The 11 O'Clock Show
The 11 O'Clock Show was a satirical late-night British television comedy series on Channel 4, which featured topical sketches and commentary on news items. It ran from 30 September 1998 to 8 December 2000, most notably, while hosted by Iain Lee and Daisy Donovan. The show boosted the careers of the previously little-known Ricky Gervais, Sacha Baron Cohen and Mackenzie Crook.
| The 11 O'Clock Show | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Satire, comedy |
| Developed by | Talkback |
| Presented by | Brendon Burns (series 1) Fred MacAulay (series 1) Iain Lee (series 1–4) Daisy Donovan (series 2–4) Jon Holmes (series 5) Sarah Alexander (series 5) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 144 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30–35 minutes |
| Distributor | Fremantle |
| Release | |
| Original network | Channel 4 |
| Picture format | PAL |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 30 September 1998 – 8 December 2000 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Da Ali G Show |
Hosts and presenters
The 11 O'Clock Show underwent a number of line-up changes during its run. There are numerous cases of external segment reporters becoming studio hosts, and vice versa. Notable presenters and cast members included:
Later careers
The 11 O'Clock Show was pivotal in the careers of a number of performers who have gone on to greater success.
- Iain Lee, who went on to host Channel 4 breakfast show RI:SE in 2003, and went on to forge a successful career in radio.
- Alex Zane, who later went on to present shows such as Rude Tube and Celebrity Scissorhands, and has a successful career as a DJ.
- Ricky Gervais, who went on to co-create The Office and Extras, along with becoming a successful stand up comedian.
- Paul Garner went on to star in E4's The Pilot Show, VH1's BSTV, and write both series of the award-winning Strutter.
- Sacha Baron Cohen, who went on to create Da Ali G Show and Who Is America?, as well as the films Ali G Indahouse, Borat and its sequel, Brüno, The Dictator, and Grimsby. Additionally, he has starred in films such as Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Hugo, Les Misérables, Alice Through the Looking Glass and the Madagascar franchise.
- Mackenzie Crook, who also went on to The Office as well as TV to Go, before a role in the Pirates of the Caribbean films then writing/directing the BAFTA-winning Detectorists.
- Sarah Alexander, who had appeared on TV before, and went on to play Susan Walker in Coupling, Dr Angela Hunter in Green Wing and Mel Cook in The Worst Week of My Life.
- Jon Holmes co-created Dead Ringers, stars in The Now Show co-wrote Horrible Histories has a successful radio presenting / performing career.
- Brendon Burns, who went on to co-host I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Live! amid other regular television appearances. He left after 3 episodes and, a year later, went on to write and perform his Edinburgh Comedy Award winning show 'So I Suppose THIS Is Offensive Now'
- Marc Wootton who went on to star in Shirley Ghostman and My New Best Friend.
- Andre Vincent, John Mann and Shaun Pye were all writers on the show.
- Comedy writer/performers who also wrote on the show include Alex Lowe, Robert Webb, Rhys Thomas, Tony Way, James Bachman, Danny Bhoy, David Mitchell and Charlie Brooker. The latter two writers went on to co-present and write for 10 O'Clock Live, a later series which mixed comedy and news.
Controversy
In January 2000, the show came under criticism from the Broadcasting Standards Commission following viewer complaints about comments that were made on the show about recently deceased TV presenter Jill Dando, Bobby Willis (the husband of entertainer Cilla Black) and golfer Payne Stewart.[1]
References
- "Channel 4 rapped over Dando". BBC News. 27 January 2000. Retrieved 1 April 2013.