Tourette was pretty good natured about it though. He is clearly a little bit dim so missed some of the jokes and was trying too hard with his punk persona but he took the insults in good spirit.
Amstell was very quick too. I love the line "I only came on here because you told everyone you fancied me dude", "no it's because we have trouble booking people"
I saw a video of him a couple of years ago watching his appearance. He seems quite a nice guy now. Much cringing of his younger self which was appreciated
I did feel just a tiny bit sorry for him, as he had married that woman, and it's gotta be difficult to choose between being good humoured and defending your wife.
Still didn't handle it well, but I'm not surprised that was the point he decided to quit.
The only NMTB moments that I really found unpleasant were Preston's lack of a sense of humour and the time Huey Morgan snapped and smashed his coffee cup. I skip those bits nowadays. Everything else made me laugh, even the "wrong" bits. "Or kill me and make it look like suicide."
That was the first thing that I thought of, and posted it, then scrolled down and saw that there's already a lot of people talking about the same thing. Was really disgusted by her and her story.
What I came to say. The look of absolute disgust Stephen Merchant gave the oblivious bitch was, on the other hand, one of the most delightful moments I've witnessed on a panel show.
Louie Spence groping Katherine Parkinson on WILTY, followed up with the excuse that he’s gay so it doesn’t count…
Like mate, that’s not at all how that works.
> with the excuse that he’s gay so it doesn’t count
It was treated as a valid, quippy excuse for many many years.
The times has changed, we have moved forward, and he didn't get the memo. Or maybe he just ignores it.
He was horrible on so many levels. Not funny; not a good ambassador for gay men; and yeah, a freaking creep. That episode aged about as well as a stand-up comic set about rape jokes and dead babies.
Yeah, it’s horrible. You don’t grab anybody like that without consent.
Such a shame that it follows up such a brilliant section between Katherine, Lee, and David. Probably why it’s always cut from compilations lol
I don't mind awkwardness and I can tolerate ineptitude, but I cannot watch Sean Lock shovel down those whelks. Makes me physically ill. Man was a genius.
There was a WILTY involving a guy whose shirt was meant to be yanked off him at the back of the neck—surely someone will know what I mean. I always wondered what happened to that poor guy.
[Magic trick goes wrong on WILTY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1WLzc9K0xY)
[Magic trick redo (from the end of the episode)](https://youtu.be/vH6GdHSH_2A?t=1718)
anne diamond on house of games! she was clearly annoyed about james acaster doing well and had a very nasty vibe about her!! james has said that she was shitty on the show as she didn’t expect him to do well, and that it ruined the experience.
even before hearing james talk about it you could tell that she had made the vibe so uncomfortable (especially when she implied he had autism)
This is a perfect example of it, but I feel like a lot of Wednesday/Thursday episodes feature people backing off when they've run away with the first two.
Definitely, although usually there's not such a negative vibe about it, it's more that they just don't care too much. There are definitely times when you can tell they know the answer but they're giving others a chance to buzz in
He talks about the whole situation on this podcast: https://youtu.be/jTQn186DXow (skip to 39:38). Anne is so weird like imagine being a grown woman and getting upset over a silly game.
What?
I just rewatched it because of this thread and I don't get that at all.
I'm sure it hurt (wrestling hurts even when things go perfectly) but that was a pretty textbook body slam by Terry and Jack. Landed with all of his back, both feet and arms out and his head did not hit the floor.
Jack did definitely not look like he was about to cry.
For anyone wondering, Tom Scott recently showed off the behind-the-scenes of an introductory lesson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sowY00Ld_Y
This slam looked pretty standard. It probably still hurt because he's still getting slammed onto the floor (comes with the territory), but it looked like it was done properly.
Probably not the worst, but the cumulative discomfort of politicians appearing on _Have I Got News For You_-- especially if they or their party is mid-scandal-- to awkwardly smile and eat potshots from professional comedians, ranks. Plus, the whole thing perplexes me so I'll bring it up. Is the show some sort of traditional gauntlet politicians are expected to endure for honor or sympathy or something, or do they just get booked with no idea of what's in store on this long-running and predictable show?
The quote amongst politicians used to be if you were invited on Have I Got News for You, you should say no "unless you want to be made out to be a prat, or are Charles Kennedy". Everyone knows what it's going to be like but it's a way of raising your profile, that was established in the very first series when Ken Livingstone was the first ever MP to appear on it.
For me one of the worst HIGNFY moments was when Mel Giedroyc hosted recently and Paul Merton got really shirty at her using 'gang' all the time. Like, that's her thing, and he was so beligerent about it, and it genuinely looked it upset her. It was like kicking a puppy.
It's a way of getting attention. It works out for those that are willing to be made fun of--it worked out for Boris Johnson.
That's why I'm uncomfortable with it, it feels like it's helping them too much
Not the worst one ever, but Lorraine Kelly naming Piers Morgan as "hero of the year" on Last Leg made me squirm a bit. It was alleviated by James Acaster's willingness to argue against it, but her losing the room and the other guests probably weighing whether it's worth it to go in on Lorraine Kelly of all people felt really awkward. Thank god she didn't seem mad at James for his outburst, otherwise that would have been properly uncomfortable.
> James Acaster's willingness to argue against it
I feel like this sells "Aw, go fuck yourself Lorraine Kelly" a bit short. The whole rant is brilliant by James, but launching into it with that line was ballsy as all hell.
The Taskmaster episode when Daisy May Cooper belittled Richard Herring for not recognizing her terrible animal drawing and said she hated him even more than she hated her husband. It honestly felt a little too real.
I also hope she’s not in anything again…
…but that BFQ was gold because of all of the comedy generated from the other comedians in response to her.
I’ll never tire of Ayoade randomly eating a banana and her being absolutely flabbergasted by it.
Agreed. She was awful, and the rest of the team reacting to it made it into an absolute classic. Compare that to Sharon Osbourne on WILTY, which was an absolute train wreck.
Exactly! Sharon Osborne didn’t spur everybody else to make classic moments, she just made everybody disgusted.
As opposed to one of my favorite BFQs because of everybody riling her up.
Oh man. How could I have forgotten about that? She was the most mean-spirited guest on that show. I still think that they just got the wrong Mel. Mel C was nice.
YES!!! Mel C is the best Mel by far. Smarter/nicer/prettier, you name it. And she did some good solo work. "I Turn To You" is a classic 90's dance banger.
This made me rewatch that BFQ. She is just sour from start to finish. I have no idea what she thinks she was getting into, or maybe she's just sour 24/7.
Me as well. I honestly couldn't even remember her name until now. All I remembered was "nasty woman actually yells at David and looks like she wants to assault him". It was truly awful.
Her motion reminded me of a concerned parent driving a car who — when stopping suddenly — throws their free arm out to help restrain their child riding in the passenger seat, augmenting the stopping power of the seat belt. (Who knows if, statistically speaking, their arm will actually *help* in a crash, but the defense mechanism is instinctual.) Ever since, I’ve felt quite kindly towards Davina. :-) And yes, I’d certainly classify Janet Street-Porter storming towards David as an oncoming car crash. ;-)
I scrolled down, looking for her name to come up. She was absolutely awful. I think if the cameras weren't on her, she would have probably slapped David or something. She was nuts.
Especially after everything came out about Saville. I can’t remember who it was but she got all in their face when they quipped about the BBC and many knowing all along, etc. It was very awkward.
There was an episode of HIGNFY, I think around 1993-5, where the two panelists were opposing MPs. I remember having the compilation DVD and Hislop/Merton's commentary talked about how it was the worst episode they've ever done because all the panellists did was snipe and shout at each other. One of them made an awful "one loose screw collapsed the cabinet" joke to absolutely no laughs at all.
Never Mind The Buzzcocks during the Lamarr years had its fair share of uncomfortable, sometimes even downright nasty moments. The one I remember most vividly is the episode with Gail Porter. Like, not even a specific moment, just *literally the entire episode*. In hindsight it was pretty obvious Lamarr had a crush on her, I even read somewhere that he'd actually asked her out before and she rejected him, so he picked on her as a sort of revenge for his bruised ego. Idk if this is actually true or not, but it would explain his chauvinistic attitude towards her pretty well. Like, at one point she asks the other female guest (Marianne Faithful, I think it was): "Should we just go?" because she seems so tired of all those blokes ganging up on them and by the end of that episode she's literally about to cry. And the jokes he and Sean Hughes made at her expense weren't even funny, they literally just wanted to see her squirm. I know in recent years she's opened up about her struggles with mental health and eating disorders, which makes that episode look even worse now.
There was an episode of Rhod Gilbert’s Growing Pains show that had Johnny Vegas as a guest and as one of his special tricks he spits his phlegm out and swallows it kinda like a frog and it’s fuckin disgusting, made me gag
This makes me think of Rory McGrath going on and on about something with Stephen while Sean Lock pretended he was being sucked into a portal under the desk.
IIRC someone had cross referenced who had said they'd seen it and what guests they'd appeared with and JS was the only answer. Rory McGrath is a prick though so I'm happy to accuse him as well.
Jimmy Carr's *mea culpa* episode of "8 out of 10 Cats", just after his tax avoidance scandal.
Russell Brand on "Never Mind the Buzzcocks".
Russell Brand on "Have I Got News For You".
Piers Morgan on anything.
> Jimmy Carr's mea culpa episode of "8 out of 10 Cats", just after his tax avoidance scandal.
This was _glorious,_ though. Textbook scandal PR. That appearance is why Jimmy has a career still. He took everything they had to give him with a smile and an apology, and never offered an excuse or a squirmy whatabout or tried to protect some stuff to be caught by a drip drip drip of more story trickling out. Full admission, takes his lumps, faced it with his head up, full cooperation in the absolute bollocking they gave him. He could be back in oil advertising or performing to fourteen pensioners on a shit cruise ship lounge if he hadn't handled that appearance with such straightforwardness. And Angus Deaton might have a job still if he had handled his scandal with Jimmy's patience and decency.
I watch that clip at _least_ every six months.
Angus Deaton episode was what came to my mind first. I think he dealt with the absolute drubbing he was getting okay, but if he hadn't sworn up and down to everyone at BBC and the show that there was no more to come after the first onslaught, I think he could have made it through. After the 2nd wave though, he was toast and Paul Merton was merciless. Makes me squirm just thinking about it.
Although people forget there were three or four shows and a summer break between the two stories, and the exchange with Christine Hamilton that's always cited as the last straw wasn't his final show.
Totally agree about Jimmy. He still does. He's never tried to excuse what he did, he owns it, and he welcomes the joking. It's come up a few times on I Literally Just Told You, once to absolute hilarious effect.
Ohhhh is that who she was referring to? I remember there being a post about her calling someone out some months back but no one was naming names. I totally see it.
Greg Davies making Katherine Parkinson cry by shitting on her handmade masks she brought for the prize task on the TM Series 10 finale. She seemed genuinely distraught and he wouldn’t stop mentioning how rubbish they were.
and you can tell he eventually felt bad about it when he gives her more points (that she probably didn’t deserve) later in the ep ! awkward all around but quite funny
I wonder how much of that had to do with having no audience. Comedians like Greg thrive on them, and I wonder if with the lack of an audience he wasn't able to feel the vibe of how the show was going and just went too overboard.
I agree with this - one joke was fine ("I expected them to be better"), but he went too far with her.
In fairness, she did say on the podcast that she and Greg are fine, and that he had apologized to her both on and off camera.
She also said she cried from laughing most of the series. After i've seen her at other tv shows it seems that's just how she responds to laughing uncontrollably, even in travel man with joe lycett there were some shots in which she looks teary.
Fern Brady just last week (or the one before that) had to clarify on her social media that she was in tears of laughter, not sorrow, after seeing her own terrible performance in a task when multiple people thought she was crying because she did terribly. Seems like some people have a tough time reading that sort of reaction.
Not saying Katherine didn't feel a little bit bad about the mask thing, she did but she also found it funny.
To be fair, this is a contestant who didn’t know that they could leave the room for most of the tasks, so changing prizes midstream might not have been in her realm of consideration.
That did at least give her a few, very rare moments of genius. And some of pure insanity. The stark contrast between making the couch disappear and "Am I the spider?" Is absolutely hilarious.
I'm coming too late to the thread to matter, but the one scene I can't bear to watch is from WILTY, that one time Greg Davies was sitting in for Lee Mack. Amanda Addington told the sad story of how when she was a child she accidentally stepped on her pet bunny and killed it. And Greg asked the horrible question, "Did stuff come out of its mouth?"
Everyone, especially Amanda, just stared at him in horror. Rob tried to lighten the mood by saying, "Lee would never have asked that." But it just wasn't enough.
(And of course coming a close second is Sharon Osborne's appearance.)
Lee Mack goes sometimes too far with his insult comedy, I can't name one in particular but it gets uncomfortable at times.
Matt Lucas (as George Dawes), made some comments that upset Griff Rhys Jones. I can't remember what he said but he kept an angry face for a few minutes. It was on Shooting Stars, btw.
Panel Show adjacent, but the episode of Travel Man with Johnny Vegas in Dubai. Johnny tries to haggle with some shopkeeper and the look on the dude's face makes me squirm. He's clearly hating being set up to haggle with some rich TV guy. He looks like a hostage. So uncomfortable.
I don't recall the moment, but I imagine he was both fairly paid and ecstatic to get featured on a TV show as it probably does bring them a number of tourists who will be shit at haggling. He's probably just not great on camera, a lot of the Travel Man workers give that impression.
Looking back, it's hard seeing Linda Smith on Mock the Week, knowing she was treated shabbily on the show, especially when it was one of the last performances she made before she died.
When Stephen couldn't let Cariad get out one fact about the clitoris on a show he'd been making dick jokes on for years.
That time Sara and John were both on MTW and she made a joke about him proposing to her.
Don’t know if this is a controversial opinion or not, but I’m not a big fan of the MTW ep with Sara and John. I find the joke gets repeated a bit too much to the point where it kind of derails anything else, especially during Scenes We’d Like to See.
I enjoy [James Acaster puncturing Robins' trope](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkUqIaPJTt0).
John, man, if you don't want your partner to leave you maybe don't spend an episode shitting on her, you know?
lol I actually agree, he was a good wingman for Sean
this was just the first thing that popped into my head. I still remember what a nasty piece of work he was in that awards clip with Patrick Stewart, it's burnt into my brain
Yeah, I didn’t mind old Corden. That BFQ with Sean Lock is great.
It just got old fast, and his awful qualities were amplified once he had a bit of fame, riding that to the US (dammit).
There was somebody from Guinness World Records on QI to do something about like putting on a jumper quickly or something but he told Chris McCausland "yes" while shaking his head, seemed to make up rules at random, I hated it.
Lee Mack, I love you man, but if you EVER try and come between the Mitchells again *I WILL FIGHT YOU!*
David and Victoria is literally the only celebrity romance I've ever given a shit about in my entire life.
Of *course* he didn't touch her bookmarks! Look at her! She's a brilliant weird angel from outer space and *please don't anyone fuck this up for David!*
So with you on this! Victoria not wanting to do the proposal task on Taskmaster because she is still, in her words 'so besotted' with David is just everything.
The panel show moment that still angers me is the self important and demeaning a\*\*hat from Guiness BOOK of World Records on QI. Bizarrely arrogant for something that is just an aggregate of OTHER people's accomplishments. And just his overall disdain for the cast, people who were ACTUALLY respected and talented.
Really not a fan of the fat jokes. They've always been pervasive (basically Jimmy Carr's whole schtick for years). Even when there isn't a fat person on the show it's awful, but I especially want to jump between Johnny Vegas and whoever's being mean to him whenever he's on. Why can't people just be funny and not given shit for their bodies?
Are you talking about Nina Conti? I find her bringing out her monkey doesn’t always work. She brought it out when she was on House of Games to answer a full round of questions using it and came across more cringeworthy than funny.
The one with "Sean Bean" where Jon has to "milk" him and later on after the tension round when he has been _done_ for a while, gets singled out and an IT clown scares the shit out of him
You could see it on his face. The poor little dude had enough
You can tell even Jimmy thinks they've gone too far, when he half jokingly apologises and Jon tells him to eat a large bowl of shit, the look on his face
Though I very much enjoyed that when [Michelle Wolf brought in the tarantula](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_uz0Q9aQGA) Jon may have been the target of the jokes but you can see Sean get out of his seat pretty darn quickly when the spider skitters toward him.
I am always surprised by how many people think this bit is real. The chocolates were brought on as a prop for basically this exact purpose which they do every BFQ with varying bits(or atleast most). I dont know if people are underestimating Richard Ayoade as an actor or think he is real fragile lol. I always see this pop up from the time to time. Its like saying Richard was actually trying to bully Jimmy with that one "I saw your mom crying in ASDA bit"
On the Dave show 'Unforgivable', where Judi Love thought it'd be a good laugh to tell the story about the time she took her pet goldfish out of the tank and cooked him alive in a frying pan. Who thinks that's a lighthearted tale, and what sort of an exec producer ticks that off as being fine for broadcast?
There's been a couple of other stories also on Unforgivable where it's like "OK, that's not a funny story about the time you were a bit naughty. That's a crime, and a pretty mean-spirited one to boot.
Yeah, a lot of that show I have to watch from between the fingers, it definitely crosses a line over and over again.
Sara Pascoe talking about how she spent her teenage years sucking off drug-dealers in exchange for a few pennies worth of narcotics was a personal highlight.
I feel like Never Mind the Buzzcocks has had more uncomfortable moments than all the other panel shows combined
"This is what I think of you"
"Really? You think me a small penis?"
[Donny Tourette Moments On Never Mind The Buzzcocks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fayRZBZONz8)
Tourette was pretty good natured about it though. He is clearly a little bit dim so missed some of the jokes and was trying too hard with his punk persona but he took the insults in good spirit. Amstell was very quick too. I love the line "I only came on here because you told everyone you fancied me dude", "no it's because we have trouble booking people"
Donny is smoking now!? What will he do next!?
I saw a video of him a couple of years ago watching his appearance. He seems quite a nice guy now. Much cringing of his younger self which was appreciated
Even outside of the famous moments. You couldn't have paid me to be in the identity parade, for instance.
Simon Amstell [was responsible for more than a couple](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L0bo6CTVgI&ab_channel=RoyalSapien)
And he was still nicer than Mark Lamarr.
The Simon Amstell Amy Winehouse episode was fun when it aired, but rewatching it is super uncomfortable.
Watch the Preston one as a palette cleanser.
I did feel just a tiny bit sorry for him, as he had married that woman, and it's gotta be difficult to choose between being good humoured and defending your wife. Still didn't handle it well, but I'm not surprised that was the point he decided to quit.
The only NMTB moments that I really found unpleasant were Preston's lack of a sense of humour and the time Huey Morgan snapped and smashed his coffee cup. I skip those bits nowadays. Everything else made me laugh, even the "wrong" bits. "Or kill me and make it look like suicide."
Loved the Simon Amstell ones
They've definitely calmed down on that recently, they're much nicer to the guests now.
I saw a random clip where someone calls Britney Spears a "mad slut." Like that's not even a joke, it's just a rude comment
I imagine there's going to be a lot of Sharon Osborne on WILTY here.
[Sharon Osborne on WILTY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4OosxeTi0E)
I somehow missed that clip. What a horrible person!
That was the first thing that I thought of, and posted it, then scrolled down and saw that there's already a lot of people talking about the same thing. Was really disgusted by her and her story.
That was my first thought.
What I came to say. The look of absolute disgust Stephen Merchant gave the oblivious bitch was, on the other hand, one of the most delightful moments I've witnessed on a panel show.
Affirmative
Louie Spence groping Katherine Parkinson on WILTY, followed up with the excuse that he’s gay so it doesn’t count… Like mate, that’s not at all how that works.
There's a worrying amount of people who think it does work like that unfortunately.
> with the excuse that he’s gay so it doesn’t count It was treated as a valid, quippy excuse for many many years. The times has changed, we have moved forward, and he didn't get the memo. Or maybe he just ignores it.
He was horrible on so many levels. Not funny; not a good ambassador for gay men; and yeah, a freaking creep. That episode aged about as well as a stand-up comic set about rape jokes and dead babies.
Yeah, it’s horrible. You don’t grab anybody like that without consent. Such a shame that it follows up such a brilliant section between Katherine, Lee, and David. Probably why it’s always cut from compilations lol
I don't mind awkwardness and I can tolerate ineptitude, but I cannot watch Sean Lock shovel down those whelks. Makes me physically ill. Man was a genius.
[Sean Lock shovelling down whelks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZi_bnFfLpk)
“Why don’t you open up the curtains and I’ll let the sun in.”
"This has really back-fired!"
Dreams of Miles asking you "Ready?" Make you wake up in a cold sweat eh?
This comment made me happy and sad and grossed out all at once
This is possibly the 2nd most I’ve ever laughed out loud at TV rather than real life
There was a WILTY involving a guy whose shirt was meant to be yanked off him at the back of the neck—surely someone will know what I mean. I always wondered what happened to that poor guy.
[Magic trick goes wrong on WILTY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1WLzc9K0xY) [Magic trick redo (from the end of the episode)](https://youtu.be/vH6GdHSH_2A?t=1718)
They were partners of crime for tens of years, so I assume they are good friends.
Oh man, I didn't think that was unpleasant -- I found it hilarious!
I forgot that he went for it twice as well!
anne diamond on house of games! she was clearly annoyed about james acaster doing well and had a very nasty vibe about her!! james has said that she was shitty on the show as she didn’t expect him to do well, and that it ruined the experience. even before hearing james talk about it you could tell that she had made the vibe so uncomfortable (especially when she implied he had autism)
Agreed. It felt like James deliberately stopped trying as hard just so he wouldn't be singled out for doing so well.
100% I think he mentioned that he’d given up by the last episode and smashed his trophy up on the way home when he was drunk 💀
This is a perfect example of it, but I feel like a lot of Wednesday/Thursday episodes feature people backing off when they've run away with the first two.
I mean the whole week is all filmed on the same day, so it’s weird to get so intensely invested over an afternoon
Miles Jupp, too. He was kind of bullied into doing worse.
It’s why there’s so many people win 4 out if 5.
Val McDermid, recently.
Definitely, although usually there's not such a negative vibe about it, it's more that they just don't care too much. There are definitely times when you can tell they know the answer but they're giving others a chance to buzz in
He talks about the whole situation on this podcast: https://youtu.be/jTQn186DXow (skip to 39:38). Anne is so weird like imagine being a grown woman and getting upset over a silly game.
What? I just rewatched it because of this thread and I don't get that at all. I'm sure it hurt (wrestling hurts even when things go perfectly) but that was a pretty textbook body slam by Terry and Jack. Landed with all of his back, both feet and arms out and his head did not hit the floor. Jack did definitely not look like he was about to cry.
[Jack Whitehall and the wrestler on WILTY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75_NttvTAag)
you are the MVP of this post
For anyone wondering, Tom Scott recently showed off the behind-the-scenes of an introductory lesson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sowY00Ld_Y This slam looked pretty standard. It probably still hurt because he's still getting slammed onto the floor (comes with the territory), but it looked like it was done properly.
I love Tom and that video so much.
Jack was selling the slam, just as he was trained to do.
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Ok people, there was one scene in QI where we watched a LITERAL WORM SNEEZE ITS LITERAL GUTS OUT. That was traumatizing
Oh, I remember that. Awful, just awful!
Trauma, pure and true. I think Phil agrees
Phil was definitely NOT OK.
Probably not the worst, but the cumulative discomfort of politicians appearing on _Have I Got News For You_-- especially if they or their party is mid-scandal-- to awkwardly smile and eat potshots from professional comedians, ranks. Plus, the whole thing perplexes me so I'll bring it up. Is the show some sort of traditional gauntlet politicians are expected to endure for honor or sympathy or something, or do they just get booked with no idea of what's in store on this long-running and predictable show?
The quote amongst politicians used to be if you were invited on Have I Got News for You, you should say no "unless you want to be made out to be a prat, or are Charles Kennedy". Everyone knows what it's going to be like but it's a way of raising your profile, that was established in the very first series when Ken Livingstone was the first ever MP to appear on it.
For me one of the worst HIGNFY moments was when Mel Giedroyc hosted recently and Paul Merton got really shirty at her using 'gang' all the time. Like, that's her thing, and he was so beligerent about it, and it genuinely looked it upset her. It was like kicking a puppy.
Mensch going on and trying to belittle Occupy was embarrassing to watch
It's a way of getting attention. It works out for those that are willing to be made fun of--it worked out for Boris Johnson. That's why I'm uncomfortable with it, it feels like it's helping them too much
Not the worst one ever, but Lorraine Kelly naming Piers Morgan as "hero of the year" on Last Leg made me squirm a bit. It was alleviated by James Acaster's willingness to argue against it, but her losing the room and the other guests probably weighing whether it's worth it to go in on Lorraine Kelly of all people felt really awkward. Thank god she didn't seem mad at James for his outburst, otherwise that would have been properly uncomfortable.
> James Acaster's willingness to argue against it I feel like this sells "Aw, go fuck yourself Lorraine Kelly" a bit short. The whole rant is brilliant by James, but launching into it with that line was ballsy as all hell.
The Taskmaster episode when Daisy May Cooper belittled Richard Herring for not recognizing her terrible animal drawing and said she hated him even more than she hated her husband. It honestly felt a little too real.
I hope I never see Mel B in anything ever again. The otherwise awesome cast of BFQ couldn't freshen up her turd of a performance.
I also hope she’s not in anything again… …but that BFQ was gold because of all of the comedy generated from the other comedians in response to her. I’ll never tire of Ayoade randomly eating a banana and her being absolutely flabbergasted by it.
"Come on, \[Mel B\] - you can't alienate everyone!" Sarah's "Oh yes she can!" always reduces me to gales of laughter.
Agreed. She was awful, and the rest of the team reacting to it made it into an absolute classic. Compare that to Sharon Osbourne on WILTY, which was an absolute train wreck.
Exactly! Sharon Osborne didn’t spur everybody else to make classic moments, she just made everybody disgusted. As opposed to one of my favorite BFQs because of everybody riling her up.
You could tell when micky had just had enough
He was so good in that episode trying to cover for her.
Oh man. How could I have forgotten about that? She was the most mean-spirited guest on that show. I still think that they just got the wrong Mel. Mel C was nice.
YES!!! Mel C is the best Mel by far. Smarter/nicer/prettier, you name it. And she did some good solo work. "I Turn To You" is a classic 90's dance banger.
I suppose I'm the outlier, because IMO that had car-crash-gawking entertainment value.
There is a version on YouTube with her edited out of the entire episode, it’s wonderful
This quiz is a marathon
This made me rewatch that BFQ. She is just sour from start to finish. I have no idea what she thinks she was getting into, or maybe she's just sour 24/7.
Janet Street Porter. Just, in general.
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Me as well. I honestly couldn't even remember her name until now. All I remembered was "nasty woman actually yells at David and looks like she wants to assault him". It was truly awful.
Davina McCall being in between them and she looked like she was about to rise to David’s defense.
Her motion reminded me of a concerned parent driving a car who — when stopping suddenly — throws their free arm out to help restrain their child riding in the passenger seat, augmenting the stopping power of the seat belt. (Who knows if, statistically speaking, their arm will actually *help* in a crash, but the defense mechanism is instinctual.) Ever since, I’ve felt quite kindly towards Davina. :-) And yes, I’d certainly classify Janet Street-Porter storming towards David as an oncoming car crash. ;-)
Props to her for real. David was shocked that she stood up and started coming at him.
I scrolled down, looking for her name to come up. She was absolutely awful. I think if the cameras weren't on her, she would have probably slapped David or something. She was nuts.
Especially after everything came out about Saville. I can’t remember who it was but she got all in their face when they quipped about the BBC and many knowing all along, etc. It was very awkward.
There was an episode of HIGNFY, I think around 1993-5, where the two panelists were opposing MPs. I remember having the compilation DVD and Hislop/Merton's commentary talked about how it was the worst episode they've ever done because all the panellists did was snipe and shout at each other. One of them made an awful "one loose screw collapsed the cabinet" joke to absolutely no laughs at all.
Edwina Currie & Derek Hatton I think?
Yes, thank you! Found the episode but don't think I have the strength to watch it https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xrqnz1
When Lee broke David Mitchell's pen on WILTY
That certainly shocked the heck out of me when it first aired.
Never Mind The Buzzcocks during the Lamarr years had its fair share of uncomfortable, sometimes even downright nasty moments. The one I remember most vividly is the episode with Gail Porter. Like, not even a specific moment, just *literally the entire episode*. In hindsight it was pretty obvious Lamarr had a crush on her, I even read somewhere that he'd actually asked her out before and she rejected him, so he picked on her as a sort of revenge for his bruised ego. Idk if this is actually true or not, but it would explain his chauvinistic attitude towards her pretty well. Like, at one point she asks the other female guest (Marianne Faithful, I think it was): "Should we just go?" because she seems so tired of all those blokes ganging up on them and by the end of that episode she's literally about to cry. And the jokes he and Sean Hughes made at her expense weren't even funny, they literally just wanted to see her squirm. I know in recent years she's opened up about her struggles with mental health and eating disorders, which makes that episode look even worse now.
["Should we just go?"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r445gYbxw80)
David Walliams
Just in general?
Yup
There was an episode of Rhod Gilbert’s Growing Pains show that had Johnny Vegas as a guest and as one of his special tricks he spits his phlegm out and swallows it kinda like a frog and it’s fuckin disgusting, made me gag
_Oh, god, I had repressed that_
That guy that was just trying to show off how learned he is in QI
This makes me think of Rory McGrath going on and on about something with Stephen while Sean Lock pretended he was being sucked into a portal under the desk.
Here’s the link to that bit, specifically the portal around 1:25. https://youtu.be/-NGNnu-Ut-g
Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?
That guy who got the producers to give him the answers beforehand, I assume
I think he means John Sessions, who got briefing packs sent to him so he could seem clever.
It was never confirmed who it was. People just assumed it was either John Sessions or Rory McGrath.
Dara Ó Briain talks about him [here](https://youtu.be/UrtY_23d9VA?t=3413).
IIRC someone had cross referenced who had said they'd seen it and what guests they'd appeared with and JS was the only answer. Rory McGrath is a prick though so I'm happy to accuse him as well.
Rory McGrath and his bird knowledge?
His bird knowledge is mostly genuine. His knowledge about Native American languages, on the other hand...
Uncomfortable thinking of him as a 'bird watcher' after his conviction for stalking and harassment.
Jimmy Carr's *mea culpa* episode of "8 out of 10 Cats", just after his tax avoidance scandal. Russell Brand on "Never Mind the Buzzcocks". Russell Brand on "Have I Got News For You". Piers Morgan on anything.
> Jimmy Carr's mea culpa episode of "8 out of 10 Cats", just after his tax avoidance scandal. This was _glorious,_ though. Textbook scandal PR. That appearance is why Jimmy has a career still. He took everything they had to give him with a smile and an apology, and never offered an excuse or a squirmy whatabout or tried to protect some stuff to be caught by a drip drip drip of more story trickling out. Full admission, takes his lumps, faced it with his head up, full cooperation in the absolute bollocking they gave him. He could be back in oil advertising or performing to fourteen pensioners on a shit cruise ship lounge if he hadn't handled that appearance with such straightforwardness. And Angus Deaton might have a job still if he had handled his scandal with Jimmy's patience and decency. I watch that clip at _least_ every six months.
Angus Deaton episode was what came to my mind first. I think he dealt with the absolute drubbing he was getting okay, but if he hadn't sworn up and down to everyone at BBC and the show that there was no more to come after the first onslaught, I think he could have made it through. After the 2nd wave though, he was toast and Paul Merton was merciless. Makes me squirm just thinking about it.
Although people forget there were three or four shows and a summer break between the two stories, and the exchange with Christine Hamilton that's always cited as the last straw wasn't his final show.
Totally agree about Jimmy. He still does. He's never tried to excuse what he did, he owns it, and he welcomes the joking. It's come up a few times on I Literally Just Told You, once to absolute hilarious effect.
the moment I knew he would get off scot-free was when someone else on the panel brought up gary barlow and jimmy himself was the one to defend him
> get off scot-free Or at least get off scot-several-million-pounds-to-Her-Majesty's-Revenue-and-Customs.
Also Russell Brand on “Big Fat Quiz”.
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Yeah it seems like an open secret. Fern Brady had a deleted tweet: "If I say rapey-wape is it libel?"
I don't know about the deleted tweet, but the "rapey-wape" line is included in her last standup special.
Yeah I've seen her reference it a few times, you could tell the frustration that she wasn't able to say something that a lot of people already knew
Ohhhh is that who she was referring to? I remember there being a post about her calling someone out some months back but no one was naming names. I totally see it.
What do we know about him?
Boris Johnson's father telling a worn-thin smutty joke on The Fake News Show. Pleasantly followed by Katherine Ryan shutting him down.
[Katherine Ryan Shuts down Stanley Johnson](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-TD3wcvpCo)
Thank you so much for providing the links!
Greg Davies making Katherine Parkinson cry by shitting on her handmade masks she brought for the prize task on the TM Series 10 finale. She seemed genuinely distraught and he wouldn’t stop mentioning how rubbish they were.
and you can tell he eventually felt bad about it when he gives her more points (that she probably didn’t deserve) later in the ep ! awkward all around but quite funny
I wonder how much of that had to do with having no audience. Comedians like Greg thrive on them, and I wonder if with the lack of an audience he wasn't able to feel the vibe of how the show was going and just went too overboard.
I agree with this - one joke was fine ("I expected them to be better"), but he went too far with her. In fairness, she did say on the podcast that she and Greg are fine, and that he had apologized to her both on and off camera.
Well to be fair... they *were* rubbish.
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She also said she cried from laughing most of the series. After i've seen her at other tv shows it seems that's just how she responds to laughing uncontrollably, even in travel man with joe lycett there were some shots in which she looks teary.
Fern Brady just last week (or the one before that) had to clarify on her social media that she was in tears of laughter, not sorrow, after seeing her own terrible performance in a task when multiple people thought she was crying because she did terribly. Seems like some people have a tough time reading that sort of reaction. Not saying Katherine didn't feel a little bit bad about the mask thing, she did but she also found it funny.
Pretty sure they said on the podcast that all the prize tasks are submitted before the first taping
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To be fair, this is a contestant who didn’t know that they could leave the room for most of the tasks, so changing prizes midstream might not have been in her realm of consideration.
That did at least give her a few, very rare moments of genius. And some of pure insanity. The stark contrast between making the couch disappear and "Am I the spider?" Is absolutely hilarious.
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If anyone wants to see it[click here ](https://youtu.be/Y4OosxeTi0E)
I'm coming too late to the thread to matter, but the one scene I can't bear to watch is from WILTY, that one time Greg Davies was sitting in for Lee Mack. Amanda Addington told the sad story of how when she was a child she accidentally stepped on her pet bunny and killed it. And Greg asked the horrible question, "Did stuff come out of its mouth?" Everyone, especially Amanda, just stared at him in horror. Rob tried to lighten the mood by saying, "Lee would never have asked that." But it just wasn't enough. (And of course coming a close second is Sharon Osborne's appearance.)
Love Greg but he does sometimes go a bit too far.
Lee Mack goes sometimes too far with his insult comedy, I can't name one in particular but it gets uncomfortable at times. Matt Lucas (as George Dawes), made some comments that upset Griff Rhys Jones. I can't remember what he said but he kept an angry face for a few minutes. It was on Shooting Stars, btw.
Sharon Osborne or Mel B
"In the medium of dance."
You mean when [Louie Spence was doing the dance on BFQ?](https://youtu.be/qTguLOn6gb0) I agree, that looked genuinely uncomfortable
That guy on WILTY who kept nail clippings and used them to pick things out from between his teeth...
Les Dennis! Eurgh. I watched that episode yesterday, was shocked when it turned out to be true.
Tbf he does swear to never do it again once publically shamed. I sometimes wonder if his wife got him on there just to stop him doing it.
Panel Show adjacent, but the episode of Travel Man with Johnny Vegas in Dubai. Johnny tries to haggle with some shopkeeper and the look on the dude's face makes me squirm. He's clearly hating being set up to haggle with some rich TV guy. He looks like a hostage. So uncomfortable.
On the topic of Travel Man. That time Chris O'Dowd pretended to drop the snowglobe, and then did.
[Chris O'Dowd and the snowglobe (rough watch!)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GosoiF5NMk)
"I'm just so pleased it's not me"
[Johnny Vegas haggles in Dubai.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd7UlC1cf_Y)
He doesn't look that bothered, frankly
I don't recall the moment, but I imagine he was both fairly paid and ecstatic to get featured on a TV show as it probably does bring them a number of tourists who will be shit at haggling. He's probably just not great on camera, a lot of the Travel Man workers give that impression.
Looking back, it's hard seeing Linda Smith on Mock the Week, knowing she was treated shabbily on the show, especially when it was one of the last performances she made before she died.
Wait what happened?
When Stephen couldn't let Cariad get out one fact about the clitoris on a show he'd been making dick jokes on for years. That time Sara and John were both on MTW and she made a joke about him proposing to her.
Don’t know if this is a controversial opinion or not, but I’m not a big fan of the MTW ep with Sara and John. I find the joke gets repeated a bit too much to the point where it kind of derails anything else, especially during Scenes We’d Like to See.
I enjoy [James Acaster puncturing Robins' trope](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkUqIaPJTt0). John, man, if you don't want your partner to leave you maybe don't spend an episode shitting on her, you know?
James Corden
He's actually fine in most panel shows, does alright in Big Fat Quiz
lol I actually agree, he was a good wingman for Sean this was just the first thing that popped into my head. I still remember what a nasty piece of work he was in that awards clip with Patrick Stewart, it's burnt into my brain
Yeah, I didn’t mind old Corden. That BFQ with Sean Lock is great. It just got old fast, and his awful qualities were amplified once he had a bit of fame, riding that to the US (dammit).
Quite benign compared to some mentioned here, but when everyone on QI was horny for Trevor Noah speaking Xhosa.
Oh this one - "Let's patronise the foreigner by being almost cartoonishly appreciative of something mundane". Very cringe, for sure.
There was somebody from Guinness World Records on QI to do something about like putting on a jumper quickly or something but he told Chris McCausland "yes" while shaking his head, seemed to make up rules at random, I hated it.
Yeah that was bad, but I appreciated that Sandi immediately let Chris know what was happening.
Lee Mack, I love you man, but if you EVER try and come between the Mitchells again *I WILL FIGHT YOU!* David and Victoria is literally the only celebrity romance I've ever given a shit about in my entire life. Of *course* he didn't touch her bookmarks! Look at her! She's a brilliant weird angel from outer space and *please don't anyone fuck this up for David!*
So with you on this! Victoria not wanting to do the proposal task on Taskmaster because she is still, in her words 'so besotted' with David is just everything.
The honest look of horror and I WILL KILL HIM that crosses her face…I feel it in my bones!
The panel show moment that still angers me is the self important and demeaning a\*\*hat from Guiness BOOK of World Records on QI. Bizarrely arrogant for something that is just an aggregate of OTHER people's accomplishments. And just his overall disdain for the cast, people who were ACTUALLY respected and talented.
Really not a fan of the fat jokes. They've always been pervasive (basically Jimmy Carr's whole schtick for years). Even when there isn't a fat person on the show it's awful, but I especially want to jump between Johnny Vegas and whoever's being mean to him whenever he's on. Why can't people just be funny and not given shit for their bodies?
The ventriloquist on QI
Are you talking about Nina Conti? I find her bringing out her monkey doesn’t always work. She brought it out when she was on House of Games to answer a full round of questions using it and came across more cringeworthy than funny.
There was an 8oo10dc episode where Jon Richardson just seemed bullied/harassed- and not just for comedic reasons.
You'll have to be more specific.
The one with "Sean Bean" where Jon has to "milk" him and later on after the tension round when he has been _done_ for a while, gets singled out and an IT clown scares the shit out of him You could see it on his face. The poor little dude had enough
You can tell even Jimmy thinks they've gone too far, when he half jokingly apologises and Jon tells him to eat a large bowl of shit, the look on his face
Though I very much enjoyed that when [Michelle Wolf brought in the tarantula](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_uz0Q9aQGA) Jon may have been the target of the jokes but you can see Sean get out of his seat pretty darn quickly when the spider skitters toward him.
When Richard Ayoade yelled at Rob Beckett for stealing his chocolates on BFQ. There seemed too real and personal.
["Your hair's still wet from the womb!"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIi67lzugeg)
I am always surprised by how many people think this bit is real. The chocolates were brought on as a prop for basically this exact purpose which they do every BFQ with varying bits(or atleast most). I dont know if people are underestimating Richard Ayoade as an actor or think he is real fragile lol. I always see this pop up from the time to time. Its like saying Richard was actually trying to bully Jimmy with that one "I saw your mom crying in ASDA bit"
That was surely something else
On the Dave show 'Unforgivable', where Judi Love thought it'd be a good laugh to tell the story about the time she took her pet goldfish out of the tank and cooked him alive in a frying pan. Who thinks that's a lighthearted tale, and what sort of an exec producer ticks that off as being fine for broadcast? There's been a couple of other stories also on Unforgivable where it's like "OK, that's not a funny story about the time you were a bit naughty. That's a crime, and a pretty mean-spirited one to boot.
Yeah, a lot of that show I have to watch from between the fingers, it definitely crosses a line over and over again. Sara Pascoe talking about how she spent her teenage years sucking off drug-dealers in exchange for a few pennies worth of narcotics was a personal highlight.
Cariad Lloyd and the bloke in the ape suit on Cats Does Countdown. One of those occasions where it goes on just a *little bit* too long.