TV Pop Diaries
Pop Music on British Television 1955 - 1999

Michael Aspel had been a newsreader at BBC TV since the late fifties, but would on occasion take time out to wilfully ridicule himself on TV shows, having fun and gaining not a little respect in the process. As such he was probably the first of that generation of "straight" TV personalities, news readers, weather men (and they were men), astronomers, sports presenters, film reviewers to allow themselves to made fools of, as long as it was on someone else's show, usually Morecambe and Wise, and it was on their show that Aspel appeared in 1968 in top hat and tails in a musical number, alongside Eric and Ernie. He would also allow The Goodies to get the better of him in the legendary Kitten Kong.

He would later go on to host kids' favourite Crackerjack, but was maybe a little too straight sometimes, but he appeared to be having fun. Given the job of hosting a children's TV request show was a smart move. Ask Aspel ran for many years on BBC1, coming across as an authoritative, but genial host, introducing clips and interviewing television and pop stars, even getting Kate Bush to perform a song on the show in 1978.

By the mid-eighties he had become one of the jewels in Capital Radio's weekday line-up, which also included Chris Tarrant, Kenny Everett and Mike Smith. It was there that he was poached by London Weekend to host a Saturday night chat show. He didn't have the seasoned hack intuition of Parkinson, or the curiosity of Harty, he seemed a bit stuck to the script, daring not to offend the star guest, who from day one were big. Paul McCartney, needing to plug his forthcoming movie appeared on the opening show with co-star Tracey Ullman.

The show continued with a faultless line-up including Phil Collins, Kate Bush, Cliff Richard, Bill Wyman, Lulu, Barry Manilow, Yoko Ono, The Who, Billy Joel, Ella Fitzgerald, Boy George, George Michael, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, The Monkees, Dusty Springfield all contributing non-threatening, non-confrontational, non-revealing dialogue with the host, sometimes with a song.

Thankfully, things perked up five shows in when he had the mis-fortune of having a living legend drunk on the show. Oliver Reed was in town on the plug and had been helping himself to the green room bar, but when he appeared on the small staircase onto the stage he was clutching what looked like a jug of orange juice. Chugging the "orange juice" throughout he sought to engage the studio band in a song. All that Aspel could do was sit back, knowing that this would make great TV, but also allowing a renown actor to make a fool of himself without intervening. It's usually only when things go wrong that things become memorable, ask Wogan. Reed was invited back in 1990, sober this time, but just as menacing.

Things got unusually weird on 16th May 1993 when Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone were all in town to promote burger restaurant Planet Hollywood, who were about to open in London. Their appearance was obviously a blatant product plug, and as such contravened the rules of the Independent Television Commission and the show found itself in deep shit. But how this was different to Barry Manilow plugging a tour, or Boy George plugging an album, or Peter Ustinov plugging a stage show is unknown.

After the plugging fiasco Aspel pledged not to return, but continued to host This is Your Life.

ASPEL AND COMPANY

London Weekend

9th June 1984 - 20 June 1993