Remember Kit? Radio DJ, out for fame and to give his boss a nervous breakdown? A second series of the show was made in 1986, moving from ITV to Channel Four, featuring yet more of Kit’s ridiculous antics and blatantly awful get-rich-quick schemes. Finding himself in a new situation, this could be a chance for Kit to reinvent himself—or carry on doing the same things as he was before.
About
The first episode of ‘Kit Curran’ aired on the 21st of July 1986 on Channel Four. It is the second series of ‘The Kit Curran Radio Show’, with a different name, one significant cast change, and a modified set up. Produced by Thames Television and created by Andy Hamilton, the second series sees Guy Jenkin join the writing team. This episode stars Denis Lawson as ‘Kit Curran’, Clive Merrison as ‘Damien Appleby’, Paul Brooke as ‘Les Toms’ and Lindsay Duncan as ‘Pamela Scott’.
Readers of this blog will remember Lindsay Duncan from Dead Head, which also aired in 1986. She and Denis are once again love interests—of a sort—with the adversarial relationship retained, even though their characters are very different.
Availability: Out on Region 2 DVD as of 2018. Also available on UK iTunes, but mislabelled as Series 1, in a confusing manner. The watch quality of the DVD is better than these screencaps suggest—it’s an improvement over the VHS rips of re-runs that were circling before it was released—but you can tell the footage hasn’t been best preserved.
One Door Closes
We open with terrible news: Radio Newtown is closing. Kit is saying his goodbyes. The station has run into financial difficulties—nothing to do with Kit’s penchant for expensive schemes, of course—and well, that’s the end of that. Never one to quit, Kit promises his loyal listeners he will return.
Bickering in the pub, Damien lays the blame squarely at Kit’s feet. Kit, having organised a rigged bingo game with a promise of a half-a-million pounds prize, refuses to take any responsibility. Les laments that all he has is £87 in his post office savings… an amount that gives Kit ideas.
Kit has found a rundown studio to rent. He’s got a plan: start up a business. All he needs is some start up capital. A sum that is exactly what Les has in his savings account, plus what Damien would get if he sold his watch. Kit’s contribution? Nothing.
Damien refuses to participate in this enterprise. He’ll get a job at the BBC as a newsreader. It’ll all be fine.
Kit’s managed to scavenge the kit from Radio Newtown, going cheap in the bankruptcy sale. He wants Les to join him in setting up a new radio show. Les points out that this is illegal: they can’t broadcast without a license. Not that that will stop Kit. He’s got some gear, and a very old collection of records. That’s all they need.
Enter: Pamela Scott. The owner of a fashion design house, renting the space across the way, she’s come to complain about the noise. Kit (and Les) are immediately enchanted. Unfortunately, Kit immediately sticks his foot in it, assuming she’s an office girl rather than the owner of the company. Despite this, he still flirts like nobody’s business. Pamela does not stand for it: she has a read on Kit, and she’s not impressed.
Kit realises that there’s one way to talk Les into investing: play up Pamela’s interest in him. If they only could take the premises, there’d be a chance for Les and Pamela to really hit things off. That, and the surrounding variety of restaurants provides ample opportunities for Les to eat out.
Man, Les should have really learnt when Kit’s manipulating him by now.
Having rented the space, Kit is immediately up to his old tricks. Namely, faking phone calls. This time, it’s an excuse to go and talk to Pamela. Calling through to her office—claiming the wrong number—it’s an excuse to name drop all the famous people he ‘supposedly’ works with. And then issue a dinner invitation. Worryingly, Pamela agrees.
Les and Kit are busy expanding. But they know they need more: they need Damien back. But where is Damien now? A hot-shot at the BBC? No, he’s calling bingo for little old ladies, and doing a terrible job of it.
Kit and Pamela are out on their date. Kit is trying to impress Pamela: Pamela is having none of it. One problem: Pamela is streets ahead of him on, well, just about everything. She knows what she’s doing. After being bored stiff for what is likely several hours, and Kit faking not being able to pay, Pamela gives in: she knows Kit’s lying. She can hear everything Kit and Les discuss in their office.
Heading out to the local restaurant, bickering about money, Les and Kit find Damien. As a server. Damien is being about as successful at this as everything else, which is to say… not very. Damien quits.
With nowhere else to go, Damien is finally talked into things by Kit.
“As one lamb to another, welcome to the slaughterhouse.”
Verdict
It might be a different set of circumstances, but Kit is up to the same old tricks. Having run Radio Newtown into the ground—and likely Roland into a nervous breakdown—Kit is onto pastures new. Three out of four members of the original cast return, but the replacement of Brian Wilde with Lindsay Duncan alters the cast dynamic significantly. Honestly? The show is better for it. Pamela, like Roland, sees straight through Kit. Unlike Roland, she’s willing to play Kit’s game to get back at him. Add to that the fact that Duncan and Lawson are great scene partners and it’s a delight.
Once again, there’s no shortage of gags about Kit’s ridiculous plans. From his cardboard cut-out, rescued from Radio Newtown, to his methods of securing the financial werewithal to finance his efforts (receiving a digital typewriter on a trial period and then putting it up as security for a loan), whenever you think Kit can’t get any more ludicrous: he manages it.
Kit’s theme song—Fame—makes a reappearance this episode, which gives Denis Lawson the chance to once again clamber about whilst singing. Poor Les, who has to be clambered on, is less impressed by this entire affair. And one too enthusiastic leap later, he’s stuck in a box.
Damien and Les are wonderful as usual, and Clive Merrison threatens to steal most of the scenes he’s in. It wouldn’t be Kit Curran without Damien going off the rails at least once, and he’s in spectacular form here as he quits his job as a server.
The costuming is once again over the top and fabulously eighties. Whilst the neon pink coat may be left in series one, Kit still has no shortage of fun and funky outfits to wear. And now there’s Pamela to dress too, the owner of a fashion house. Between her and Kit, there’s no shortage of great fashion choices coming up.
All in all? This is an episode that establishes the new status quo. Kit’s off to dabble in whatever brings him money and fame, and poor old Les and Damien are along for the ride. Pamela Scott is a great new addition to the team, suitably no nonsense but entertained enough by Kit to stay involved. A promising start to the second series of what is a delightful little show.
Next time
Kit has successfully convinced Les and Damien to come on board, but their start up capital won’t go far. And the rent is due. Kit’s gonna have to do some creative thinking to get out of this jam. All that and more in Kit Curran: The Lucky Break