Why is he famous?

[Chili]

Syd Little.

[westlondonmist]

10 hours ago, deathrey said:

I knew someone would say that but I disagree for the aforementioned reasons - being smug and self absorbed. He wants all the focus, presenters aren't supposed to do that.

I always figured he remained famous basically for being a miserable old right wing cunt and other old gits like him thought he was the saviour of their dodgy dated views. Guy punched someone for serving a cold platter and he's the badly treated one when he gets sacked, his fans are just cunts who will support cunts at any cost. 

 

So he's famous because cunts like cunts. 

Edited August 18 by westlondonmist

[RedTwoster]

Where did Darren Grimes come from? I mean, I know he became ‘a thing’ during the Brexit campaign after mysteriously changing his allegiances from the Lib Dems, but why? Was he the only young person claiming to back Brexit? How did he end up becoming as visible as he did?

Thankfully, since I’m not on X, he’s not someone I ever see anything from these days, but he seems to have just appeared, without any real ability to debate or discuss, justifying his existence in the role he’s in or even his usefulness to people who might seek to use him. 

[CTXRussomark]

6 hours ago, Scratch said:

To this day, I can never understand how Michael Barrymore made it as big as he did. Back when there were only four channels, fame was proper fame and I like to think you really did have to be something special for one of the TV companies to put you on over someone else.

He was massively popular though, but could never see why. He wasn’t really talented, fumbled over his words quite a lot, wasn’t particularly likeable and was clearly going to be a tabloid headline in the making. As a kid, I couldn’t stand him and just couldn’t work out why he was being pushed down the throats of mainstream audiences for so long.

He’s given Astro a lot of material, mind - so he had a career that was worth it in the grand scheme of things.

I bloody loved Barrymore when I was a kid.  Thought he was the funniest bloke on telly compared to the older crew like Forsyth, O'Connor, Monkhouse etc.  There was always a slight sense of chaos (obviously manufactured in hindsight) whenever he would appear that made him stand out from the crowd - sort of like how Peter Kay was a talk show favourite during his peak because he'd purposely go off script and make life difficult for the hosts. 

Looking back most of his stuff was absolutely naff and he's probably the light entertainment version of Big Daddy in a "you had to be there" kind of way, but I do still have a certain amount of nostalgia for him. 

[hallicks]

My Nan was a big Barrymore fan. He did a show near where we lived in the 80s, and she had a photo either with him or of him up close from that show. The same disposable camera had photos of a relative’s confirmation, and due to an issue with developing the film, the photo of Barrymore and the confirmation ceremony were somehow exposed together, so his face came out on one side with relative at the altar getting confirmed on the other. 

[HandsomeButchIII]

On 8/18/2026 at 2:41 PM, CTXRussomark said:

I bloody loved Barrymore when I was a kid.  Thought he was the funniest bloke on telly compared to the older crew like Forsyth, O'Connor, Monkhouse etc. 

 

That's like saying the Harris Brothers were better than Terry Funk and Stan Hansen.

[air_raid]

Bob Monkhouse was a master.

”My father only ever hit me once. He used the Volvo.”

[HandsomeButchIII]

3 minutes ago, air_raid said:

Bob Monkhouse was a master.

”My father only ever hit me once. He used the Volvo.”

As was Forsyth. His return to Generation Game in 1990 had a Record Plugger, who was" Young, Free and Single and ready to Mingle". he was" Old, Married and Quiet, but always ready to Try It."

 

Massive pop..

[Jazzy G]

3 hours ago, air_raid said:

Bob Monkhouse was a master.

”My father only ever hit me once. He used the Volvo.”

"I want to die like my father, peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming in terror like his passengers." A true legend.

[JNLister]

3 hours ago, air_raid said:

Bob Monkhouse was a master.

”My father only ever hit me once. He used the Volvo.”

"People laughed when I said I wanted to be a comedian when I grew up. They're not laughing now."

[Chris B]

The documentary about Monkhouse's obsessive VHS-recording was fascinating as well. I used to hate Monkhouse growing up - but seeing his career in more context, and another documentary leading up to his last gig (or something like that) gave me a lot more appreciation for him. 

[davertfnewman]

We had a neighbour who was a manager at John Menzies and got a lot of sample tapes with time codes on them and the like. One he got and passed on was a Monkhouse tape in the mid-nineties. Was bizarre to hear him swearing and then even more when he has a routine where he begins telling a joke and his "wife" comes out in the middle of it and does a striptease. He finishes the gag off once she's left the stage and it purposely falls flat, leading him to lament "The stripper didn't help the gag... She's my wife, she's seventy-five... Wearing a full body suit - the tits were flown in from Germany...".

[Sergio Mendacious]

10 hours ago, HandsomeButchIII said:

 

That's like saying the Harris Brothers were better than Terry Funk and Stan Hansen.

[westlondonmist]

On 8/20/2026 at 2:33 AM, HandsomeButchIII said:

 

That's like saying the Harris Brothers were better than Terry Funk and Stan Hansen.

He was different to the others, as he said in a very silly and chaotic manner. I really liked him as a kid but it's aged badly. I did like Brucie as a kid too. Strangely I appreciate Monkhouse more now, his short sharp one liners are good. 

[Chili]

We had this on VHS back in the day so it was always funny seeing genial witty TV Presenter Bob, knowing he was capable of this. Echo others who like him, a great gag writer, very interesting bloke.