record the food in there is fantastic to.

I am currently in the middle of reading my second book of the year so far and as ever it is an autobiography. This time it is the life story of the twenty times champion jump racing jockey AP McCoy. As you would imagine it is brilliant and fascinating in equal measure giving a real insight in to his own life and the racing world in general. He is one tough and totally driven guy, the desire and will power to achieve what he did in his chosen sport is right there to see from the first chapter. The thing that really comes across is just how modest and low key he is. When you consider the levels he reached as a sportsman.

Many years ago my great friend Dez Kay and I did the Wedding Disco for the former jump jockey Gee Armytage when she married fellow jockey Mark Bradburne. At the time Gee was actually working as AP McCoy’s personal assistant. So he was there at the reception along with the great and good of the horse racing family, including John Francome and Clare Balding. It was a brilliant night and let me tell you those folks know how to party. I seem to remember we finished the disco in the end at around 4am.

But one man who doesn’t drink alcohol had left long before that and was I guess at home resting, as true greats often are. To be the best at anything you must be totally dedicated to your goal. I am of course talking about AP McCoy. For the record the biggest party animal there seemed to be Carl Llewellyn, who was also a hugely successful jockey and now is an assistant trainer with Nigel Twiston-Davis.

I would have liked to go out on a night out with him. I would imagine there would never be a dull moment. He is very close friends with AP McCoy, although it would appear from the outside their style of a social night out differs slightly. Anyway I am totally loving the book and now have even more respect and admiration for him than I did before. He seems like a ace man to be around and a great friend to have around you and in your corner.

The Jump has returned to our television screens for another series. It is a show for celebrities who do not think Dancing on Ice was dangerous enough to go on. With the events they make them compete in I am surprised that they can actually get insurance to be able to make the show. May be they go and have a private meeting with the head Meerkat or that annoying opera singer to thrash out a deal.

As ever with reality shows nowadays there are a couple of people on it who I have never heard of. But there is something quite fun about it that makes me enjoy watching it. Davina McCall is great on it linking it all together. And when they are not competing in those terrifying events, the contestants look like they are all having a good time. Enjoying all the excellent hospitality at the resort.

I am supporting Girls Aloud’s Sarah Harding for the very simple reason that she lives in the same town as me. Therefore I do want her to win it. She turned on the lights at Christmas last year and I have seen her in the local supermarket and filling up with petrol in the town. I think the place would look good with a golden cow horn bought back in to it. May be she could donate it to us. Good luck to Sarah Harding. I am behind you all the way.

My self enforced alcohol ban is now officially over. I took the whole of January off the booze, so I could try to have a slightly healthier start to the year and I also upped my exercise routine a bit. But that all that could come to an end this weekend. Not decided what I am doing yet but if I fancy a drink I can now have one. Looking forward to it and I am hoping that I might try to ease myself back into things gently but I guess we will just see how it goes.

I have got a couple of busy weeks coming up. Next Wednesday I am going to see a recording of Alan Davies As Yet Untitled at the famous Hospital Club in London. It is a comedy discussion show made by the TV station Dave featuring the comedian and his guests basically just sitting around a table having a chat. Which will be a lot of fun, I’m sure. And as it is quite an intimate venue people tend to may be reveal more through their stories than they possibly should.

I am also going to two new West End shows two nights running. I am off to see Gemma Arterton star in Nell Gwynn and former Friends star Matthew Perry in a play he has written himself called The End of Longing. Both of which I am very much looking forward to. I will tell you all about them next time we speak.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

My January So Far

January 23, 2016 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Mine have been good but if I am honest, it has been a fairly low key start to the year so far. I do travel on the train in to London pretty much on a daily basis. The line heads through some pretty nice locations to live in, in the fine county of Buckinghamshire. So there is always the chance of spotting a familiar face or two.

Just the other week while heading in to the capital I found myself standing next to the former Wimbledon and Sheffield United football manager Dave Bassett. Now I had actually met him once before. Although I would really not expect him to remember, as it was around twenty-one years ago. When I was eight years old I attended an official Football Association Fun Week during the School Summer Holidays.

It was five days of coaching with fully qualified coaches and then on the final day there would be a special surprise guest to hand out the certificates. So at the end of the Friday afternoon session Dave Bassett appears to give us a talk on his football career. Which as I recall seemed to involve a lot of red cards, when he was a player.

He then did a question and answer session and handed us our certificates. It was very exciting to see him and he was the first proper professional football person I had ever met. I didn’t talk to him on the train. If I am honest it would of been a bit awkward and odd me explaining how he met me as a child. But it did bring back a nice childhood memory seeing him. He was holding a FA Coaching clip board to.

Staying with Football, as a child I was for a couple of season’s a season ticket holder for Wycombe Wanderers. I played one season for their Under 16’s and did have a trial for their youth team. Plus both my parents are big fans of the club and go home and away to watch them. So I was delighted to see them do so well in the FA Cup holding Aston Villa to a draw and getting a replay back at Villa Park. Which they narrowly lost. The previous time that Wycombe had played there was against Liverpool in the FA Cup Semi-Final in 2001.

So I guess you could say they do have a little bit of a Cup pedigree. And you know that clip you often see of John Motson standing on a snow covered pitch. That is at Adam’s Park Wycombe’s ground on the day they should have played Peterborough United in the FA Cup but the game was called off.

I remember it well because me and my parents were virtually at the ground when we found out it was off. And had to turn around and go home. So well done to Wycombe Wanderers for their cup efforts this year.

I am currently reading Steve Coogan’s autobiography “Easily Distracted” which I got for my birthday. The slightly weird thing is he actually released a fictional autobiography for his character Alan Partridge a few years before he bought out his own book. I am about two thirds of the way through it so far and it is very interesting. I do love reading about how people “made it”

He is very honest and open about his life in it. Which I feel you should be when you are writing this kind of book or you are just cheating yourself and the reader. I do like when these books are written how the person talks, if that makes sense. So as you are reading it you can hear them saying these things and describing them. How you would expect them to. It is interesting how he views his body of work and his career. And what are his biggest achievements in his opinion. It is a good read and I am really enjoying it.

Last weekend I found myself dog sitting for my sister. She went away to Centre Parks for the weekend, so I agreed to look after her pride and joy for her. She has had her dog for I think around seven years now. I did obviously come round to see it when she first had it as a little puppy. So the animal in question knows me very well. I am quite a good brother, really.

Every time I see the dog it is pleased to see me and always wants a cuddle and to sit on my lap. So I knew we had a little bit of a rapport. But this was the first time I was solely in charge of its well being. And just make things slightly more challenging the poor thing had been a bit ill recently, so was still on some medication. Which I had to administer.

I am pleased to report it was a success. I managed to feed and walk the dog as required, she didn’t seem to put out to be stuck with me for the weekend and we did not fall out during it. Plus I did manage to give her the medicine. Which required me trying to get her to sit perfectly still.

While I had to put a huge syringe type contraption in her mouth while using both hands to push the trigger down so the stuff came out. Trust me that is a lot harder than it sounds and I had to do that twice a day. Both me and the dog survived but I have to confess now having had hands on experience of what is required to look after a dog. I have absolutely no plans to get one of my own.

While I was in dog sitting I took the opportunity to watch Chris Ramsey’s first stand up DVD “All Growed Up”. I do really like him as a comedian. He has a really friendly style and with his Geordie accent his gigs really do just feel like a mate telling you stories and jokes over a pint down the pub or a cup of tea at his place. I have seen him live and that is really how it feels. It is like you are all in it together. And the way he constructs his shows is very clever. It is like you are all going on a journey together.

It was really funny and I would recommend seeing it if you get the chance. He was originally due to record the show in London for the DVD but then there was a problem with the venue and he ended up moving it to Newcastle. Which as he is from the North East having that home area crowd really added to the atmosphere and helped the show, I think. So although not the initial plan I think it worked out brilliantly doing it that way in the end. He is still touring this show, so keep an eye out and may be even catch it live.

I am looking forward to going to see the recording of a brand new television show next week. It is called “It’s Not Rocket Science” and is hosted by Ben Miller, Rachel Riley and Romesh Ranganathan. It is a new entertainment show which looks at new technology and gadgets that are meant to make all of our everyday lives easier.

It should be a lot of fun. It is being recorded at the BBC Studios at Elstree, which is the same complex where Eastenders is filmed. I have no idea when it is due on TV yet. But rest assured when I do I will let you now and I will tell you what the episode I saw was like the next time we speak.

I am also very pleased to have been invited along to watch another London audition for this year’s Britain’s Got Talent. I went last year and it was ace to see Ant & Dec in action. As well as the many good and bad acts which go in front of the judges. The game in the audience is trying to guess which of them will make it on screen. Sometimes it is easier to predict the bad ones rather than the good ones.

It is quite a long evening as they do pack in as many performers as they can. I will let you know if I do spot any potential winners. A lot of the banter and fun between the judges does not always make the shows final edit. So when you are there it is usually a lot more fun in between the acts.

I wonder what Simon Cowell will be wearing? I’m guessing it will be a white shirt, jeans and black Cuban heels but you never know I could be wrong. One thing is for sure, it will be an interesting night at the theatre.

I think Ricky Gervais may have seen something that I sent to him as a reply on Twitter and then passed it off as his own. I mean he might not of and it could just have been a total coincidence and just weird timing. Here is what happened.

He posted a tweet about people complaining more now as it is easier with social media to moan straight away rather than in the days before the internet having to sit down and write a letter, then post it to make a point. Most people didn’t because it was too much hassle.

I replied to it saying that also thanks to Twitter there is less writing on toilet walls now. He then two minutes after I had made that remark posts a new update on his twitter page saying pretty much exactly that with no acknowledgement to me anywhere to be seen.

I will never know the truth about this situation. Unless I ever meet him and actually get round to asking about it. If he did use it, I mean it would have been nice to get a little bit of credit for it. That is all I am saying.

Yesterday I went for an audition to be a contestant on a brand new game show. It is a completely fresh idea and format, so I can’t really say any more about the actual game play. However I had a really fun afternoon meeting the production team, showing off a bit and answering some general knowledge questions.

I should find out in the next few weeks if I have been selected and therefore when I will be invited along to the studios to play it. I do not know currently who will be presenting it or indeed what time in the television schedule it will be on. But I will of course keep you posted.

I am on the whole having a pretty quiet January. I am still not having any alcohol and will not have any until I go to a party on the first full weekend in February. I am doing plenty of running and weight training to get my fitness levels up ready to take on the year. I would like to say I am doing a bit of a detox but that is not true. While I am trying to eat lots of fruit and vegetables I am still having plenty of chocolate and crisps. Well if you are doing a lot of exercise I feel you need some rewards. I am feeling good for the slight sacrifice though, which is the main thing.

I am already starting to put some plans in place for the party to end all parties this December. I am already thinking about venues and exactly what kind of entertainment I intend to put on for the guests. I have got some pretty good ideas which if they do come off, they will be amazing. It is still a little way off but already I think I may have to take next January of the booze to compensate for the celebrations taking place at the end of this year.

Neil Quigley and Jeff Nolan in Liverpool

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

Neil Quigley Presenter