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John Cleese’s 1985 advert for the BBC in which he asks a pub full of stars “What has the BBC ever given us?” is one of the most famous examples of the corporation making the case to the public for the value of paying the licence fee.
In the advert, Cleese is complaining to the bartender that he has just bought his TV licence. “Fifty-eight quid for the privilege of sitting in your own home, watching your own television set. It’s diabolical. I mean, what’s the BBC ever given us for 58 quid?” he says, before being put right by a string of punters, ranging from David Attenborough and John Humphrys to Terry Wogan and David Jason.
Now, over 40 years later, as the corporation cranks up its campaign for the charter that allows it to operate to be renewed, it has rebooted the advert with a new musical version fronted by Romesh Ranganathan and directed by Dougal Wilson, the man behind Paddington in Peru and the John Lewis Christmas ad campaigns.
The comedian stars as a disgruntled licence fee payer grumbling in EastEnders’ Queen Vic pub to a host of household names including Chris Martin, Claudia Winkleman, David Jason and Greg James.
The comedian then has a whistle-stop song and dance tour of the BBC’s shows and services, featuring about 90 famous faces, from Alan Carr to Cate Blanchett, from Hey Duggee to Clive Myrie.
The BBC faces what its director general, Matt Brittin, described recently as “a moment of real jeopardy” due to a decline in licence fee payments and the rise of rivals such as YouTube, TikTok and the streamers. The number of people paying the BBC’s licence fee fell faster than expected in the last year, with half a million more households opting out of the payment.
To illustrate what could be lost, near the end of the advert Ranganathan is propelled to the backstage of Strictly Come Dancing to meet Louis Theroux, who says: “You know, none of this has to exist,” as he puts his hand on the lever of a giant on/off switch marked BBC, “if we don’t want it to”.
The film is being premiered on TV during the World Cup final and was launched on social platforms on Sunday morning. It has had some positive reaction from viewers, but a lukewarm response from some quarters, with the Telegraph complaining that the selection of BBC offerings presented were “notably middlebrow” and the Times complaining that – as is “sorely emblematic of so much TV content these days on the BBC, but also elsewhere” – it was a rehash of an old idea.
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There have been a number of BBC promotional films over the years aimed at encapsulating its public service offering in a way that informs, educates and entertains.
They include star-studded versions of the Beach Boys’ God Only Knows and Lou Reed’s Perfect Day. But Cleese’s ad (itself based on Monty Python’s Life of Brian scene What Have the Romans Ever Done For Us?) was highlighted recently by Chris Packham as “genius” while promoting an open letter in defence of the corporation.
Ranganathan defended the rationale behind the new version, saying: “I strongly, strongly believe that the BBC should exist and, look, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s without its flaws.”
“There have definitely been times and issues where I wished it could have dealt with things differently – but I feel incredibly passionate about the fact that we should have it and it adds so much to our lives. And I’m really proud of it.”
“I really do feel strongly that we should have a BBC and I think that there is nothing else that does what the BBC does.”
He said when he was asked to front the film, “I was very surprised that they’d chosen me and very honoured, but I thought it was a no-brainer, really.”
Growing up, it was the BBC’s Goodness Gracious Me that made him believe he could have a performing career, he said: “I didn’t think people that looked like me could do comedy. I was doing standup as a little kid and then you watch something like Goodness Gracious Me and you think, yeah, I could do that.”
The advert acknowledges that the BBC has done a lot for Ranganathan himself, with Myrie pointing out he fronts The Weakest Link, Sara Cox reminding him he hosts a Radio 2 show and Chris McCausland highlighting his “hip-hop podcast on Sounds”.
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