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Telegraph
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Saying the unthinkable: The life of James Whale in eight controversies
The late James Whale was Britain's original shock jock – a leviathan of late night broadcasting who would do and say the unthinkable and delighted in pushing guests over the edge. In the edgy Nineties, this made him a cult star, with his wee-hours The James Whale Radio Show one of the most reliably unpredictable slots on television (as well as airing on Radio Aire, it was simulcast on national TV). Rows, near-fistfights and marathon swearing sessions were all part of the mix in an era in which such outrageous entertainment simply wasn't available anywhere else. His love for going over the top would later catch up with him and ultimately proved detrimental to his career, when cancel culture was a bullet every presenter had to dodge. As fans and detractors alike mark his passing at age 74, here, then, is the life of James Whale in eight controversies. 1. Almost coming to blows with a comedian Long-haired comic Rob Newman was the toast of the Britpop set, but he didn't have a fan in Whale, who seemed to have invited him on to the James Whale Radio Show in 1990 simply to wind up the usually amicable performer. He started by introducing Rob as a comedian of many talents, before adding, 'We've yet to find one'. 'Good one, good one,' said an unimpressed Newman. Later, as Newman reached across for a cup of tea, Whale said, 'Lean in front of me again, I'll give you a kick.' Then, when Whale approached the camera to wish his [Whale's] mother well during her stay in hospital, Newman retorted, 'She's got cancer.' Whale asked the audience whether this was funny; no one laughed. The agonising segment concluded with Whale dubbing his guest 'an absolute pillock' and Newman exclaiming, 'Ooh, I've been sussed by James Whale.' Even by the anything-goes standards of early-Nineties broadcasting, the level of vitriol between the two was shocking. 2. Escorting a drunken rock star off the set In the same year in which he verbally sparred with Rob Newman, Whale went one farther and marched a sozzled Wayne Hussey of goth-rockers the Mission off the air. Hussey appeared largely relieved by the turn of events, later revealing that he had been warned to stay clear of Whale. 'Everybody advised me not to do it. [They said] he's gonna wind you up and make you look a fool,' he recalled. 'And I thought, 'There's no way he's going to make me look a fool.'' Hussey had just played a gig in Sheffield and was four (possibly five) sheets to the wind by the time he reached Whales's studio in Leeds. Largely incoherent, he chuckled obliviously at Whale's banter and didn't know how to react when the host took him by the arm and invited him into the wings, where he was escorted away. 'I was very, very drunk, and very, very happy,' said Hussey. 'I went there with the conscious decision of not letting him get one over.' 3. Considering running for Mayor of London Whale struck up a friendship with future Ukip leader Nigel Farage in the late 1990s, when Farage was a regular on the host's late-night TalkSportshow. 'I would go on at 10pm, having agreed to do an hour to comment on the next day's newspaper headlines,' Farage would later write in The Express. 'Several times when 11pm came, he asked me to stay, so I stayed on air until midnight. On a few occasions, he insisted I stay right through to 1am. This left me stranded, as I'd missed my last train home. But James always obliged and gave me a lift.' It was during one such appearance that Farage suggested Whale run for Mayor of London. He gave it serious thought – until he was warned by broadcasting watchdog Ofcom that doing so would breach broadcasting rules around impartiality. His response was to describe Ofcom as 'an august body that seems to exist for no apparent reason'. Whale finally provoked the wrath of Ofcom in 2008 when he urged his listeners to vote for Boris Johnson for Mayor, leading to a £20,000 fine for TalkSport, which promptly sacked him. Undeterred, in 2010 he once again considered running as a Ukip candidate for Mayor, against Ken Livingstone. He vowed to scrap the congestion charge, do away with 'appalling parking Gestapo officers', free the people of London from 'unfair taxes and continuous intrusion in their daily lives', and recruit his friend Peter Stringfellow to improve London's image. Farage wasn't the only politician with whom he crossed paths. He recalled Stringfellow inviting him to one of his clubs to 'meet somebody'. 'We turned up and he sat me down at this table with this woman. And I thought, gosh, I recognise you, who's that?' Whale remembered. 'And it was Margaret Thatcher. He'd invited me to a do – they were doing fundraising for the Conservatives – and here was Margaret Thatcher in his club in the West End, chatting to all the people. It was quite a bizarre evening.' 4. Walking off his own show It had been a long night for Whale in 2023, who had grown fed up with hosting a debate about the NHS on TalkTV. 'I don't want to be on the show,' he suddenly declared while whipping out his earpiece. In the glory days of the James Whale Radio Show, he was famous for goading guests into leaving (see Rob Newman above). Now it was Whale himself who was exiting, and footage of him stomping off the air quickly went viral. 5. Mocking the entire nation of Wales It was a case of Whale vs Wales after he mocked King Charles for addressing the Welsh assembly in their native language during his first appearance as monarch at the devolved parliament in 2022. Describing Charles's attempt as 'embarrassing', he questioned why 'we needed to hear Welsh in the first place'. As somebody whose mother was Welsh and Bourne in the valleys and never spoke Welsh most Welsh people I just wish King Charles didn't feel the necessity to try and do it most people in Wales don't speak Welsh and it's an embarrassment to C — James Whale MBE. (@THEJamesWhale) September 16, 2022 'As somebody whose mother was Welsh and born in the valleys and never spoke Welsh… I just wish King Charles didn't feel the necessity to try and do it,' he continued in a tweet. 'Most people in Wales don't speak Welsh and it's an embarrassment.' A furore ensued – even Rick McMurray of the indie band Ash felt the need to comment. 'Why are you so upset about a language? Are you K?' 6. Having a meltdown on Big Brother There was tension from the outset between Whale and Loose Women panellist Saira Khan when they went on Celebrity Big Brother in 2016, with Khan asking the broadcaster if he was 'racist'. 'I've never heard so much rubbish in my entire life,' he said in the first of several heated exchanges between the two. 'I don't think I am known for that. Am I known for that? I don't know. I really don't know. I've been one of the judges of the British curry awards for 10 years.' Things escalated farther as Whale told fellow contestants that Khan thought he was racist. (She said that she was merely asking the question.) He batted away her protests, saying he had 'a strange sense of humour'. 7. Rowing with Lizzie Cundy about Meghan Markle A segment about the Queen's Platinum Jubilee went quickly south when Whale invited TV personality Lizzie Cundy on to discuss Meghan Markle 's relationship with the Royal family. Cundy tore up a cardboard mask of Markle, saying, 'She's not a royal anymore.' Whale accused his guest of peddling 'nonsense' and asked her to leave the set – and then the whole thing blew up on social media. Cundy didn't bear a grudge, however. 'Thank you, dear friend, for everything,' she wrote on Instagram after Whale's death was announced. 'Not sure how I will cope.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lizzie Cundy (@lizziecundy) 8. Taking on the trans community Whale took great joy in giving 'the PC lobby … a good stiff kicking'. To that end, he labelled a TalkSport traffic reporter 'the Traffic Trannie – Britain's only transvestite traffic reporter', for which he was widely criticised. But he was never black and white on these issues. In 1994, he presented a one-off special, Trannies Galore, in which he interviewed members of the transgender community. Just last year, he hung up on women's rights campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen during a TalkTV debate over whether trans women should be allowed to use female toilets, having explained that an acquaintance of his did just that. 'Thank you Kellie, I've had enough, you've been very insulting to a good friend of mine,' he said. Up to the end, he was full of surprises.
BBC News
03-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Watch: Canary Call Special as Norwich appoint new manager
Update: Date: 18:15 BST Title: Welcome to our live video feed of a Canary Call Special Content: As Norwich City confirm the appointment of Liam Manning as their new head coach, BBC Norfolk presents a Canary Call Special at 19:00. Rob Butler presents the programme and you can watch a live video stream from our studios in Norwich. Joining Rob is our match commentator Chris Goreham and former Norwich and Bristol City player Rob Newman. Click on the Watch button at the top of the page just before the show is due to go on air at 19:00. Update: Date: 18:14 BST Title: Manning flies the Robins' nest to join Canaries Content: Liam Manning's last game in charge for Bristol City was the 3-0 defeat at Bramall Lane in the second leg of the play-off semi-finals Liam Manning had been in charge at Bristol City since November 2023 and led the Robins to this season's play-offs, only to lose 6-0 on aggregate to Sheffield United in the semi-finals. His appointment at Carrow Road has been confirmed late this afternoon. He replaces Johannes Hoff Thorup, who was sacked by Norwich on 22 April with the team 14th in the Championship following a run of six defeats in eight games. In November, the Canaries set a target of getting back to the Premier League within 3-5 years. "This is an exciting appointment, and we are so happy to get it over the line and have him on board," said Norwich's sporting director Ben Knapper. "It quickly became clear that Liam's ambitions match our own and we are all committed to driving this club forward towards our targets. "Liam knows the league, has consistently demonstrated an ability to outperform resources and his approach aligns with our footballing ideas and strategy.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Writer and comedian of hit BBC 90s show comes up north as part of tour
Rob Newman, best known for the sketch show The Mary Whitehouse Experience will be coming up north as part of a 2025/26 tour. Rob, who paired with David Baddiel for the hit comedy series will be taking to the stage in Chorley and The Lowry Theatre. The BBC 2 show won both Rob and David a legion of fans, and the duo were the first comedians to play and sell out the 12,000-seat Wembley Arena in London in 1993. They starred alongside Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis in The Mary Whitehouse Experience in the 1990s, before getting their own show, Newman and Baddiel in Pieces. Rob then pursued a literary career before returning to comedy with an added political edge. His blend of lecture and stand-up has seen him cover topics such as evolution, the war on terror and the history of oil. Rob will be embarking on his Where the Wild Things Were tour this year, heading to Chorley Theatre on January 17 and The Lowry on Sunday, February 1. The promo material for the show states: "From Rob Newman comes a barnstorming new stand-up show about where we are and where we're going. From future cities and philistine film directors to Dorothy Parker's Multiverse Diaries. Throw in Pythagorean gangsters, intellectual bingo callers and a crazy character called Arlo - and the result is a hilarious tour-de force utterly unlike anything else you will ever see anywhere else!" For tickets are more information visit the theatre websites. Rob and David went their separate ways until the two were pictured together after Rob got back in touch via Twitter in 2017, after Rob requested tickets to see David's theatre show.
