The Guardian - (archived: https://archive.ph/GEaoT ) Ben Elton: ‘I fancied Olivia Newton-John. It’s alright to say that about a third cousin, right?’

The standup talks about tensions behind the scenes of Blackadder, his Wiggles movie that never happened and his opinions on hecklers

Sian Cain
Sat 14 Dec 2024 18.00 EST



Of all the things you’ve written, what gets quoted at you the most?

It’d be something from my three series of Blackadder [2-4]. That’s the one that really entered the culture. I think the thing I’m proudest of is how both Young Ones and Blackadder genuinely seeped into language. It’s not so much quotes you hear, but people using the rhythms of it – like “You’re as small as a very small thing that’s got a degree in being small.”

Language is my love. And the fact that I can hear rhythms I remember developing still resonating in Australian and British English is a source of great joy to me. But yes, at every stage door, people come up to me and say, “I expect you want a bit of rat souffle tonight.” And I have no idea what they’re talking about.

Is it true that Blackadder ended in part because the cast constantly wanted to rewrite your and Richard Curtis’ jokes, which meant rehearsals got a bit tense?

We’re all still very good friends. I saw Rowan [Atkinson] only a couple of days ago, Richard wrote to me yesterday. I still see Stephen [Fry] and Hugh [Laurie]. We’re all very close. But there was a certain tension - an endless sort of deconstructing that tended to be very frustrating. There would be 20 minutes of discussion on a single syllable, or debate over something like, is a vole or a gerbil the funniest small animal to have a degree from Cambridge?

Richard and I always wanted them to rehearse the script as written before debating whether a certain line worked. We’d have the first read-through and they’d all light up cigarettes and Stephen and John Lloyd would look slightly pained over certain bits and pieces. I just stepped away in the end, but Richard sat through it all. And of course, Richard went on to write Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually, so I don’t think we need to question his writing ability.

Everyone involved was a very creative person. There’s no doubt half a dozen lines each episode would come from the cast, but the other 250 lines were as written. And while there were moments of irritation, it was a great process. We were friends, and have remained friends all our lives. That’s quite something. I don’t know how many sitcom teams have been as close as that.


Cast of Blackadder Goes Forth

/snip