Griff Rhys Jones

"He opened the door and there he was standing in just a pair of gold boxer shorts..."

This was how a young BBC Radio producer named Griff Rhys Jones met Frankie Howerd for the first time!

Sometimes on this podcast we like to open it up and talk more generally about comedy - and especially when we get a special guest of Griff's calibre! Rude not to.

Griff - who will be touring his new show from May and filming Griff's Vietnam Adventure this year - joined Tyler to talk about his career (which does include a prominent role in the film adaptation of Spike Milligan's Puckoon) and was more than happy to reminisce about his time on the likes of Not The Nine O'Clock News, Alas Smith & Jones and The Young Ones, as well as university revues, radio, plays and his subsequent documentaries and travel shows over the last twenty years.

Includes chat about:

* Mel Smith and their long comedy partnership

* Some favourite S&J sketches (including Porno & Bribeasy)

* The Homemade Xmas Video

* The Two Ninnies and Ronnie Barker's reaction to it

* Being Bambi

* Alexei Sayle

* Douglas Adams

* John Lloyd

* Chris Langham

* Beryl Reid flirting with him

* The post-war generation of comedians

* Almost appearing in Blackadder the Third

* Restoration

* Cleaning skyscraper windows in New York

* Performing in Australia and New Zealand

* The television landscape

* Reacting to critics

* And working with Frankie of course!

As well as his thoughts and observations on Spike and the Goons in general.

Griff was extremely generous with his time and tickets for his forthcoming tour are available here: https://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/g/34307/griff_rhys_jones