The Interviews

Dawn French narrates this profile of volatile actor Oliver Reed. Reed's life story is told through his many interviews, which were of inevitably variable quality due to his enduring fondness for the sauce. Although Reed lived up to his reputation as a hellraiser, for every encounter where he's slurring and the worse for wear, there's another in which he's the perfect gentleman. His anecdotes testify to a life lived richly as this entertaining hour of excerpts proves.

"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."

Gold's latest archive trolley-dash offers a retrospective of Edgbaston's biggest star. Despite plaudits for her dramatic roles, it's Walters' comic turns alongside Victoria Wood that first brought her to national attention. Her story is covered here via archive interview footage, from her challenging introduction to academia at the hands of ruler-wielding nuns to her most celebrated roles. These include Acorn Antiques' expertly inept charlady Mrs Overall, a role requiring Walters to unlearn her hard-earned acting expertise.

While Gold's new scripted comedy output remains unremarkable, its archive programming continues to impress, with welcome repeats of autobiographical series Comic Roots supplemented by this second series assembling interview footage of comedy royalty. Tonight's opener allows comedic chameleon Peter Sellers to tell his own tale by way of said interview footage, permitting a peek behind the curtain at the inspirations shaping his storied career, and the insecurities entangled in his tempestuous private life.

A compilation of Spike Milligan chatshow clips provides a fine end to this series on comic personalities. While Spike's mould-breaking surrealism is rarely afforded an audience these days, this retrospective shows just why he was considered an icon among the comedy illuminati, despite material occasionally at odds with post-PC society. Were proof needed of his innovative armoury, the classic Russian play Oblomov was routinely reinterpreted on the fly by Milligan, with one performance even incorporating a real TV interview.

The Interviews, TV review

Gold might be known for showing reruns of Only Fools and Horses, but it does occasionally commission its own stuff. The Interviews proved to be a gentle, old-fashioned show, enjoyable thanks to its subject, but one that may not attract much of an audience beyond the channel's devotees.

First in a series of retrospectives from British comedy greats, delivered via carefully collated archive interview footage, starting with one of comedy's most fascinating figures, Kenneth Williams. Unencumbered by Carry On baggage, it was the chatshow that allowed Williams to express himself. These interviews show how Williams's wispy frame inflated with enthusiasm given a soapbox for his specialist subject: himself. With excerpts arranged to present his storied life in chronological order, it's a fine addition to GOLD's comedy roster.

Radio Times review

"Oh - what's the bloody point?" Kenneth Williams was, as they say, "good value" on chat shows. Wogan could engage automatic pilot as Williams whipped the audience into hysterics, riffing through anecdotes and voices. As this clip show proves, he was a ludicrously witty man - a smutty, funny C3PO. So of all his notable quotables, why is it the defeated final line of his diary that is now inescapable? Oh infamy, infamy...

Because the truth is, Williams doesn't fit the "tears of the clown" stereotype. He didn't suffer in silence: he told interviewers and the nation about his depression, narcissism and various complexes. His skill - whether on Round the Horne, Carry On, or on the sofa - is that he always said the unsayable. It's just that he made you laugh while doing it.

Dawn French pays tribute to stars in The Interviews

Dawn French pays homage to The Two Ronnies and a host of showbiz legends in a new six-part series.