Exclusive interview with Duggie Brown

Forty years after ‘The Comedians’ aired on TV, people still ask Duggie Brown to tell his epic parrot joke. Emily Stott caught up with the Yorkshire born funnyman who is featured on The Comedians 40th anniversary show DVD, as he prepared for his role as Mr Boo in a national tour of ‘The Rise and Fall of Little Voice’.

“I’ll be seventy-three next August and I’m still running up and down stairs dressed up as a dame!”

Duggie Brown won’t let a little thing like age stop him as he puts his feet up in his Travelodge after a busy few days rehearsing. He tells me all about how he became a household name, why he wanted to leave comedy behind and why he’s embraced it back into his life now with ‘The Comedians’ 40th anniversary show DVD.

The Comedians Live

The DVD sees the gang getting back together for a series of shows performing at the Blackpool Grand Theatre.

“It was filmed in two lots,” Duggie says. “We did six Sunday concerts at the Grand this year and four the year before. Paul Boardman organised it and I think it’s been slightly revamped from the original one. It was lovely and the people who’re in Blackpool at that time of year all remember The Comedians, so it became a really successful show.”

“All the other lads went out to earn their fortunes. But I went to London and paid £220 a week to learn to act”.

After so long apart I wanted to know if getting back with the gang was a barrel of laughs, or a fight of long-polished egos.

“It was lovely but also slightly upsetting. From the original days of recording I think I’m the only one left. Stan Boardman, Roy Walker and Mick Miller, they all joined five or six years later. So from the original days of recording I think I’m the only one left. And the producer Johnnie Hamp of course. It was all down to him that we all became whatever we became because he’s such a good editor.”