The Keith Barret Show
Encyclopedia
The Keith Barret Show is a spoof BBC
chat show hosted by Keith Barret (Rob Brydon
) who interviews celebrity couples in the hope of finding the secret to a successful marriage (though in fact many of his interviewee couples were not married; see below). It was devised by Paul Duddridge
and co written with Rob Brydon. In each programme, there are a selection of clips from venues such as speed dating
or interviews with relationship experts.
Rob Brydon's character Keith first appeared on TV in the cult comedy series Marion and Geoff
.
Using Keith to present a programme on a subject such as relationships is extremely ironic, given that for most of the first series of Marion and Geoff, he was completely oblivious of the affair between the two title characters.
This was not the first BBC
interview programme to be hosted by a fictional character
- Brydon's close collaborator, Steve Coogan
used the character of Alan Partridge
with much more disastrous on-screen effects several years earlier (though Partridge's "guests" were characters played by actors, whereas Barret's guests were real people, albeit often ones whom Brydon knew personally).
Christmas Special
* unmarried couples
*** have married since
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
chat show hosted by Keith Barret (Rob Brydon
Rob Brydon
Rob Brydon is a BAFTA-nominated Welsh actor, comedian, radio and television presenter, singer and impressionist...
) who interviews celebrity couples in the hope of finding the secret to a successful marriage (though in fact many of his interviewee couples were not married; see below). It was devised by Paul Duddridge
Paul Duddridge
Paul Duddridge is a writer, theatrical agent, TV producer and TV presenter born in Cardiff Wales and was educated at Radyr Comprehensive School....
and co written with Rob Brydon. In each programme, there are a selection of clips from venues such as speed dating
Speed dating
Speed dating is a formalized matchmaking process or dating system whose purpose is to encourage people to meet a large number of new people. Its origins are credited to Rabbi Yaacov Deyo of Aish HaTorah, originally as a way to help Jewish singles meet and marry. "SpeedDating", as a single word, is...
or interviews with relationship experts.
Rob Brydon's character Keith first appeared on TV in the cult comedy series Marion and Geoff
Marion and Geoff
Marion and Geoff is a BBC television mockumentary, produced by Baby Cow Productions and screened on BBC Two in 2000, with a second series following in 2003. The series starred Rob Brydon as Keith Barret, a naïve taxicab driver going through a messy divorce from his wife, Marion, who, though he...
.
Using Keith to present a programme on a subject such as relationships is extremely ironic, given that for most of the first series of Marion and Geoff, he was completely oblivious of the affair between the two title characters.
This was not the first BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
interview programme to be hosted by a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
- Brydon's close collaborator, Steve Coogan
Steve Coogan
Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
used the character of Alan Partridge
Alan Partridge
Alan Gordon Partridge is a fictional radio and television presenter portrayed by English comedian Steve Coogan and invented by Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring for the BBC Radio 4 programme On The Hour...
with much more disastrous on-screen effects several years earlier (though Partridge's "guests" were characters played by actors, whereas Barret's guests were real people, albeit often ones whom Brydon knew personally).
Series 1
- Richard MadeleyRichard MadeleyRichard Madeley is a British television presenter and columnist. With his wife Judy Finnigan, Madeley has presented This Morning and later the weekday chat show Richard & Judy...
and Judy FinniganJudy FinniganJudith "Judy" Finnigan is a British television presenter and columnist. She has usually co-presented with her husband, Richard Madeley, and the two are collectively known, informally, as Richard and Judy...
(5 July 2004) - Bryan McFadden and Kerry McFadden (12 July 2004)**
- Ronnie CorbettRonnie CorbettRonald Balfour "Ronnie" Corbett, OBE is a Scottish actor and comedian of Scottish and English parentage who had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the British television comedy series The Two Ronnies...
and Anne Corbett (19 July 2004) - Darren DayDarren DayDarren Day , is an English actor, singer and television presenter, well known for his West End theatre starring roles.-Early life:His paternal grandfather was a support and warm-up act for George Formby...
and Suzanne ShawSuzanne ShawSuzanne Shaw is an English actress, singer and television personality...
(26 July 2004)*, ** - Lembit OpikLembit ÖpikLembit Öpik is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Montgomeryshire in Wales from 1997 until he lost his seat in the 2010 General Election...
and Siân LloydSiân LloydSiân Lloyd is a Welsh television presenter, best known as a ITV Weather presenter.-Biography:Lloyd was born in Maesteg, Bridgend, Wales, the daughter of two teachers. She attended Ystalyfera Bilingual School and performed at the Eisteddfod where she won the Crown...
(3 August 2004)*, ** - Tony WilsonTony WilsonAnthony Howard Wilson, commonly known as Tony Wilson , was an English record label owner, radio presenter, TV show host, nightclub manager, impresario and journalist for Granada Television and the BBC....
and Yvette Livesey (10 August 2004)*
Christmas Special
- Ulrika JonssonUlrika JonssonEva Ulrika Jonsson is a Swedish television presenter in the UK, who became famous as a TV-am weather presenter and moved on to present Gladiators and became a team captain of the show Shooting Stars.-Early life:...
and Lance Gerrard-Wright (20 December 2004)**
Series 2
- Leslie AshLeslie AshLeslie Ash is an English actress, best known for her role in the sitcom Men Behaving Badly. Her book My Life Behaving Badly: The Autobiography was published in 2007....
and Lee ChapmanLee ChapmanLee Chapman is an English former footballer who scored almost 200 first-team goals as a striker. He was best known for his spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United...
(7 January 2005) - Richard WhiteleyRichard WhiteleyJohn Richard Whiteley, OBE DL , usually known as Richard Whiteley, was an English broadcaster and journalist. He was famous for his twenty-three years as host of Countdown, a letters and numbers arrangement game show broadcast most weekdays on Channel 4...
and Kathryn ApanowiczKathryn ApanowiczKathryn Apanowicz is a British actress best known for her 1980s television appearances in the BBC soap operas, Angels, where she played Nurse Rose Butchins, and EastEnders, where she played the caterer, Magda Czajkowski...
(14 January 2005)* - Justin Ryan and Colin McAllister (21 January 2005)*,***
- Vinnie JonesVinnie JonesVincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an English film actor and retired Welsh footballer.Born in Hertfordshire, England, Jones represented and captained the Welsh national football team, having qualified via a Welsh grandparent. He also previously played for Chelsea and Leeds United. As a member of the...
and Tanya Jones (28 January 2005) - Eamonn HolmesEamonn HolmesEamonn Holmes is an Northern Irish journalist and broadcaster. He is known for his work on UK and Irish television, notably presenting GMTV and This Morning. He is married to TV presenter Ruth Langsford.-Education:...
and Ruth LangsfordRuth LangsfordRuth Langsford is an English television presenter.Langsford began her career as a continuity announcer and newscaster with ITV regional station TSW in the South West of England...
(4 February 2005)*,*** - David DickinsonDavid DickinsonDavid Dickinson is an English antiques expert, television presenter and entrepreneur.-Biography:...
and Lorne Lesley (11 February 2005)
-
- have since split