The Unforgettable...
- TV documentary
- ITV1
- 2000 - 2012
- 38 episodes (5 series)
Factual documentaries diving into the lives of some of Britain's most influential comedians, comics and actors. Features Daniel Abineri and Martin Glyn Murray.
Episode menu
Series 4, Episode 8 - Spike Milligan
Further details
This intimate tribute includes previously unseen home movies and photographs from Spike's personal collection as well as classic comedy clips.
Spike's family and lifelong friends provide a true insight into a man who was much misunderstood. With contributions from Spike's children, his manager Norma Farnes, Eric Sykes, Terry Jones, Paul Merton and for the first time, his secret daughter, Romany.
Broadcast details
- Date
- Thursday 23rd December 2010
- Time
- 5pm
- Channel
- ITV1
- Length
- 60 minutes
Cast & crew
| Martin Glyn Murray | Narrator |
| Barry Cryer | Self |
| Eric Sykes | Self |
| Desmond Milligan | Self |
| Silé Milligan Harrower | Self |
| Norma Farnes | Self |
| Reg Bennett | Self |
| John Antrobus | Self |
| Paul Merton | Self |
| Terry Jones | Self |
| Laura Tierney | Self |
| Ray Galton | Self |
| Alan Simpson | Self |
| Beryl Vertue | Self |
| Joe McGrath | Self |
| Jane Milligan | Self |
| Shelagh Milligan | Self |
| Romany Watt | Self |
| Hastie Milligan Harrower | Self |
| Callum Milligan Harrower | Self |
| Georga Malcolm | Self |
| Spike Milligan | Self (Archive Material) |
| Karen Steyn | Script Development |
| Verity Maidlow (as Verity Newman) | Director |
| Dave Lewis | Series Producer |
| John Quinn | Executive Producer |
| Verity Maidlow (as Verity Newman) | Producer |
| Chris Joss | Editor |
Press
The Unforgettable Spike Milligan review
Does The Unforgettable Spike Milligan, define who Spike really was? No. Not really. But then again, how could it?
David Andrews, Comic Book and Movie Reviews, 19th February 2013ITV1's Unforgettable strand, in which friends, family and peers pay tribute to great entertainers, celebrates the life of Spike Milligan, the writer, musician, poet, artist and Goon who died in 2002. Milligan, considered a genius and madman in equal measure, had an absurd and subversive humour that fuelled The Goons, the Fifties comedy troupe which made his name and was so influential it's led to him being called the godfather of alternative comedy. In a sense, the show owes a debt to the War: Milligan met fellow Goon Harry Secombe when both were serving with the Royal Artillery in Tunisia. Post-war, they teamed up with Peter Sellers and Michael Bentine to launch the most popular comedy show of the Fifties, remembered fondly for its surreal humour and ludicrous plots.
Away from performing, Milligan was a successful author, too, producing dozens of books for children and adults, most memorably his hilarious series of war memoirs, beginning with Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall. His success was tempered by depression and melancholy, however, making Milligan the archetypal sad clown. This intimate tribute features photos from Milligan's personal collection as well as previously unseen home movies, and contributions come from Milligan's children, including the first interview with his daughter Romany, one of two of his children born out of wedlock. Eric Sykes, Paul Merton and Terry Jones also pay tribute.
Vicki Power, The Telegraph, 23rd December 2010