Charlie Higson has revealed his BBC payslip for royalties related to The Fast Show, and the amount may surprise you.
The 65-year-old wrote and appeared in the BBC Two sketch show The Fast Show, which aired from 1994 to 1997 and returned for specials in 1999 and 2020. Paul Whitehouse created the show, which featured John Thomson, the late Caroline Aherne, and Mark Williams. In one episode, Johnny Depp made a cameo appearance.
The show aired for four seasons and mocked British cultural stereotypes. It was known for its fast pace and numerous sketches within 30-minute episodes, with the premiere episode featuring a whopping 27.
Future shows like Little Britain and The Catherine Tate Show mirrored its style.
Despite the cultural impact, the royalties from the show’s availability on BBC iPlayer are unlikely to cover many expenses. Oh no!
Discussing money is something Brits are known to avoid, but the comedian decided to break the taboo with an open post on X.
Charlie revealed a document which showed how much it earned between April and December 2022 from the programme on the platform – £18.84.
He then seemed to reveal some advice he got with the accompanying tweet: ‘“You should make The Fast Show available on iPlayer!” “Nobody buys DVDs any more” “You’ll make a fortune!”’
“You should make The Fast Show available on iPlayer!” “Nobody buys DVDs any more” “You’ll make a fortune!” pic.twitter.com/gS0mVZkKcT
— charlie higson (@monstroso) April 16, 2024
Fans reacted to the disclosure with humour. ‘I’m just learning now that it’s on iPlayer. Which is nice,’ wrote Tom Parker, cleverly referencing one of Charlie’s characters’ catchphrases. Charlie then joked that Tom had fallen for the ‘indirect marketing’.
‘Skints you, sir,’ wrote John Brewin once again using a popular trope in the series, where characters would say ‘Suits you’ in a tailoring shop.
‘Isn’t Netflix Brilliant!? You go on there like and do a special and you get paid like lots of cash n stuff,’ suggested Dean the Bard.
Hayden Hewitt joked: ‘Alright, we get it. No need to rub it in our faces Daddy Warbucks. Jesus.’
‘That’s terrible, I didn’t realise how badly they paid. I’ve also recently realised that buying physical media is also better for the consumer because you don’t actually own anything that you’ve subscribed to on streaming sites,’ wrote Clarence C Water.
Although, when commenter Neil Anderson called the BBC ‘disgusting,’ Charlie said: ‘This isn’t everything I get from iPlayer. Just a tiny amount.’
White board I used to figure out how the Fast Show live was going to work. Time to wipe it I think. pic.twitter.com/E2SJs5XHAQ
— charlie higson (@monstroso) April 16, 2024
To commemorate the show’s 30th anniversary, the cast embarked on a live tour earlier this year, and Charlie revealed to X how he planned the show’s schedule.
It involved a whiteboard and various coloured pens, and fans begged him not to destroy this piece of history.
‘But I have to start planning the next project….’ he responded.
The Fast Show is available to watch on BBC iPlayer
Source My Celebrity Life.
