"Saturday Live Again!"

"Saturday Live Again!" - Hard-Fi

"Saturday Live Again!" - Bon Jovi

"Saturday Live Again!" Bon Jovi - "It's My Life"

"Saturday Live Again!" - Jocelyn Jee Esien as Jiffy the Traffic Warden

"Saturday Live Again!" - We Are Klang

"Saturday Live Again!" - dress rehearsals

"Saturday Live Again!" - those inflatables...

"Saturday Live Again!" - dress rehearsals

"Saturday Live Again!" - Hard-Fi perform "Television"

"Saturday Live Again!" - Hard-Fi perform "Television"

"Saturday Live Again!" - Marcus Brigstocke

"Saturday Live Again!" - Marcus Brigstocke

"Saturday Live Again!" - Jimmy Carr

"Saturday Live Again!" - Ben Elton

"Saturday Live Again!" - Pete Firman

"Saturday Live Again!" - Lee Mack

"Saturday Live Again!" - Robert Webb & David Mitchell

Saturday Live Again!

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Saturday Live Again!

In 2007, ITVs Director of Comedy & Entertainment, Paul Jackson - who happened to be the originator of Saturday Live - realized that it had been 21 years since the pilot of Saturday Live (then hosted by Lenny Henry). To celebrate this seminal show, ITV commissioned a one-off live 90m special aired on December the 1st 2007.

Originally aired in 1985 as a one-off special and then running for 32 more shows, Saturday Live was the launchpad for some of Britain’s best-loved comedians, including Ben Elton, Harry Enfield, Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie, Lee Evans, Julian Clary and Jo Brand, providing their first comedic platform on mainstream TV. This was the time when comedy found its true voice, tearing itself away from mother-in-law jokes and sitcoms set in suburbia. Saturday Live re-shaped the landscape. From Ben Elton’s legendary satirical monologues about “Thatch” and “Normo Tebbs”  to Rik Mayall & Adrian Edmondson as The Dangerous Brothers hijacking the programme by blowing up a wall and their trousers in that order, Saturday Live was new, innovative and in-your-face.

Famous items include Julian Clary’s first appearance as ‘The Joan Collins Fan Club’ trussed up in finest rubber, Harry Enfield giving birth to two of the most iconic characters of the 1980’s, Stavros and Loadsamoney, Meatloaf forgetting his lines in a sketch with Stephen Fry and nearly saying the f-word live on air...

The new show - called “Saturday Live Again!”, was hosted by Marcus Brigstocke, and shot in the same studio as the original - LWT1, with the same inflatables and with Ben Elton amongst the comedy, musical and variety guests.

The show was a fantastic occasion on the night, and ineradicable memories include watching two fully-grown runners lugging around The Human Slinky’s costume in a massive suitcase, hiring in a special fridge for magician Pete Firman’s maggots, and best of all, having to track down a bizarre American soda-based concoction called "Gatorade" as part of the rider for Bon Jovi. Eventually we got it through a website who supplies the UK, and who now send us electronic updates from the world of Stateside soft drinks every month. And a Christmas card.

Saturday Live Again!

 First Tx: 01/12/07 ITV 21.40

Hosted byMarcus Brigstocke
 
and starringBon Jovi
Jimmy Carr
Jo Caulfield
 
Jeremy LionJustin Edwards
 
Ben Elton
Jocelyn Jee Esien
Pete Firman
Hard Fi
The Human Slinky
Lee Mack
David Mitchell
&Robert Webb
 
We Are KlangGreg Davies
Steve Hall
Marek Larwood
 
Bon Jovi
 
and special guestMyleene Klass
 
Additional material byNick Doody
Mark Evans
Simon Evans
Dan Gaster
Matt Kirshen
 

Title Music
Al Collingwood

Graphics
Component Graphics

Costume
Marcia Stanton

Make Up
Chrissie Baker

Stage Manager
Caroline Caley

Gaffer
Mickey Sullivan
Tony Jones

Art Director
Mel Stenhouse

Floor Manager
Michael Matheson

Assistant Floor Manager
David Allen

Script Supervisors
Louise Johnson
Sandra Palormi

Vision Mixers
Ian Trill
Ian Simpson

Camera Supervisor
Nigel Saunders

Sound Supervisor
Jon Matthews

Lighting Director
Gurdip Mahal

Designer
James Dillon

Production Team
Annie McGeogh
Antonia Wise
Holly Enness

Production Co-Ordinator
Bethan Richards

Production Manager
Murray Peterson

Music Consultant
Azim Majid

Associate Producers
Piers Clifton
Lucy Dwyer

Executive Producer for Pozzitive
Jed Leventhall

Executive Producer for ITV Productions
Saurabh Kakkar

 
Directed byGeoff Posner
 
Produced byGeoff Posner
David Tyler

Saturday Live Again!

Check out the photo gallery here

Do your homework about the origins of Saturday Live here. It's on Wikipedia, so you might have to rootle around a bit.

If you want to know more about the amazing Human Slinky you could have a peek at his website here

If you loved the giant inflatables and need something similar (don't we all!) you can check out their website here


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