Many conventional comedians faiiled to keep up with the times during the 1990's. One of which was Russ Abbot. In 1991, the BBC got fed up with Russ' corny brand of humour and declined to renew his contract. Russ duly crossed over to ITV, where 'The Russ Abbot Show' was picked up by Granada Television. The format was pretty much the same but some of his earlier characters such as C. U Jimmy and Basildon Bond were given the push however some new characters such as Fatz ( a spoof of Robbie Coltrane's Fitz from 'Cracker' ) were brought in. From his original team of players, only Les Dennis and Bella Emberg returned. New faces in the cast included the likes of Jo Unwin, Siobhan Finneran and Jenny Funnell.
Despite worthy performances from Russ and his players, this time around 'The Russ Abbot Show' didn't hit the nail as much. You could sense that things were starting to wear thin for Russ. Things were starting to get repetitive. A sketch featuring two people in a surgery waiting room conversing with word cards because they have lost their voices, only for the doctor who is about to examine to be suffering from the same problem is an example of that.
But there were some amusing sketches, such as a couple sitting arm in arm around a cosy looking fire, being caught up in the romantic feeling, only for the camera to pan out to reveal their living room is actually on fire!
Despite it's lukewarm response, it managed two series, but it has never been seen since it was axed. Apart from occasional appearances in 'Last Of The Summer Wine', Russ has been steering clear of television comedy. Pity.
Despite worthy performances from Russ and his players, this time around 'The Russ Abbot Show' didn't hit the nail as much. You could sense that things were starting to wear thin for Russ. Things were starting to get repetitive. A sketch featuring two people in a surgery waiting room conversing with word cards because they have lost their voices, only for the doctor who is about to examine to be suffering from the same problem is an example of that.
But there were some amusing sketches, such as a couple sitting arm in arm around a cosy looking fire, being caught up in the romantic feeling, only for the camera to pan out to reveal their living room is actually on fire!
Despite it's lukewarm response, it managed two series, but it has never been seen since it was axed. Apart from occasional appearances in 'Last Of The Summer Wine', Russ has been steering clear of television comedy. Pity.
