Everything about Room 101 Tv Series totally explained
Room 101 was a
BBC comedy
television series based on the
radio series of the same name, in which celebrities are invited to discuss their hates with the host in order to have them consigned to the
eponymous chamber from the novel
Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Any item can go in and it's also possible for an item to be nominated more than once.
Ben Elton has successfully been cast twice into
Room 101 by
Anne Robinson and
Mark Steel.
Football was originally nominated by
Spike Milligan but failed to go in, but was later cast into
Room 101 by
Marcus Brigstocke.
The television series has been running since
4 July 1994. It is produced independently for the corporation by
Hat Trick Productions, screened on
BBC Two and often repeated on
Dave. The audience will often take part in deciding what enters the room, although the host makes the final decision. The title refers to the
location in
George Orwell's
Nineteen Eighty-Four within which, for each person, is the worst fear they can imagine. Appropriately, this is supposedly named after a conference room at
BBC Broadcasting House where Orwell used to sit through tedious meetings.
The TV programme is one of
BBC Two's most successful, and memorable guests have included
Peter Cook,
Will Self,
Stephen Fry,
Anne Robinson and
Ian Hislop, the only person to appear twice on the show. Fry went as far as to put
Room 101 itself into
Room 101.
Soon after Paul Merton's departure, Hat Trick productions claimed they were still going to make the programme with a new host, however that idea seems to have been shelved.
A
Dutch version of
Room 101 started on February 6th 2008.
Host
The
radio series was originally broadcast on
BBC Radio 5 in
1992, where it was hosted by
Nick Hancock. Hancock was also the first presenter when the series transferred to television two years later. The first ever guest on the TV version was comedian
Bob Monkhouse. In 1999, Hancock was replaced as host by
Paul Merton. Merton's first guest was none other than Nick Hancock. Usually there are five nominations discussed in each show — represented by several surreal props. The last item invariably goes in, usually for a
forfeit.
Rules
Under Hancock
The rules were fairly tight.
Nick Hancock clearly thought out his
argument and could be quite strict. Sometimes nominated items he disliked would go into Room 101 and vice versa. Should the guest succeed in getting three items into the room, they'd be allowed to choose one rejected item to go in. Should they get too few items in, then an item previously put into the room would get a reprieve (This only happened to
Caroline Quentin, who released
Paul Daniels - he was later put back in by
Jim Davidson and was eventually a guest). Un-related
music (from a fictional
Room 101 radio station) would be played as the item went along the conveyor belt into oblivion.
Under Merton
When Merton became keeper in 1999, the rules were very straight-forward, the choosing a bonus item or releasing an item was relaxed, the music removed and the conveyor belt replaced with an elevated
trapdoor. The conversation tended to be more relaxed, reflecting Merton's nature. One trend Merton had was being hesitant when asked to put animals into
Room 101, normally saying, "You're asking me to get rid of an entire species," but he normally backed down. Merton generally put items into the room even if he initially didn't want to.
Nominated items
[[Image:Room101.jpg|200px|thumb|right|
Paul Merton as host of
Room 101, during an episode starring
Boris Johnson (not pictured) who tried to get rid of smoking bans. Taken from the [http://www.hattrick.co.uk/shows.php?id=405&style1=show&catid=79&check1=402&menu=3&shid=27 Hat Trick Productions] website.
]]
People
Television and Culture
Room 101 (Stephen Fry)
QVC (Danny Baker)
Postman Pat (Ian Hislop)
Disney (Rich Hall)
Last Of The Summer Wine (Jeremy Clarkson)
Snoopy (Tony Slattery)
Journalists (Terry Venables)
Casualty (John Sergeant)
Blue Peter (Terry Christian)
Rap (Desmond Lynam)
Sooty (Chris Tarrant)
Cirque du Soleil (Alexei Sayle)
YMCA (Mark Lamarr)
The Royal Variety Performance (Gyles Brandreth)
Televangelism (Phil Collins)
Songs of Praise (Richard Wilson)
Cockney culture (Janet Street-Porter)
Have I Got News for You (Terry Wogan)
Presenting The Big Breakfast (Bob Monkhouse)
Children in Need (Ricky Gervais)
The songs of Frank Sinatra (Davina McCall)
Doctor Who (Michael Grade)
Animals
Jellyfish (Jenny Eclair)
Rooks (Phillip Schofield)
Yorkshire terriers (Ulrika Jonsson)
Flies (Jeremy Clarkson)
Dogs' testicles (Germaine Greer)
Rats (Caroline Quentin)
Cockroaches (Meera Syal)
Rabbits (Peter Cook)
Dogs' lips (Jonathan Ross)
Slugs (Liza Tarbuck)
Places
Airports (Will Self)
Austria (Meera Syal)
Leighton Buzzard (Sue Perkins & Mel Giedroyc as Mel and Sue)
Germany (Neil Morrissey)
Spike Milligan's house (Spike Milligan)
The British countryside (Peter Cook)
France (Desmond Lynam)
Chiswick post office (Sheila Hancock)
Gentlemen-only clubs (Esther Rantzen)
Places without air conditioning (Omid Djalili)
Portsmouth (Spike Milligan)
Yugoslavia (Bruce Forsyth)
Southend (Philip Schofield)
Riverside Caravan Park, Bognor Regis (Ricky Gervais)
Sport
Cricket (Angus Deayton)
The rules of golf (Bruce Forsyth)
The golf club mentality (Jeremy Clarkson)
Football (Nick Hancock, Spike Milligan and Marcus Brigstocke)
American Football (Neil Morrissey)
Wigan Rugby League Club (Johnny Vegas)
Food, Fashion and Style
Cheese (Paul Daniels)
Okra (Gordon Ramsay)
Massage (Shane Richie)
Jacket and jeans combination (Alan Davies)
Bras (Bill Bailey)
Novelty underpants (Johnny Vegas)
His own dress sense (Jonathan Ross)
Brazilian waxing (Kirsty Young)
The skin on rice pudding (Meera Syal)
Rude or incompetent restaurant staff (Michael Winner)
Speedos (Phil Collins)
Unwrapped food (Cilla Black)
Strawberries (Ian Hislop)
Other
Smoking bans (Boris Johnson)
Education (Michael Gambon)
Clipboards (Ross Noble)
Flowers from a petrol station (Fern Britton)
Spitting (Julian Clary)
Litter (Liza Tarbuck)
Bob Beamon's world record in the long jump being broken (Arthur Smith)
Cocaine (Tracey Emin)
1975 (Jo Brand)
The small piece of cotton which holds a new pair of socks together (Michael Parkinson)
A photograph of himself taken in the 1970s (David Baddiel)
American English (Sir Alan Sugar)
Commemorative plates (Stephen Fry)
Clowns (Chris Tarrant & Tracey Emin)
Birthdays (Sir Michael Gambon)
Mobile phones (Kathy Burke)
Australian Questioning Intonation (Stephen Fry)
Compact discs (Liza Tarbuck)
Scottish stereotyping (Lorraine Kelly)
Lateness (Ricky Gervais)
Annoying Noises (Ricky Gervais)
New age beliefs (Stephen Fry)
Memorable moments & controversy
When Anne Robinson went on the programme she consented to put the Welsh into Room 101. Some Welsh people complained about this accusing her of racism. However, Robinson said she was putting them into Room 101 out of jealousy, as they always seemed to succeed well in everything they did.
The first item ever put into Room 101 was the French, as suggested by Bob Monkhouse, Monkhouse said of France: "I would like to tilt the Channel Tunnel downwards and turn it into a sewer."
Nick Hancock (a big Cricket fan) did initially not put Cricket into Room 101, as suggested by Angus Deayton. When Deayton was told he could put another item into the Room, he chose Cricket which Nick, reluctantly, put into the room.
Hancock and Neil Morrisey going into a big humorous rant about American Football. Particularly Nick's humorous observation: "They blow a whistle and then they just go everywhere. I think its based on Runaround."
Jonathan Ross wanted to put his dress sense into the Room. However, he was presented with a hat he said he liked but never brought. He was given the choice if he could put his dress sense in but the hat would have to go in also. After a brief think, Ross told Paul, "I'm keeping my clothes."
Stephen Fry attempted to put Room 101 into Room 101 (mainly because it was about people talking about things they hate). Merton found it hard to decide what to do because if he did put Room 101 into Room 101 he said it would be like committing "Professional Suicide" and if he didn't put it into Room 101 he'd have to give it to Stephen and it would then become his. Merton did put it into the room, which made the picture go blank followed by Merton saying "I wish I hadn't done that". In the run up to Room 101 going into Room 101, Room Lovely involved Stephen nominating things he liked.
To show the unflinchingly bad content of Children in Need telethons during Ricky Gervais's episode, Paul and Ricky were subjected to Lesley Joseph dancing and what looked liked her being "kicked up the arse by the Invisible Man" or being attracted to someone in the audience "who had a very powerful vagina magnet."
Harry Hill wanted to put Ice Cream Vans into Room 101, saying the tune it always plays is Greensleeves and "it ruins tea". Paul suggested a savory version made of Mashed Potato, Ketchup (instead of Raspberry sauce) and a Sausage (instead of a Flake).
At the end of the 11th series, to mark his departure from the show, Merton cast himself into Room 101, having been nominated by Ian Hislop, his rival on TV show Have I Got News for You, but with a slight twist. Just before pulling the lever to put himself into Room 101, Merton flipped round the image of himself to reveal Hislop, hence putting himself and Hislop in together, as the final people to go into Room 101 with Paul Merton as host. Another item chosen by Hislop, Piers Morgan, was put it into Room 101, but the room rejected him because he was "too toxic", so he wasn't allowed in.
In the 6th series (2001) Mel and Sue put the town of Leighton Buzzard into Room 101 because of a particularly disastrous gig they once did there. This caused controversy in the local papers of the Bedfordshire town, with the council claiming that they didn't have permission to use the Arms of the town in the programme.
Sir Michael Parkinson had always lamented the fact that, despite all the star guests he'd interviewed on Television over the years, he'd probably be remembered for "that bloody bird" (The glove puppet Emu, which had attacked him during and interview with "owner" Rod Hull). However, Paul Merton unexpectedly brought Emu locked in a guillotine on stage and Parkinson took his chance for revenge by beheading the puppet, saying, "Goodbye, you foul beast."Further Information
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