GRAEME GARDEN: THE THINKING WOMAN’S GOODIE
If you’re one of the millions around the world who watched The Goodies, then you know Graeme Garden as the super-brain and often evil villain of the trio. As a scriptwriter and format creator, you realise how much TV and radio he’s devised, such as I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again (1965 – still regularly repeated on Radio 4 Extra), The Unbelievable Truth and I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue – the latter still one of the gems in the BBC’s radio crown.
Both Graham Kibble-White and I are huge admirers of his work. Cartoon series Bananaman and medical magazine show Bodymatters hold a special place in Graham’s childhood. In my case, I used to dress as Graeme as a child in corduroy suit with elbow patches. And several episodes of The Goodies were taped on the Ahmed family VCR from 1975 onwards, with talismanic effect. The Cunning Stunts/Fleet Street Goodies episode, I used to quote to myself on the way into hearings for my successful sex discrimination employment tribunal back in 2019.
I’ve interviewed Graeme a few times over the years and have been struck by the practical seriousness with which he approached writing some of the funniest comedy ever made. You can always sense the cogs and wheels constantly turning in his mind. And, equally, how the wild comedy co-existed quite happily on screen with his serious scientific problem-solving expertise, as demonstrated as a regular guest on Edward de Bono’s creative-thinking panel show The Very Idea! and, of course, as a presenter of Bodymatters. Sometimes the two sides came together delightfully, as in an episode of the cult locked room puzzle format The Adventure Game. You would always want to be on Graeme’s team.
So it was a joy when Graeme agreed to go Through the Square Window with us, and he, plus his wife, Emma, kindly invited Graham and me to their home to record a special episode looking over the long arc of an unusual and exciting career.
Among other things we discuss…
The remarkable moment in the early 1960s which produced a generation of TV comedy actors and writers who overlapped with each other on formats, before settling down into the Monty Python crew, the Beyond the Fringe gang and those “superchaps three”.
The striking willingness of major TV news presenters and journalists to make fools of themselves on The Goodies. Money rows – and why Tim Brooke-Taylor was paid more than the script-writing Graeme and Bill Oddie. Plus, the Steven Spielberg Goodies feature film that could have been.
Graeme also tells us about the bizarre teatime magazine programme he hosted with Nanette Newman, which boasted – between items about making a battery from citrus fruit and the carbohydrate content of breakfast cereals – guest appearances from Kenneth Williams and… Michael Caine. Plus, the 1987 special edition of Bodymatters dedicated to the AIDS epidemic, and how he challenged a script line about viral transmission.
As a host, welcoming us into his home, Graeme was warm and generous. As a guest on our podcast, insightful, wise and funny.
In short, this edition of Through the Square Window is a really special listen. We hope you’ll agree.