In 1994, Paul Whitehouse was appearing concurrently in two comedy sketch shows for the BBC - 'Harry Enfield & Chums' and 'The Fast Show'. The latter, so named because of its fast moving pace, is perhaps the best remembered of the two, partly because it lasted fractionally longer, though in my view it is far less amusing than 'Enfield & Chums'.
Many of the better sketches were of those featuring 'Unlucky Alf' ( played by Paul Whitehouse ), an old pensioner for whom nothing ever goes right, Patrick Nice ( Mark Williams ) who would tell a far-fetched tale concluding with ''which was nice!'', The Fat Sweaty Coppers ( a send-up of 'The Bill' featuring John Thomson and Robin Driscoll ) and Roy & Renee ( Caroline Aherne and John Thomson ), her a gossipy harridan and him the hen-pecked, constantly nodding husband.
Simon Day and Arrabella Weir both get on my nerves, particularly the latter with her ''Does my bum look big in this?'' catchphrase! Another downside is that Paul Whitehouse looks lost without Enfield to bounce his humour off ( a problem that Enfield later similarly encountered when he signed up for the dreadful Sky One series 'Harry Enfield's Brand Spanking New Show' ).
Some of the sketches are really funny ( such as the one in which The Fat Sweaty Coppers pile into their patrol car, only for the suspension to give way under their weight ) but most of them are pretty weak to be honest. In fact, many of them look like sketches that didn't make the cut from 'Harry Enfield & Chums'. Many of the characters later went on to appear in a series of commercials for Holsten Pils lager.
Many of the better sketches were of those featuring 'Unlucky Alf' ( played by Paul Whitehouse ), an old pensioner for whom nothing ever goes right, Patrick Nice ( Mark Williams ) who would tell a far-fetched tale concluding with ''which was nice!'', The Fat Sweaty Coppers ( a send-up of 'The Bill' featuring John Thomson and Robin Driscoll ) and Roy & Renee ( Caroline Aherne and John Thomson ), her a gossipy harridan and him the hen-pecked, constantly nodding husband.
Simon Day and Arrabella Weir both get on my nerves, particularly the latter with her ''Does my bum look big in this?'' catchphrase! Another downside is that Paul Whitehouse looks lost without Enfield to bounce his humour off ( a problem that Enfield later similarly encountered when he signed up for the dreadful Sky One series 'Harry Enfield's Brand Spanking New Show' ).
Some of the sketches are really funny ( such as the one in which The Fat Sweaty Coppers pile into their patrol car, only for the suspension to give way under their weight ) but most of them are pretty weak to be honest. In fact, many of them look like sketches that didn't make the cut from 'Harry Enfield & Chums'. Many of the characters later went on to appear in a series of commercials for Holsten Pils lager.