09 December, 2007

The TV Cream Advent Calendar: Door 9

Here's Michael Palin, recalling his experiences at the BBC Light Entertainment Christmas Party:

Sunday 19th December, 1976
"Everything in full swing when we arrived, but as I hadn't been since the 1973 party, we went in the wrong entrance and found ourselves in a small ante-room, empty save for Jimmy Savile crouched over a large plate of food. A cheery exchange and we walk through to find a throng of people we once saw so much. Tim Brooke-Taylor and I commiserate over our eternal branding together in John's mind as 'nice' people."

Sunday 18th December, 1977
"The usual lot. Val Doonican and Eric Sykes seem to be still fans - Doonican is especially enthusiastic and towards the end of the evening even Eric Morecambe grasps my hand warmly. 'Great fan,' he says. 'Great fan.' Talk to Richard Beckinsale and Judy Loe, who, with me, Ian Davidson and the Goodies, seem to represent the 'younger generation' in a sea of old and well-established faces."

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