Can John Bishop save The Nightly Show? That is what ITV may well be asking behind closed doors. They might be putting on a brave face but after the critical drubbing David Walliams received last week a lot is riding on Bishop's five days in the hot seat.
There was an article in the Observer on Sunday about the programme which I contributed to so I had a look at the below-the-line comments. As well as the inevitable Walliams-is-unfunny jibes there was also a comment that Walliams was "weird". You can say a lot of things about Bishop but one thing you can't say about him is that he is weird. He has established himself as an everyman comic par excellence. Everyone can relate to him. Even though he has made millions from stand-up and lives in a fancy house people still relate to him. He has the common touch, which helped to get him through the first programme in his run.
He also has some chat show credentials, with his own show on the W network. But that is the complete opposite of The Nightly Show. On the former, which has one guest and lasts an hour, Bishop goes for an in-depth interview. Last night, even though he only really had one guest – Roger Daltrey – he didn't really get beneath the surface. But it was a pleasant enough chat about The Who's wild years and the charity work Daltrey does these days.
Bishop certainly seemed more at ease than Walliams in the host's chair and was more satirical. His seated opening monologue was more John Oliver than Graham Norton. He apparently hosted a pilot back in February which was reportedly a hoot, so maybe things will improve with Bishop at the helm. There was only really one big car crash moment and that was his promise of an appearance from Madonna, which actually turned out to be him doing an overlong, dated parody of Madge's Vogue video.
Walliams' sketches were equally naff of course. His best night was when his friend Rob Brydon wss the guest and they naturally bounced off each other. If the producers want to make an instant improvement cut the sketches and make the interviews longer. You moght be surprised, but even ITV audiences have longer attention spans than goldfish.
The Nightly Show with John Bishop, ITV1, 10pm.
