Barrie Stardust - The life of TV legend
There are few people who wouldn't agree that Barrie Stardust is one of this country's greatest talents. However, like so many stars from the world of entertainment - from Oscar Wilde and Angus Deayton to Richard Bacon - Barrie succumbed to the easy excesses fame provided for him and was hit by some of the most infamous scandals in tabloid history.
Stardust was at the height of his fame, presenting, in his own words, "a big variety Saturday night show in the late eighties with other wholesome entertainers like Barrymore and Matthew Kelly" when he was caught up in a sex and drugs scandal that ruined his career for the best part of two decades.
But Barrie is back, fronting a new show which sits perfectly with his bitter and twisted philosophy. Here we examine Barrie's career to date, from his humble beginnings in the early 1980s right through to his fabulous new show on Dave.
Let's Have A Look See (1984)
Barrie got his big break presenting this local interest show for a modest regional channel. According to Barrie, typical guests included "a bloke in a bath of baked beans, some arse who'd converted his shed into a road worthy novelty vehicle, a dog which barked in an amusing way and some woman who sneezed for ages."
Twit Twat (1986)
Pulled after just one week because somebody thought people might find the title offensive, Twit Twat is widely regarded as the inspiration for Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Barrie "and a load of dolly-birds" asked questions to booze-hounds enjoying a pub lock-in. The lucky winner received £10 and a Twit Twat t-shirt. However, the contestant with the lowest score was dubbed the actual Twit Twat and beaten with clubs for half an hour.
Saturday Night Special (1987)
The pinnacle of Barrie's career (until And Then You Die), Saturday Night Special was one of the biggest shows of the 1980s. As Barrie says: "This was me going through the roof, it was a must see. I presented a one hour, live comedy-entertainment show every Saturday for two years." If only he had said "no" when that gorgeous blonde offered to show him a good time.
Letterbox (1989)
Letterbox was a rival to the BBC's Points of View. However, as Stardust says, they "didn't edit the letters, we just opened live and read the buggers." It was around this period that Barrie started hitting the drugs hard to cope with the boredom.
Doing anything, anywhere for anyone who had a few quid (1990-2006)
After the tabloid shame which followed Letterbox, Stardust was left in the wilderness. The low point came with the infamous, 'Barrie, the bouncer and the Blackwall Tunnel' incident and thankfully a number of stints in rehab followed. Work during this period included various bottom-end corporate gigs and a Weymouth summer season.
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