Campaign to get Stephen Fry in DC

Sue Sheldon · Post by **Sue Sheldon** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 10:44 pm

Please please please x 25, could we have Stephen Fry in DC. Imagine... he wouldn't even need a dictionary - and Susie could have the day off.

Damian E · Post by **Damian E** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 10:54 pm

Sue Sheldon wrote:Please please please x 25, could we have Stephen Fry in DC. Imagine... he wouldn't even need a dictionary - and Susie could have the day off.

Bear in mind Sue, people have to WANT to come on the show. Are you suggesting we kidnap him?

Sue Sheldon · Post by **Sue Sheldon** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 11:00 pm

Damian E wrote:
Sue Sheldon wrote:Please please please x 25, could we have Stephen Fry in DC. Imagine... he wouldn't even need a dictionary - and Susie could have the day off.
Bear in mind Sue, people have to WANT to come on the show. Are you suggesting we kidnap him?

Yep, that would work!

OR

Can't see how he wouldn't want to come on the show. I enjoyed it even though I lost - and I wasn't even getting paid!

David O'Donnell · Post by **David O'Donnell** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 10:55 am

Stephen Fry was a regular in DC and is a huge fan of the show (he admitted it in the Guilty Pleasures programme) but he hasn't been on for yonks - maybe this has something to do with it: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eEkjiF_UilE

Sue Sheldon · Post by **Sue Sheldon** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 4:11 pm

Thanks for that David. I didn't realise he had been on before, must have been before I started watching on a regular basis. Thought the clip was very funny, clever. Perhaps if he knew people were asking for him to come back on he may consider it. Does anyone (Damian) know if he's been invited lately?

Lara Searle · Post by **Lara Searle** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 6:48 pm

He was invited less than a month ago and the answer was no. I expect he's concentrating on QI. Sorry

David O'Donnell · Post by **David O'Donnell** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 9:32 am

Lara Searle wrote:He was invited less than a month ago and the answer was no. I expect he's concentrating on QI. Sorry

That's a shame but at least you tried.

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 10:32 am

David O'Donnell wrote:
Lara Searle wrote:He was invited less than a month ago and the answer was no. I expect he's concentrating on QI. Sorry
That's a shame but at least you tried.

Not very hard though by the sound of it.

Lara Searle · Post by **Lara Searle** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 11:24 am

"Not very hard though by the sound of it."

I take offense to that comment I'm afraid. We try really hard in the office to secure guests for the corner. As Damian said in an earlier post however. they have to actually want to come on the programme. I doubt you could name anyone that we haven't approched. We can't force them on a train to Leeds!

Stephen Fry is regularly asked to come on the show because we know how popular he is. He has declined each time, whether that be because he's busy filming abroad or because of his commitements with QI. We even asked him for a quick 2 minute message for our special 25th anniversary show and he wasn't able to do it. We asked him to appear on Carol's final programme and to come on as a guest to her half hour special and the answer again was no. We do our best here and to say we've not tried very hard is an insult.

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 11:27 am

Lara Searle wrote:"Not very hard though by the sound of it."

I take offense to that comment I'm afraid. We try really hard in the office to secure guests for the corner. As Damian said in an earlier post however. they have to actually want to come on the programme. I doubt you could name anyone that we haven't approched. We can't force them on a train to Leeds!

Stephen Fry is regularly asked to come on the show because we know how popular he is. He has declined each time, whether that be because he's busy filming abroad or because of his commitements with QI. We even asked him for a quick 2 minute message for our special 25th anniversary show and he wasn't able to do it. We asked him to appear on Carol's final programme and to come on as a guest to her half hour special and the answer again was no. We do our best here and to say we've not tried very hard is an insult.

I didn't mean it

I'm not posting anymore, I'm (accidentally) offending people left, right and centre at the moment.

Michael Wallace · Post by **Michael Wallace** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 11:36 am

Jon Corby wrote:I'm not posting anymore, I'm (accidentally) offending people left, right and centre at the moment.

And what about those of us who are offended by you not posting, hmmm?

(for what it's worth, I thought it was fairly obviously a joke, but lol internet - perhaps you should start putting a smiley at the end of every line to make it obvious you're not being serious

)

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 11:42 am

Michael Wallace wrote:(for what it's worth, I thought it was fairly obviously a joke, but lol internet - perhaps you should start putting a smiley at the end of every line to make it obvious you're not being serious )

I think you'll find it has been agreed previously that I only need to specify when I'm not taking the piss

David O'Donnell · Post by **David O'Donnell** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 11:55 am

Lara Searle wrote:"Not very hard though by the sound of it."

I take offense to that comment I'm afraid. We try really hard in the office to secure guests for the corner. As Damian said in an earlier post however. they have to actually want to come on the programme. I doubt you could name anyone that we haven't approched. We can't force them on a train to Leeds!

Stephen Fry is regularly asked to come on the show because we know how popular he is. He has declined each time, whether that be because he's busy filming abroad or because of his commitements with QI. We even asked him for a quick 2 minute message for our special 25th anniversary show and he wasn't able to do it. We asked him to appear on Carol's final programme and to come on as a guest to her half hour special and the answer again was no. We do our best here and to say we've not tried very hard is an insult.

Just Jon taking the piss, Lara. In fact, you should only really be offended if Jon hasn't slagged you off.

Michael Wallace · Post by **Michael Wallace** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 11:58 am

Lara Searle wrote:I doubt you could name anyone that we haven't approched.

So you *did* ask Mr. Blobby?

(seriously, that would be one of the best DC guests ever)

Jennifer Turner · Post by **Jennifer Turner** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 2:26 pm

Michael Wallace wrote:So you *did* ask Mr. Blobby?

(seriously, that would be one of the best DC guests ever)

Him and Carol go back a long way, of course.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=h37KQu64RY4

Lesley Jeavons · Post by **Lesley Jeavons** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 5:46 pm

@ Lara: Hi Lara, you say "I doubt you could name anyone that we haven't approched." It just made me wonder, do you prefer it if we leave your job to you, or would you welcome any suggestions from us viewers of who we'd like to see in DC? I would LOVE to see Hayley Mills there (espec if I could be prewarned to get my backside up there for the recording

). I've seen her do after dinner talks and because of her family and a long career since childhood she has sooooo many wonderful stories.

@ Jon: don't stop posting

, instead get busy with the smilies!

I sometimes look back at my posts and think I use them excessively

, but I'm rarely misunderstood.

(I think!

)

Lara Searle · Post by **Lara Searle** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 8:09 pm

Hi Lesley
We always welcome suggestions. As for Hayley Mills, you'll have to run that one by Damian who I suspect might give you a rude answer!

Joseph Bolas · Post by **Joseph Bolas** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 9:05 pm

Lara Searle wrote:Hi Lesley
We always welcome suggestions. As for Hayley Mills, you'll have to run that one by Damian who I suspect might give you a rude answer!

Damian Eadie has been in DC before and is part of the production team, so why not have the other members of the production team etc make an appearance?

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 9:25 pm

Joseph Bolas wrote:
Lara Searle wrote:Hi Lesley
We always welcome suggestions. As for Hayley Mills, you'll have to run that one by Damian who I suspect might give you a rude answer!
Damian Eadie has been in DC before and is part of the production team, so why not have the other members of the production team etc make an appearance?

I guess they might be a bit busy, you know, producing the show?

David Williams · Post by **David Williams** » Mon Nov 24, 2008 11:42 pm

Lara Searle wrote:I take offense to that comment I'm afraid.

I think you'll find your job description is quite insistent that you take OFFENCE!

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 8:39 am

Charlie Reams wrote:I guess they might be a bit busy, you know, producing the show?

Why? It can't be that hard.

Sue Sheldon · Post by **Sue Sheldon** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 2:48 pm

Lara Searle wrote:He was invited less than a month ago and the answer was no. I expect he's concentrating on QI. Sorry

Thanks for trying Lara, and please don't give up, he may say yes one of these days. Other suggestions would be: Alexander Armstrong, let's see how he would do after turning down the job!

OR Kai Laddiman, I think he could add a certain something and would be an interesting change! What do you think Kai?

Lara Searle · Post by **Lara Searle** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 3:36 pm

The reason the rest of the production team couldn't be in dictionary corner is simple - we're rubbish at the game!

Lesley Jeavons · Post by **Lesley Jeavons** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 4:58 pm

Lara Searle wrote:Hi Lesley
We always welcome suggestions. As for Hayley Mills, you'll have to run that one by Damian who I suspect might give you a rude answer!

Oooh, I'll not hear a bad word about Hayley, so I'd better not.

Have you ever approached Willie Russell the playwrite? I adore him too.

Oops, maybe shouldn't be mentioning Mills and Russell in the same post... I'll be giving away my fascination with twins being split up and not knowing each other exists 'til later...

Phil Reynolds · Post by **Phil Reynolds** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 5:37 pm

Lesley Jeavons wrote:Have you ever approached Willie Russell the playwrite?

Or even Willy Russell the playwright?

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 7:06 pm

I've said it before but I'll have to say it again- Patrick Stewart would = ratings (even despite the cost). Ronnie Corbett would be awesome too.

Lara Searle · Post by **Lara Searle** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 8:29 pm

Patrick Stewart and Ronnie Corbett have been approched several times since I've been on the team (18 months) and both have declined our kind and generous offer - sorry!

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 8:33 pm

Lara Searle wrote:Patrick Stewart and Ronnie Corbett have been approched several times since I've been on the team (18 months) and both have declined our kind and generous offer - sorry!

How har... never mind.

Frank Rodolf · Post by **Frank Rodolf** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 8:54 pm

Jon Corby wrote:
Lara Searle wrote:Patrick Stewart and Ronnie Corbett have been approched several times since I've been on the team (18 months) and both have declined our kind and generous offer - sorry!
How har... never mind.

You're bad, Jon...

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 9:14 pm

Lara Searle wrote:The reason the rest of the production team couldn't be in dictionary corner is simple - we're rubbish at the game!

Presumably you would get the same earpiece help as Susie. Not that I'm saying she completely relies on it, but I know it's there when she needs it.

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 10:20 pm

All the potential good new celebrities seem to be otherwise engaged.

I would suggest Len Goodman off of Strictly come dancing, but the 'how long is your word' joke would get older faster than Jo Brand's fake words did.

JimBentley · Post by **JimBentley** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 10:54 pm

Although he can be a bit of a twat, Colin Murray (from Radio 1 and various other media-whoring projects that he might be doing) would probably be quite good and available. He mentions Countdown quite a lot and I get the impression that he'd be really into being in DC (although he might prefer to be a contestant - competitive, you see).

Lesley Jeavons · Post by **Lesley Jeavons** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:11 pm

Phil Reynolds wrote:
Lesley Jeavons wrote:Have you ever approached Willie Russell the playwrite?
Or even Willy Russell the playwright?

Oops yes, thanks Phil.

I'm obviously more used to typing 'willie' the way I spelt it.

Joseph Bolas · Post by **Joseph Bolas** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:40 pm

Lara Searle wrote:The reason the rest of the production team couldn't be in dictionary corner is simple - we're rubbish at the game!

Surely not.

Lara Searle wrote:Patrick Stewart and Ronnie Corbett have been approched several times since I've been on the team (18 months) and both have declined our kind and generous offer - sorry!

I don't suppose if you would know Lara, if Celia Imrie has been approached at all?

Dan Vanniasingham · Post by **Dan Vanniasingham** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:45 pm

I'm pleasantly surprised to hear some of the names mentioned having been invited (repeatedly) to the show. I guess some of us never really considered the likelihood that this took place, thinking these guys would welcome the chance to appear, when sadly they don't seem keen. I'd much rather have "regular" guests on a little more often than someone only there for a bit of cash. Keep up the good work!

John Bosley · Post by **John Bosley** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 5:09 pm

What about Ian Macmillan the Barnsley poet who is very funny and a good off-the-cuff Northerner. At least we would get some proper pomes on !

Phil Reynolds · Post by **Phil Reynolds** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 6:46 pm

Lara Searle wrote:Patrick Stewart and Ronnie Corbett have been approched several times since I've been on the team (18 months) and both have declined our kind and generous offer - sorry!

Have you ever asked Alistair Appleton off of Cash in the Attic and Escape to the Country? It wouldn't matter if he's rubbish at the game, he could just sit there charming the pants off Susie and looking bed-wettingly divine.

John Bosley · Post by **John Bosley** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 10:58 am

By the way, if you guys do ask Ian Macmillan to come on DC, please do not tell him I suggested it. He doesn't know any big words.

Ralph Gillions · Post by **Ralph Gillions** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 3:16 pm

I have heard Ian Macmillan present some good stuff on various quizes and panel games.
He is a genial man and I think he would be a good guest.

Martin Smith · Post by **Martin Smith** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 3:25 pm

Lesley Jeavons wrote:I would LOVE to see Hayley Mills there

I was worried for a second - I read this as Heather Mills.

Lesley Jeavons · Post by **Lesley Jeavons** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 7:10 pm

Martin Smith wrote:
Lesley Jeavons wrote:I would LOVE to see Hayley Mills there
I was worried for a second - I read this as Heather Mills.

lol No not sure if Heather would fit in. But I did meet her in a pub in Brighton a few weeks ago and as she's a friend of a friend I spoke to her. She's actually really nice and generally the public and her get on face to face, it's mainly the media she has issues with and vice versa.

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 7:26 pm

Lesley Jeavons wrote:She's actually really nice and generally the public and her get on face to face, it's mainly the media she has issues with and vice versa.

Or maybe career celebrities are just good at appearing friendly for a short period of time.

John Bosley · Post by **John Bosley** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 4:35 pm

Just seen the farewell to CV and there was a shot of the past with Stephen Frying in the corner. All this talk of getting him on - seems he's been on!

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 8:00 pm

Charlie Reams wrote:
Lesley Jeavons wrote:She's actually really nice and generally the public and her get on face to face, it's mainly the media she has issues with and vice versa.
Or maybe career celebrities are just good at appearing friendly for a short period of time.

She seemed completely mental on Star Stories last night!

Lesley Jeavons · Post by **Lesley Jeavons** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 8:49 pm

Gavin Chipper wrote:
Charlie Reams wrote:
Lesley Jeavons wrote:She's actually really nice and generally the public and her get on face to face, it's mainly the media she has issues with and vice versa.
Or maybe career celebrities are just good at appearing friendly for a short period of time.
She seemed completely mental on Star Stories last night!

Oh yes, that was hysterical!

And actually quite in her favour I thought. Poor Paul, painted as a total Scrooge.