The king of the chat show has relinquished his crown. Jonathan Ross is officially leaving the BBC and with his departure comes the demise of his most famous vehicle, the highly entertaining self-titled Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. First broadcast in 2001, the show soon became a hit with the viewers, as Wossy’s ability to simultaneously interview and poke fun at his guests (with a dash of vulgarity thrown in for good measure) proved a welcome break from tradition. So where did it all go wrong? Tuning in to last Friday’s show in an effort to come up with an answer for this, I had a chance to make up my own mind as to whether Ross’s departure was a well-timed calculation, or a reluctant resignation. The fact that Jedward made an appearance just made things a little bit sweeter.
Before I begin a callous dissection of the show, I must acknowledge that our host has not lost an ounce of his wicked sense of humour or charm. Fighting off a bout of the flu, he opened the show with a joke about the situation at hand, saying his doctor had advised him to cancel the show, in which he replied that the BBC had beaten him to it. And while some may view that as a sly dig, most of us will know that this is simply typical Wossy. He embraces the awkward and manages to see the funny side in the most embarrassing of incident.
Take the first show back after his suspension last year following his and Russell Brand’s phone message to Andrew Sachs. The majority of his programme consisted of subtle references and sly asides, without ever mentioning the event directly. Having incurred the wrath of many a critic, he managed to cleverly side step the issue without ignoring it completely, and as such it became something of a master-class in how to handle a delicate situation in front of the camera. Ross’s interviewing skills are undeniable too, having tackled such legends as Barbara Streisand and Tony Curtis with aplomb.
But all that aside, after almost ten years, has the show gone stale? I don’t think anybody can disagree with me when I say that Friday Night with Jonathan Ross did lose some of its sparkle after the unfortunate incident with the phone call. I am of course referring to the offensive message left on Andrew Sachs’ mobile phone after he failed to turn up for the Ross’s show. Subsequently broadcast on a BBC2 radio programme, the misguided prank drew heavy criticism from listeners, media critics and politicians alike, and resulted in both stars being suspended for a 12 week period, and Brand’s eventual resignation from the company. Ever since, Jonathan Ross appears to be a cautious man, clearly exercising a high level of self-restraint in an effort to avoid such backlash again. Some have even argued that his departure from the BBC may have been prearranged, a direct result of the controversy. In other words, the management at BBC might have agreed to allow Ross to finish out his current contract under a series of conditions and under the presumption that they would not be renewing it.
While this makes financial sense (the contract is supposedly worth £18 million) I am somewhat sceptical of this view. Would such a strong personality as Wossy simply have sat back and allowed this to happen? Would he not have simply resigned on the spot? He was at the high point of his career, and would no doubt have been inundated with offers from other broadcasters. But such guess work is futile, and frustrating, and I inevitably end up right back where I started.
The irrepressible Lucan duo ‘Jedward’ were Ross’s first guests of the night. However if I’m being honest, it was Jonathan (not John) who looked a little overwhelmed, out of his depth even. He didn’t get a word in edgeways as the duo went off on more tangents than anyone would have thought possible, leaving our presenter looking quite bemused by it all. A highly amusing 15 minutes of television it was, but coherent it was not.
Following Jed were the cast of the Channel 4 teen sci-fi drama, Misfits; at last order was somewhat restored as our presenter posed an equal amount of questions to each, each squabbling to try make their voice heard over the others. With a dig at one unfortunate member of Misfits (the Irish one of course) telling him he was unbelievably annoying, we almost caught a fleeting glimpse of the old Jonathan Ross. The sparkle was back. Nowhere was this truer than Ross’s interview with Kim Catrell, of Sex and the City, which became the showpiece of the night. Fusing Ross’s well-honed interviewing skills with innuendoes and dirty jokes galore, it was Wossy at his best.
While maybe not as daring as some of his earlier interviews, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross is still highly enjoyable to watch, and episodes like that of last Friday, are reminiscent of Jonathan at his best. He seemed to regain his mojo, as he was faced with a subject he could have fun with, rather than someone he struggled to understand (Jedward). And perhaps this is a clue as to why Ross has chosen to leave now. While still just as funny as the day he started, he does seem to have lost his way a bit with the younger crowd. Perhaps his decision is a means of quitting while he’s ahead, rather than waiting for the show to become outdated and irrelevant. What is obvious though, is that with the end in sight, Jonathan is regaining some of the old magic we fell in love with, little by little. We can only hope that this gradual progression continues, and that Wossy bows out of the BBC with a bang.
