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Nicholas Lyndhurst has revealed a fascinating anecdote from fellow Only Fools And Horses actor Lennard Pearce concerning Adolf Hitler.
Pearce — who played Granddad on the show — apparently met the German leader of the Nazi party while touring Europe during the 1930s and shook his hand.
Years later, the actor spoke to colleagues about how he regretted the not shooting Hitler there and then.
“He was a young actor touring Europe and they were playing some German city and the Nazis walked in,” Lyndhurst said.
“The top honchos of the Nazi party had seen the play and came to congratulate them afterwards. Lennard shook hands with Adolf Hitler.
“He only ever told me once, but he said, ‘Had I known then what I know now, I would have drawn the pistol from one of the bodyguards and I’d have done my best to kill him.’”
7 TV shows that started out on the radio Show all 7 1 /77 TV shows that started out on the radio 7 TV shows that started out on the radio The Mighty Boosh Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt's ultra-surreal sitcom spawned out of three stage shows and a six-episode radio series which aired in October 2001; first on BBC London Live, then BBC Radio 4, and later BBC 7. Much like the TV show, The Boosh focused on a pair of zookeepers at Bob Fossil's Funworld: Howard TJ Moon (Barratt), jazz lover and sensitive soul, and Vince Noir (Fielding), the egotistical style-obsessive.
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7 TV shows that started out on the radio That Mitchell and Webb Look The comedy duo's TV debut actually came with 2001's The Mitchell and Webb Situation, which only ran for a single six-episode series. 2006's That Mitchell and Webb Look, however, acts as an adaptation of an earlier radio sketch show titled That Mitchell and Webb Sound, which aired on BBC Radio 4 from 2003-2007. Sketches that featured on both radio and TV include Ted and Peter, the snooker commentators, and The Surprising Adventures of Sir Digby Caesar-Salad.
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7 TV shows that started out on the radio The League of Gentlemen From the dark, twisted minds of Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Shearsmith came The League of Gentlemen; it began as a stage show in late 1994, taking its name from the Jack Hawkins film of the same name. After winning the Perrier award for comedy at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1997, the radio series On the Town with The League of Gentlemen first debuted on BBC Radio 4. When it was adapted into TV, the fictional town of Spent became Royston Vasey.
7 TV shows that started out on the radio Whose Line Is It Anyway? Whose Line Is It Anyway? is best known in its long-running American version, but the show, of course, actually had its roots in the UK; it began first as a BBC Radio 4 programme created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson, with Clive Anderson as host, and John Sessions and Stephen Fry as regulars. Channel 4 snapped up the show, running for a total of 10 series, before it was cancelled due to a slump in ratings. It found immediate new popularity, however, when it started airing on ABC in the US.
7 TV shows that started out on the radio The Day Today Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris' spoof of the world of current affairs broadcasting started on BBC Radio 4 as On the Hour, which also starred Morris as an overzealous and self-important anchor; Steve Coogan, Rebecca Front, Doon Mackichan, Patrick Marber, and David Schneider also appeared. The Day Today adapted much of the radio series, most importantly the very first appearance of Alan Partridge, here a hapless sports correspondent.
Lennard played Granddad on the BBC sitcom for four series before dying aged 69. Recently, a previously unaired episode of the show was discovered, featuring the actor’s final appearance.
Lyndhurst revelled the anecdote on The Story of Only Fools And Horses which will air tomorrow on Dave.
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