Michael Aspel

Every version of Blockbusters there's ever been

As a new version of Blockbusters hosted by Dara O Briain arrives, we revisit the gameshow's previous incarnations...

Morecambe & Wise Show: The Lost Tapes, review

Lost reels of The Morecambe & Wise Show from 1968 have been freshly restored. But the material is not a patch on the pair's later Christmas specials, finds Gerard Gilbert.

"Contact is everything," Brucie states, during this run through the Forsyth saga via his talk show appearances. As evinced here, it's that ability to connect with a popular audience, from the Generation Game to Strictly, that's ensured a 70-year career. If his persona's that of a twittering old lady, it clearly hides the skin of a rhino, abetted by a smart self-deprecation and lightning-fast wit. "My real name's Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson," he tells Michael Aspel. "What happened to Johnson?" "Same thing that happened to Joseph."

To mark the 40th anniversary of The Goodies' television debut, Ross Noble chats to Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden about giant cats, trandems and rampaging Dougals. Along the way we learn of the trio's superstar status in Australia and how Weymouth was able to double for the North Pole and the Moon, plus reminiscences of doing the funky gibbon on Top of the Pops. All three performers prove to be expansive interviewees, even going so far as to discuss any regrets about blacking up for certain sketches and how they felt about comedy competitors Monty Python's Flying Circus. Guest stars Patrick Moore and Michael Aspel also offer anecdotes, the former recalling his turn as a punk and the latter on being flattened by Kitten Kong.

If you're of an age where June Whitfield is best known for playing Jennifer Saunder's mum in Absolutely Fabulous, or even as "that woman from Doctor Who". This is a lovely insight into the Queen Mum of Comedy (Victoria Wood, you may remember from last Monday, already has the title of the Queen of Comedy).

June takes us on this trip down her memory lane. She made her West End debut during the Blitz and became a household name in the 1950s radio comedy Take It From Here, which at its peak attracted 22 million listeners.

But to many she will always be Terry Scott's long-suffering wife in Terry And June. Prior to the documentary is another chance to see the 1985 Christmas special of that show and also relive the moment Michael Aspel surprised June with the big red book in This Is Your Life. And at 10pm is an episode of Absolutely Fabulous, a term that could have been coined to describe June herself.