In his new BBC show The TV That Made Me Brian Conley chats with celebrities about their favourite TV shows. Here, Brian reveals there were a lot of big emotional moments over the course of the series… and more than one surprise!
Brian said he was taken aback by some of the celebrities’ choices, particularly when Linford Christie enjoyed a 1970s sitcom which is now infamous for its racist overtones! "]
“I was surprised when Linford said his favourite show used to be Love Thy Neighbour! He told me he loved that it had a black family as you never saw one on television.”
Brian added: “We really struggled to find a clip [that we could show], but we’re not going to skirt around these things. Linford Christie really found this a fantastic show that he enjoyed watching from this era.”
Talking about the more emotional reactions from guests, Brian said: “Lesley Joseph (Birds of a Feather) had been watching the assassination of President Kennedy, but when we moved on to costume drama David Copperfield, she burst into tears. I asked her why that made her cry even though Kennedy’s assassination hadn’t and she said it was because it reminded her of when her dad was alive and she and her sister would watch TV together.”
Brian, who has been has been appearing on our TV screens for over 30 years, also had a few things to say about the changes in television broadcasting: “I think it’s all for the better. It's quicker… there’s just too much of it though! That’s what we speak about [on The TV That Made Me]. When my show was on there was only three channels so you were getting 12 and a half million people. Is that because there is nothing else on? I would like not to think that!
“I just think you’re spoiled for choice these days. There’s so much out there it can be brain numbing!”
So what makes TV That Made Me different to the usual chat show format?
“I really, honestly did enjoy this. We all thought it was going to be a nostalgic show, but it became a lot more than that," said Brian. "It gave the guests an opportunity to really talk about their childhood. We had so much time with them. And when you look at a chat show everyone’s coming on to sell their wares where, with this, it was very much a look back at their life and their family life and growing up.”
Eamonn Holmes stars in the first episode, while other guests include EastEnders’ Natalie Cassidy and presenter Sandi Toksvig.
For the full interview, watch the video above."]
