Gilbert’s Late – Nostalgia Central

1 9 9 0 (UK)
10 x 30 minute episodes

“It’s Thursday. It’s 7.30. It’s Newcastle. It’s Gilbert!”

Gilbert the alien first appeared on the children’s TV show Get Fresh in 1986, before receiving his own spin-off series, Gilbert’s Fridge in 1988.

Realising that the irreverent, snotty green alien (created and voiced by Phil Cornwell and operated by puppeteer John Eccleston) was appealing to older viewers (especially students), Tyne Tees Television took the brave decision in 1990 to transition Gilbert to a nighttime comedy chat show.

Gilbert’s guests included Mastermind host Magnus Magnusson, Lloyd Grossman, bitchy TV critic Nina Myskow, Peter Stringfellow, Cynthia “Call me Madam” Payne, Clive Sinclair, Nicholas Parsons, Richard O’Brien, footballer Paul Gascoigne, athlete Steve Cram, Scottish politician David Steel, Russian pop star Sadie Nine (real name Barbara Cook), Australian performance artist and avant-garde designer Leigh Bowery, Ken Livingstone, Spectator columnist Jeffrey Bernard, agony aunt Irma Kurtz, businessman George Davies, Jocky Wilson, writer Beryl Bainbridge, explorer Christina Dodwell, presenter James Whale, Spitting Image. creators Peter Fluck and Roger Law, George Melly, javelin thrower Tessa Sanderson, journalist Eve Pollard, and rap singer Leila K.

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