I use to call him Kelly Moreteeth because of the nashers.

He used to be on BBC2 on Monday nights around 7pm, after "The Adventure Game", and before "Des O'Connor Tonight". I remember it being on in 1980/81. Enn Reitel was also in it constantly - maybe he played "the producer". I remember the stand-up interspersed with sketches, but don't recall the Brechtian self-reference...

There was definitely a whole show that was basically him & the producer discussing what word to use for women's breast in a sketch they were recording.

As far as I remember, didn't Mr Monteith go down the Goodies route of accepting a substantail cash offer to jump ship to ITV, only to find himself unable to satisfy the network's ludicrously high ratings demands?

I don't know. I was reminded of him because I was going through some old 'Son Of Cliche' tapes the other day and it had a sketch about a chess match between Monteith and Ronnie Corbett. Chris Barrie did one of the voices, probably both. The Monteith character kept doing rambling, slightly hysterical observational stuff, including the line "...I live in a restaurant - you'd think so from the number of routines I do about it!"

KM's last BBC series was Gary Shandling, and thus Sean's Show, 20 years early. His girlfriend was played by Gabrielle Drake, Nick Drake's sister.

Not Charlie's sister then?

I think it would have been more like 5 years early, Stewart.

>I think it would have been more like 5 years early, Stewart.

But Sean's Show was '92, Monteith's last was around '81/'82 - so nearer ten years?

No, I'm pretty sure he had his last series when I was at 2ndary school, which would have been after '83. He'd been going quite a while by then.

>KM's last BBC series was Gary Shandling, and thus Sean's Show, 20 years early.

Prior to this it was mainly sketches and straight-to-camera monologues. Then there was a middle series which was set in his flat (the monologues became about his 'life') and his girlfriend was Trudi Styler (String's wife). Then he went on a UK tour and released an album, 'Lettuce Be Cool'. Then came the disastrous final series.

>His girlfriend was played by Gabrielle Drake, Nick Drake's sister.

And they used to distinguish between 'real' life and 'the show' by cutting between video and film, a la Larry Sanders. The theme (to all series, often reworked) was written by Ronnie Hazlehurst.

Surely he's mentioned in that big Lewisohn book with the foot on it?

According to TVChronicles, the last Monteith series was 1984. Pop over to www.onlypro.com, and you'll find that you can purchase a nude picture of him. Meanwhile Joe-Bob Briggs was hugely impressed with a 1988 Roger Corman movie KM was in (playing a "crazed European director") - "Back to Hollywood Boulevard", featuring "16 breasts, 122 dead bodies, nekkid women from outer space, deadly exploding wind-up toy dog..."

Oh, and he was doing stand-up on a Caribbean cruise-liner in May this year. "Nearly hysterical", say Dave (41) and Sue (39) from Pennsylvania.

You gotta love those search engines...

>Not Charlie's sister then?

Gabrielle Drake - Just need to point out
that she was spotted in a B feature at the cinema with her knockers out, and Roy whatisname of Basil brush fame chewing on them. This was around 1982 - I was young and shocked.

As I vaguely remember, the firsy Kelly Monteith series on BBC2 was different to everything else going on and was required viewing (for me at 20 anyway - not sure how older people viewed it at the time.
Then, it seemed to get either more mainstream or
self-indulgent, I can't remember, but looking at some of the postings here, it seems that he may be responsible for "ideas" which came later, eg Larry Sanders

>Gabrielle Drake - Just need to point out that she was spotted in a B feature at the cinema with her knockers out, and Roy whatisname of Basil brush fame chewing on them. This was around 1982 - I was young and shocked.

Roy North I think.....