TV and radio star Jeremy Beadle dies. Watch out for a million lazy articles in tomorrow’s papers describing him as “the most hated man in Britain” etc. I never really understood that; he came up to Merseyside to do panto a couple of years ago and he sat in with Pete Price on the Radio City phone-in one night, where he came across a genuinely nice and engaging person (Beadle, not Price, obviously). He even listened patiently to a dull woman who insisted on telling him her idea for a TV show.
I also have to admit to loving Beadle’s About when I was a kid. At its height, it was as funny and entertaining as Balls of Steel thinks it is.
In fact, how do we know it’s not an elaborate prank now? He could show up at his own funeral in a bad wig and sunglasses. “Thanks for being a great sport!”