1991: RON MOODY on the impact of OLIVER! | Wogan | Classic Celebrity Interview | BBC Archive 

I can only see one great person, the other was just a BBC DJ with very little talent in comparison.

@@andydixon2980 Oh Andy, go away. Wogan was a witty bloke, good at what he did and liked by many. A bit like you actually, when it comes to the exact opposite.

That’s right. A friend of mine used to drink with Ron Moody; and he said he later realised turning down Doctor Who (possibly twice; I think Barry Letts tried him again in 1974) was the biggest mistake of his career. He saw himself as a film star after ‘Oliver’; television looked like a step down. Ten years on, those scruples had evaporated and he did a children’s fantasy series for HTV called Into the Labyrinth. It was - amongst a number of other writing and cast associations with the programme - ironically co-created by Doctor Who alumnus, Bob Baker I agree: he would have made a wonderful Doctor. But fortunately, we had two of the greatest in Pertwee and T. Baker.

@@stephennoonan8417 Jon Pertwee will always be my favourite Doctor and was the perfect choice for the new colour era in 1970. I can't imagine a world in which JP had become Captain Mainwaring and RM had become the 3rd doctor. Much as i love Tom Baker's portrayal of DW, from this interview i think RM would have been brilliant as the 4th Doctor and can only imagine how wonderful the team of RM, Philip Hinchcliffe and Robert Holmes could have been.

@@tsmith7146 I agree. JP was my Doctor too. And although I adored the Hinchcliffe era and Tom Baker in his first three years, I always yearned for Pertwee to return!

Possibly. And Wogan always interviewed like he wished he was in one.

@@stephennoonan8417 ha! 100%

@@stephennoonan8417 I did like Wogan, but he was very poor as a chat show host. He hardly ever seemed interested in what his guests did or had to say. And yes, his audiences did seem uncomfortable if there wasn't a lame attempt at humour every 20 seconds.

@@JMoruzzi His voice is an indelible part of the soundtrack of my childhood. I literally ‘woke up to Wogan’ every single morning. My first human memory is from 1972 - the year he began the R2 early morning programme - so I don’t remember a time before his voice. My mother had the radio in the bathroom, so he accompanied my ablutions, he was down in the kitchen for my breakfast, and still going in the car on the way to school. It was years before I saw his face; and I remember being fascinated when I did - as if an ancient puzzle had been solved. Then came Blankety Blank in 79. I was 10 and I adored it… I think he was a gifted DJ and a decent game show host, but never quite had the chops for tor the talk show. He used to suggest his suitability for the format lay in not being at all star-struck. That may be true, but looking like all your guests bore you stiff is taking it a bit far. 🤣 Anyway, he was one of the perennial fixtures of my generation; and - like Bruce Forsyth - it’s still hard to believe he’s gone!

Nice. 😅

🙄