Bernard Manning

Right.

Buzz Aldjin says, "My favorite Esther Rantzen moment was when Bernard Manning made her look a fool on Parkinson.

He later said he made her look like a, a C word." [laughs] I don't know that, I don't know that moment.

It's probably on YouTube, isn't it? Bernard Manning, a comedian, quite fun- quite funny comedian actually.

He made her look a real fool on Parkinson, did, did, did he? Okay.

I feel like that's a famous TV moment, but I just don't recall it.

there's something kind of I don't know I think comedians sometimes use the platform as a form of therapy or you know just anger you know I just it's not for me yeah

I suppose that's why there's different comedians for different people you know obviously like you know going to the extreme of you know like the likes of like Bernard Manning back in the day yeah Chubby Brown even do you know I mean there's they have their audiences

yeah I suppose

it's about finding your finding your tribe

Yeah, no, exactly.

Exactly.

And indeed, and I don't think anybody's in it, you know, can say, oh, that's not funny or, you know, you know, but but at the same time, I would have no I'm glad Bernard Manning is no longer with us for that.

um very much of

that's the main comedian one isn't it damn it oh that's so obvious you don't want comedians laughing you want to be

fucking annoyed yeah that's the best you can get off him isn't it what was the I'm interested in if you remember I'm always interested in the kind of history I don't know much about the vaudeville scene there's like a guy a Scottish guy Harry Lauder who was always big back in the day and I'm always interested in that kind of because it was the vaudeville stuff in my mind it's like vaudeville em Who do you call him? Bernard Manning.

And then Billy Connolly came along.

Yeah.

Where were the first places you

played? The first place that gave, I think it's in my book this, the first guy that gave me cash money for doing what I do was the late Bernard Manning.

Wow.

At the Embassy Club.

Everybody's giving their services free.

Anybody would employ you under those conditions.

So I thought, well, who would my dad recognise as a successful person in show business in Manchester? So right away, he said, oh, Bernard Manning.

So I went round there in the afternoon.

That's the city I miss, Steve.

I noticed the Bernard Manning joke.

Not that one.

Yeah.

And some of the characters that pop up for the story of the week are quite caricature-y and comedy characters.

In the second episode, it's set around... comedy show in Benidorm so as you can imagine it's quite like old school kind of comics and things not in terms of their content not like well actually there is a reference to Bernard Manning in it but But in like a jokey way, but more in terms of like that kind of like old school club comic.

But they're not like the jokes are more like cheesy jokes.

They're not like offensive jokes or anything.

Why am I the bad guy for calling-

Why don't you do a Ouija board and have a little chat with Bernie Manning and see what he says?

[laughs]

Right.

He might just hide for a while.

But he generally only does that when he's been busted for secretly accepting money from foreign-based billionaires and doesn't want to answer any questions about it except by shouting Bernard Manning at the camera.

But if you do not do shame, if you cannot feel shame, then you will just be waiting for this story to blow over.

And of course it will.