Geoffrey Palmer

Judi Dench on her time with Geoffrey Palmer

The legendary actress says she couldn't have made the classic sitcom As Time Goes By with anyone else.

Geoffrey Palmer: a life in pictures

The English actor, who came to prominence in the 1970s in the hit television sitcoms The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin and Butterflies, has died at the age of 93. Here we look back at his career.

Geoffrey Palmer obituary

Actor who brought perfect timing and execution to roles in The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin, Butterflies and As Time Goes By.

A look back at... The Savages

The Savages was a family life based sitcom starring Marcus Brigstocke that after airing back in 2001, disappeared seemingly without a trace. But it was a great showcase for Marcus Brigstocke and a show that, in my opinion, is worth remembering.

Review: The Last Sparks of Sundown

TVO can only hope that the film's initial run - at one admittedly fantastic cinema in that there London - is followed up with a wider release, perhaps buoyed by the presence of Miles Jupp, Kayvan Novak and the voice of British TV legend Geoffrey Palmer as the tale's not-so-humble narrator. If, in this world of web-cam superstars we need to get a little slaggy to sell a movie to audiences, so be it: because this is a film that audiences should see. And hopefully, most of you will.

This series is odd for several reasons. Not only is this a show featuring monologues from various animals living in a seaside rock pool, but it's actually a remake of a show, using most of the same performers.

Created back in 1997 by Lynne Truss (her of the totalitarian approach to grammar fame), the original series consisted of six 15-minute monologues with no audience laughter. This version, recorded in front of a live audience at Radio 4's More Than Words festival, consists of three 30-minute shows, two stories per edition, with Truss introducing the stories.

The first of these tales featured Bill Wallis as a periwinkle who is fond of telling old gags, almost akin to an end-of-the-pier comic, who rants about how the English enjoy eating him. The second stars Geoffrey Palmer as moaning hermit crab who doesn't get along with the amoeba that lives and protects him.

I wasn't expecting much from this, but I rather enjoyed it in the end. The hermit crab story was my personal favourite out of the two, especially when he was panicking about being fished out of the pool by children with nets, causing him to exclaim that he actually likes the amoeba in a sudden outburst...

Overall, a likeable series and rather diverting. Fun in an unusual way.

Tidal Talk from the Rock Pool review

Geoffrey Palmer performed the role of the Hermit Crab who just - just - about saved Tidal Talk from the Rock Pool from being a complete waste of 30 minutes.

Lynne Truss, whose phenomenal bestseller Eats, Shoots and Leaves was born from the response to a programme on punctuation she did for Radio 4, puts on her fiction writing hat for three imaginary dialogues, all recorded at the recent More Than Words festival in Bristol. To start, here's The Periwinkle and the Hermit Crab, respectively played by Bill Wallis and Geoffrey Palmer. The Periwinkle is cheerful, mischievous, jaunty. The Hermit Crab is a bit of a misery, although for pretty good reasons. Turns out they share a common enemy.