When Humphrey Lyttelton – jazz legend, chairman extraordinaire and self-confessed ‘purveyor of blue chip filth’ – passed away in April last year, it was a great loss for radio as a whole, and Radio 4’s antidote to panel games, I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, in particular. For a while, the future of the show was in doubt, but now, after a suitably respectful interregnum, Clue is back with a vengeance (Mondays, 6.30pm, Radio 4).
It was always going to be difficult to find a replacement for the much-loved Chairman Humph, and as such, a permanent host has yet to be appointed – if indeed, any one person will ever try to fill the role on a regular basis. Until then, Stephen Fry, Rob Brydon and Jack Dee are presenting two shows apiece of the new series – the 51st, no less. Fry had the unenviable task of going first.
Thankfully, Fry’s pretty much bullet-proof reputation as a panel show stalwart and National Treasure is still intact – he did a terrific job with a script that could have been written specially for Humph, full of filthy jokes (including, of course, the customary Lionel Blair gag), and references to the chairman’s sidekick, the rippling Sven, who was back after a long absence deputising for the absent Samanatha. Crucially, he made no attempt to ape Humph’s deadpan style of delivery, and thus avoided the obvious pitfalls of replicating what had been done before.
The regulars – Graeme Garden, Barry Cryer, Tim Brooke-Taylor and not forgetting put-upon pianist Colin Sell – were all on good form, and it was great to hear Victoria Wood join the ranks of the show’s guest panellists, a role she took to with aplomb. Although Clue won’t be quite the same without Humphrey Lyttelton in the chair, I think I can safely say that if the team stick to the winning formula, its future will be secure for some time to come.
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