Kit’s managed to convince both Damien and Les to come on board his business venture, but their start up capital will only go so far. Kit’s taste for the finer things in life—as well as his atrociously bad business sense—soon mean they’re out of money and the rent is due. How on earth are they going to pay it?

About

The second episode of ‘Kit Curran’ aired on the 28th 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’.

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.

The Lucky Break

An Ambulance is driving, sirens ablaze, down the road. Unfortunately, their radio isn’t giving them the information they need about the emergency they have to get to. Instead, it’s being disrupted by Kit Curran’s radio show, who is broadcasting on the emergency frequency.

Once again, Kit is blatantly making up the news and information on his broadcast, attempting to seem more legitimate by creating a cast of many characters. There is one legitimate other voice on the station: Damien gets to do his news segment. Free of the need to show an ounce of professionalism, Damien’s colourful commentary on the politicians of the day is now front and centre.

Les says that they can’t make the news up. Damien points out that the Sun does. (Only too true.) Les also points out the entire operation is illegal. Kit couldn’t care about that fact—until someone almost walks in. Then, the broadcasting station is hastily transformed by a flip of the table into a regular working office.

Their new landlord has called. Kit is, unsurprisingly, significantly behind in paying the rent. That rent—all two hundred and forty pounds of it—is now due. Kit doesn’t have it. They have a week to come up with it, or they’re out.

Kit, meanwhile, has been ‘investing’ their start up capital… on useful things like ‘Kit Curran is King’ t-shirts. A concerned Pamela Scott appears. While Kit attempts to spin a story of how they definitely aren’t out of money, she has no time for it. Then Kit attempts to secure some investment from her! (You’re barking up the wrong tree Kit, you really are.) She doesn’t go for it.

Kit then has a great idea. They’ll get the money from a bank. However, every bank manager in town has definitely heard of Kit. They know his reputation with money. And it’s not good. Being Kit is getting him nowhere. So Kit abandons his extravagant, multi-coloured persona, and endeavours to fit in.

At a new bank, Kit gets to see the manager. With his sensible bowler hat and lie about having an OBE, Kit almost looks like a qualified recipient for a loan. Everything seems to be going swimmingly, but then Damien crashes through the office door. He’s very upset that he’s not getting the service he thinks he deserves. Kit’s chances at that loan are ruined the moment the manager finds out that Kit and Damien are associates.

Back in the studio, Kit is back to his old tricks, promising radio interviews with celebrities… who happen to be dead. Les is busy trying to earn some actual money for them, sealing envelopes for the small amount of money providing a minor service brings them. Damien is working for a temp agency. This seems to involve being dressed as a gorilla and delivering messages, a job that Damien very much does not enjoy.

Pamela appears again, wondering why Damien is dressed as a gorilla, enquiring as to whether they are running out of money. Kit denies it. She also remarks on the illegal radio enterprise.

Kit decides they need to try their luck again with the banks. This time, with a … different approach. Kit decides that the way to get a loan is to pretend to be a rich greek businessman. One who has a chauffeur and can burn ten pound notes as he chooses. Kit says that he’ll need an advance to cover some expenses, as his funds are tied up in bonds. It very almost works… until Kit screws it all up.

Dejected, Les and Kit return to the studio. But they haven’t had as bad a day as Damien. Damien has had unfortunate encounter with a Hen Party.

At the end of their tether, Kit, Les and Damien are walking along the road. Anything could happen, says Kit.

Well anything does. Les ends up being hit by a car. While he breaks both his legs, he does receive a generous compensation payout … which Kit immediately puts to good use, without even consulting Les. They can pay off the rent. Unfortunately, that was only last months rent. The Landlord demands three months, as security. Kit goes fumbling about his person for the cash, pulling the last of it from his socks and shoe.

Pamela is not particularly impressed by Kit spending Les’s compensation money. But, as ever… that’s definitely not going to dissuade Kit from doing it. Or arranging another accident.

Verdict

This is the first episode where we get the new credits sequence! And what a delightful change it is. No longer is it a set of boring shots of town life—now, we get Denis Lawson in neon and rollerskates. Seriously, watch it. Even if you never manage to see any of the rest of the show, you deserve this credits sequence in your life.

I live for Damien’s political commentary, which can be summed up as he hates everyone and thinks they are useless. Which is, honestly, the most relatable feeling right now.

The gag with the radio station desk, that flips over to become a standard working desk, is brilliant. It makes me laugh every time. For all Kit claims not to care, he has no interest in actually facing up to any responsibility—and so he’ll continue to try and lie his way out of everything.

The sequence with the bank managers is also brilliant—especially the one who bursts into laughter at the thought of loaning Kit money. Kit’s reputation proceeds him. Twenty four banks, and not one of them will even consider it. That’s something. Kit’s disguise is also brilliant—especially the fact that his bowler hat keeps moving every time he wiggles his eyebrows! He also can’t quite make up his mind what accent he’s doing. Is it RP? Not quite. There’s a hint of Scottish in it, to my ear.

(I also have to say that I love his pink briefcase. I love how much Kit loves pink. It’s so good.)

Kit’s cardboard cutout—and Damien’s insistence about using it as a dartboard—brighten up this episode. Both Damien and Les take delight in taking their feelings about Kit out on his counterpart.

Lindsay Duncan doesn’t get a lot to do in this episode, but once again, her refusal to stand for any of Kit’s nonsense is refreshing. As Les and Damien have both fully succumbed to Kit’s influence, she provides a necessary injection of reality into Kit’s life. Everything will not go the way he planned. And Kit still desperately wants to impress her.

All in all? This episode relies heavily on Lawson’s chameleon talents, as he assumes one persona, then another, in an attempt to convince someone, anyone, to give him a bank loan. Clive Merrison’s railings against the world—and everyone and everything in it—threaten to steal the show again, but the show is stolen, at least this time, by Kit’s disguises.

Next time

An armed invader attempts to rob the studio. Luckily, Les fights them off. But the affair gives Kit a clever new idea for a money making scheme; sell the story to the papers for a bit of quick cash. But once he has a taste of the easy money, will he stop? All that and more next time in Kit Curran: The Street of Shame.