The BBC’s “Down the Line”: It’s Hendrie Meets Colbert
FROM TELEGRAPH.COM
“Last week, a young and cultishly popular talk radio host called Gary Bellamy returned to [BBC] Radio 4 for a new series of his phone-in programme, Down the Line. As an opening gambit, he had something to say about the medium. ‘Let’s face it,’ Bellamy declared, ‘the goggle-box is only good for reality TV, wannabe celebs and washed-up businessmen; newspapers have had their day; the internet’s all right as far as it goes – but nothing has the impact of radio!’”
“Listening to this, I wondered if radio executives across the country were earnestly scribbling Bellamy’s message down, ready to use in their next presentation to skeptical advertisers. It would be a delicious joke if they were, because Bellamy is a fictional creation of the comedian Rhys Thomas.”
Down the Line is a cross between The Phil Hendrie Show and The Colbert Report. Thomas plays the role of a “legendary” radio personality and fields calls from a cast of crazies played other British comedians. The show, now in its fourth series, is a hit with both listeners and critics. Naughton called the most recent show “sparklingly good stuff.”
Whoever he is he must be good!–PHS
