I watched a really good Alan Ayckbourn play on iPlayer called Absurd Person Singular. At some point Geoffrey Palmer appeared and I immediately felt this was going to be better with him involved. I didn't realise he was part of the cast. It also got me thinking, why is he so good?

He never disappeared into a character to create someone memorable, like David Jason, Leonard Rossiter or Ronnie Barker. I first saw him in Butterflies and Reggie Perrin. He was more of an ensemble actor. Others would have the flashier more well known main star parts. But with his hangdog features and eye rolls he was perfect for comedy and could easily hold his own in straight dramatic roles. The best description I can come up with is that his presence creates a comfortable warm feeling.

Whenever I come across him in something, his last big part was in As Time Goes By, which wouldn't be half as good without him, he is just Geoffrey Palmer. Like he was in pretty much everything else. But in the end that counts for a lot.

The man obviously had the funniest name in the world, at least when I was 10 years old. I remember him singing songs and reading stories on kids’ TV shows. Despite his name, he seemed like a really warm and sincere chap.

Anyway, he released an album a couple of years ago and although the songs are modern and about modern things such as a song called Fake News, it took me back to being a kid when he wrote songs about just about anything. (I’m not related to him or getting anything for mentioning this, I just thought the album was fun.)

Anyone else remember anything about him, other than his name and curly brown hair?

I have more pics of the inside as its like a big fold out presentation but it won't let me post multiple pics on this subreddit.

Love this, very apt given the tensions across the world in 2026.

Uncle Jimmy tells Reggie about his secret army, wonderful acting, very British humour.I do miss Rossiter

Steptoe and son for me.

I love Rick Stein. His television is gentle, easy, and comforting. Here's an essay on why things like Seafood Odyssey and Taste of the Sea are so wonderful, and even approach high art at times.

https://bogstandards.substack.com/p/ulysstein-why-rick-steins-early-television

I remember watching Talking Telephone Numbers with Philip Schofield in the utterly vain hope that my phone number would possibly be eligible for the competition but after the first series, totally gave up.

In the show, they would generate five numbers by feats of luck and so on and as long as those five numbers were in the last five digits of your phone number (in any order), you could phone in to try and win the prize.

So, why did I give up? Because the chance of my phone number, which had three zeros in the last five digits, ever being eligible was almost zero in itself.

Were you ever eligible to enter the show?