The actor and comedian on his return to the stage for a Nativity with a difference
‘Imagine bumping into us three in the staff canteen—what an oddball and unlikely trio,’ remarks Mr Dennis. We’re talking as the Mock the Week star rehearses for the festive comedy The Messiah, his first stage play in 20 years.
‘Fortunately, I didn’t campaign for the retention of blasphemy laws or make the first ascent of the north face of the Eiger. I actually found it hard to leave Unilever because, aged 24, I was travelling the world and entrusted with millions of pounds to produce TV commercials.’
In the end, it was his boss who persuaded Mr Dennis it would be folly not to take up the offer of a sabbatical and appear in the radio comedy series The Mary Whitehouse Experience. ‘I’m still on that sabbatical, 28 years later,’ he says.
Fortunately, the world of toothpaste and hair shampoo’s loss has been light entertainment’s gain. Mr Dennis’s extensive CV includes the popular TV sitcoms Outnumbered and Not Going Out, plus the Radio 4 Friday-evening favourite The Now Show. He’s the longest-serving panel member on the satirical Mock the Week, appearing in every episode since 2005.
We’re talking after a full day of rehearsals, but Mr Dennis comes over as the same witty, sardonic character audiences have come to love; affable and charming, it’s easy to warm to his self-deprecating humour.
Denne historien er fra November 28, 2018-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra November 28, 2018-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds
