What an amazing way to end the day! "As It Occurs To Me" has reached number 2 in the iTunes chart, even though I haven't recorded an episode or indeed written a word of it yet. I think it proves how important new subscribers are in the compilation of this chart and much as I would like to laud it over Collings I know that this success is entirely down to subscribers of our podcast all subscribing to this one. And Collings is on the one podcast that is already up on this nyum-ber 2 show, so I will gracefully share the accolade with him.
Even though it is mainly mine.
Please go and subscribe if you haven't already and see if we can hit the top spot!
Still quite something to be ahead of Ricky Gervais and have only Frankie "one podcast" Boyle ahead of me. But I don't really suppose I can criticise him as I have really done no podcasts for this project.
Please support the little, independent guy, who is likely to lose money on this vanity project and yet still gives it away for free! If you could book tickets to see any one of the shows I would be enormously grateful.
Yet I am delighted to say that many people seem to want to support the venture. I had interest from a proper producer today who seems keen to help and others are offering their services for free or for much reduced fees.
I now feel I have to repay all this support and generosity by coming up with a brilliant show. And yet I also know that thanks to the fact that no broadcaster is sitting in judgement over me, ready to pull the plug or move me around in the schedules I have at least a couple of weeks of grace for us all to find our feet.
I am very excited about it.
It feels revolutionary, whatever it might end up being. And I mainly want it to get promoted by word of mouth so if you want to get all Amish on me and help build this barn, then tell a couple of friends about what's going on. And while you're at it Collings and Herrin are unfairly languishing at number 63 in the charts and I am sure Collings is crying himself to sleep. So encourage people to subscribe to that too, it's the original and the best and it's easy to hook up to it at
www.loftcast.com. And don't feel too sorry for Collings. He's getting loads of actual proper paid work on 6 Music and hasn't given a second thought about having me along for the lucrative money-spinning ride. Very soon I will only be producing free work.
Yet somehow I get by.
As luck would have it, I have also been employed for one day a week for the next ten weeks working on a topical comedy show for one of my top comedian friends. It works out rather neatly, as I should already be reading all the papers and thinking about the news and this one day of actual work will be enough to see me through the week. So the proper TV show is actually funding my experimental internet show.
Which is why I didn't get any of my own work done today as I was at the production company offices knocking ideas back with the comedian and the other writers. It was a lot of fun and I think I was of some help to the others (my role is a bit like being a super sub, coming on with a fresh pair of legs and seeing if I can add anything to the stuff they've written) and it is fortuitous indeed that this opportunity has cropped up. Not that I am short of work. Tomorrow I am being interviewed by Alan Yentob about my love of Scrabble and going to a meeting about another sit-com that I've been asked to come and cast my experienced comic eye over. There is work out there for me, but it feels good to be ploughing some of the rewards back into my own project.
Even better is that my podcast will come out before the topical show that I was working on today, so if I wanted to I could just steal all their ideas and pretend I'd come up with them. Though it might result in me being sacked or sued, so I'll play fair. At least for the first couple of weeks, before they take their eye off the ball.
It was actually fun to be working on something with a team again. Aside from my work with Collings I haven't been up to much that involves spending time with others (not on a regular basis) and although we were very much concentrating on the job in hand for the whole day, it was sociable and friendly and there were free crisps and diet cokes and haribo sweets. And the runner was sent out to buy me a sandwich.
Ah the glamour of TV.
And the certain knowledge that the young lady who went out to buy that sandwich will probably one day be the controller of Channel 4.
Be nice to everyone in this business is the lesson to learn. Because there will be ups and downs and you might have your own TV show this year, but in 10 years time you'll be thrilled just to get to eat some free Haribo sweets, knowing that they will help substitute for the dinner that you simply can't afford.
There will be no Haribo on Monday Kennedy and Tetsell. Though I might treat you to a Nando's if you're well-behaved. But don't expect that every week! Not unless ticket sales pick up a lot! One of the later shows had sold 0 tickets when I got the figures through last week. But even more tragically one had only sold 1 ticket. I think it would be sadder to have one audience member than none. But if you are that one person then I promise we will give you the time of your life. And I am reasonably confident that sales shall improve.
And if not I will take a coat with extra big pockets so I can steal more Haribo next week.
Oh and as I half suspected the Craig Warnock I mentioned yesterday might have been a different one to the Craig Warnock in Time Bandits (though imdb.com has them as the same person). According to @olliebean the TB CW was in
this band. Whatever the case I hope he is fit and well and having fun and still has gangs of dwarves spilling out of his bedroom cupboard. Which if he is any kind of rock and roller he almost certainly will do.
