Hugh Bonneville: 'Giant C**k Up!': What Went Wrong In W1A Tonight? Check Out The 5 Funniest Moments

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BY LYDIA RICHARDSON ON MARCH 26, 2014



W1A the hilarious mockumentary (that's a staged documentary to you and me) is back again and once again tackling the big topics. Tonight the subject was sexism and “institutional anti-West Country bias” in the BBC. Well, naturally.

The second episode of the comedy-doc once again follows Ian Fletcher (played by Hugh Bonneville) as he struggles with his new role as Head of Values at the BBC. With a live radio interview with Woman's Hour looming and an awkward encounter with Carol Vorderman and Clare Balding, there are plenty of laugh out loud moments in this tongue-in-cheek four part series.

1. Justin Bieber Twittergate

With new PR brand advisor Siobhan Sharpe (played by the brilliant Jessica Hynes) nothing was ever going to run smoothly. Whilst on the train to Manchester for the damage control interview for BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour, both Tracey Pritchard (played by Monica Dolan) and Siobhan are at logger heads at how they should handle the sexism situation. Tracey reckon Woman's Hour is the best way to convince women that the BBC has their best interests at heart. Seems sensible right?

Not according to Siobhan who thinks Twitter is the way forward. When asked how many people actually listen to Woman's Hour (3.4 million) Siobhan is very quick to point out that rebellious pop star Justin Bieber has 45 million followers on Twitter, although we'd like to point out that he's currently at 50.5 million, and wants Ian to use the power of the Twitterverse to stop this ageism/sexism debate.

Trust Tracey to throw in some common sense though, we love it when she lets both Ian and Siobhan know that Ian is no J-Beebs: “I'm sorry Siobhan, I don't want to be rude or anything but Ian is not Justin Bieber and to be honest as far as I can see he's never going to be either. Sorry Ian I have to tell you things as they are.” Brilliant!

2. Clare Balding Fiasco

The other main storyline is about new show, Britain’s Tastiest Village. They already have Alan Titchmarsh (who was apparently voted the world’s sexiest man after George Clooney) on board, but they just need to seal the deal with his potential co-host Carol Vorderman.

It all looks like it is going to plan until hapless Entertainment Format Producer David Wilkes (played by Rufus Jones) reveals that their original favourite, Clare Balding is still on board.

Uh oh... with both Voderman and Balding due to come to the office at the same time, how can they keep the two veteran presenters from finding out about each other?

3. David Tennant's Commentary

We couldn't talk about this episode without giving props to David Tennant. He might always be Doctor Who to us (in fact you might recognise a lot of the cast from the Beebs sci-fi drama), but David adds just the right amount of comedy to his mockumentary narration. With lines like “giant and protracted c*ck up” and sometimes the completely obvious (yet somehow very funny) “another thing is about to happen”, we can't stop giggling at David.


READ MORE HERE: http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/144807/Giant-Ck-Up-What-Went-Wrong-In-W1A-Tonight-Check-Out-The-5-Funniest-Moments

HUGH BONNEVILLE: (YAY) TwentyTwelve spin-off in the pipeline reuniting hapless Olympics planning team (YAY) (MIRROR)

BBC comedy chiefs are plotting a spin-off of Bafta-nominated Olympic mockumentary TwentyTwelve.

They hope to reunite the core team of hapless PRs including Jessica Hynes as Siobhan Sharpe, Hugh Bonneville as Ian Fletcher, Olivia Colman as his PA Sally and Amelia Bulmore as Kay Hope.

A BBC insider said: “There is a real desire for this to happen.

"The show was such a fantastic success and writer John Morton is a genius, such a massive talent.

"It would be so great to get the team together again.”

Plans are in their early stages, with the spin-off likely to see dithering Fletcher taking on another major national project and hiring back his Olympic colleagues to help him out.

In the show, made in the style of a fly-on-the-wall documentary, Ian headed up the fictional Olympic Deliverance Commission while Siobhan, who has her own PR company Perfect Curve, was head of brand.

One of the highlights was the development of a travel strategy - called Way to Go - in which pedestrians were banned from pavements.

Morton has indicated that a follow-up comedy could be possible, given the right circumstances. He said: “There’s been some talk about whether there can be a life post-Olympics and it’s tempting because I’d love to work with those actors again.”

The BBC2 series received widespread critical acclaim when it was shown in the run-up to the Olympics last year.



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Downton Abbey star HUGH BONNEVILLE is evidence that prioritising acting over academia at Cambridge can pay off. He talks to NATALIE GIL. By Natalie Gil Features | 27th February 2013 (CAMBRIDGE TAB)

Hugh Bonneville has become something of a legend to the loyal Sunday night TV viewers of Britain. His current role, for which he is arguably best known, is as Lord Grantham in the mind-bogglingly popular Downton Abbey. But those less enthusiastic about costume dramas and the elevated segregation of the upper classes might also have spotted him as the eponymous and irritable tramp in Mr Stink, or as Ian Fletcher, Head of Deliverance for the Olympics in the BBC mockumentary, Twenty Twelve. Oh, and don’t forget his role as the lovably ignorant Bernie in Notting Hill.

What Do You Do?: One of the most amusingly awkward moments in Notting Hill. Hell, maybe even in the history of British rom coms.

After a stint at a London drama school, Bonneville studied Theology at Corpus Christi in the eighties, where he admits he was a ‘pretty pants’ student, having done ‘far too many plays than was healthy’ for his academic career. Possibly explaining why he came away with a Desmond 2:2 in Theology. But his stellar career and (well-merited) celebrity status, re-ignited by Downton, suggest there’s hope for us all regardless of our results in Finals.

Like a butler with a tray of foie gras canapés, costume dramas come and go in Britain, so why does Bonneville think people have warmed to Downton more than the rest? “If I knew that I’d be a millionaire, having bottled the recipe”, he jokes. Then he re-thinks: “one reason why it’s appealed to a broader audience than one might expect from a traditional costume drama is that it’s about tension not violence, romance rather than sex. It’s not so in your face. And it just breathes out in way that a lot of contemporary shows, which are brilliant, don’t.”

- See more at: http://cambridge.tab.co.uk/2013/02/27/interview-hugh-bonneville/#sthash.gH2N6HaM.dpuf

Interview: Hugh Bonneville Florence Smith-Nicholls talks to the star at the Cambridge Union about Downton fame and college life. by Florence Smith-Nicholls Saturday 23rd February 2013, 00:22 GMT (VARSITY)

It’s twilight on a bleak February evening and I’m sprinting down Castle Hill dodging students whilst frantically keying nonsensical messages into my mobile phone, I’m getting the most exercise I’ve had in Lent term so far. Why the amateur athletics? Rather than a week five bout of supervision amnesia, I’m running late for a much more important appointment. Lord Grantham of Downton Abbey fame has come to Cambridge.

Those of you not acquainted with the Lord might know him by his other name, Hugh Bonneville. You might also know him under the guise of a rather unprepossessing tramp called Mr. Stink, or as Ian Fletcher, Head of Deliverance for the 2012 Olympic Games. Indeed, Bonneville is that rare breed of actor who can put on many faces without you necessarily remembering his original identity. It is as a Lord, though, that Bonneville has really become a national treasure.

Hugh has come to speak at the Cambridge Union, and as I pant my way towards the redbrick building, I already know what my first question will be. As a former Cantabrigian at Corpus Christi college, I ask him about his defining memory of his time as an undergraduate. Rehearsals rooms and auditions, that’s what he remembers: “I’m afraid the School of Divinity didn’t see as much of me as it should have done.” Wearing jeans and a hoody, Bonneville is more the leisurely student than a carefully coifed member of the aristocracy: there is no hint of Grantham here. I feel instantly at ease with Hugh; he emanates the calm confidence of an experienced interviewee.

READ MORE: http://www.varsity.co.uk/culture/5667