Why was Cheggers Play Pop axed after one episode?

Will it be revived?

And how did Keith Chegwin end up working with Roman Polanski and Ginger Rogers?

Haymarket Hotel, London.

Thursday 8th November, 2007.

Coming out from behind the sofa.

My mum and dad hated it.

So we went to see this end of pier show.

Were doing a talent competition.

And I got up and sang a Des OConnor number, and I won it!

So I couldnt do it.

So I did, oh my God,Open All Hours…

You were in that?

Yeah, I did the first everOpen All Hours.

I was inLiverbirds,Z Cars,Tomorrow People,Black Beauty, oh I did everything.

I did West End stage shows.

To play Fleance inMacbeth.

And did the job.

And then Martin Shaw was my Dad, Francesca Annss was Lady Macbeth, it was fantastic.

And what was it like working with Polanski?

Well, Roman Polanski, great film director, theyd say He not turn up today.

Thats all we ever heard.

Just because he didnt turn up?

Just because he didnt turn up.

Or hed turn up and go I feel ill, I go home.Were you paid per day?

Yes, paid per day!

No novelty ringtone here.

His burger which we discussed in part one of this interview still sits there uneaten.

]From there, the first time I saw you was Childrens Film Foundation.

Yeah, you see, I did about three.

All that must have been quite bewildering?

Oh it was in those days.

And I said oh God, because Ive never really seen it as a film.

And one bloke in the audience went, Oh no, not fucking Cheggers.

Never forget that!Presumably your memories of the Childrens Film Foundation are mostly fond?

Oh God, yeah, because I was 14 or 13 or something…

It was an apprenticeship and a half…?

Erm, Childrens Film Foundation films were always made on a budget and very quickly.

So each film would be a three or four week shoot.

So when I didRobin Hood Junior, that was literally just a three week film.

And they were always done on the cheap.

Are you surprised how fondly theyre remembered?

Theres a lot of warmth for them now.Oh very much so.

I think Sky bought a whole load of them up.

Have your kids watched them?

And youd already done a stint as DJing before that?

Well, its really quite weird actually, I dont know where the DJ slant has come from.

Oh, there you go!

Id drive up, do Radio City on a Sunday and then come back.

ButCheggers Plays Pop, that was so funny for us.

Because it was axed, nobody knows this.

What do you think?

I said, oh, fantastic.

So London were quite jealous of Manchester.

London wouldnt talk to Manchester, and Manchester wouldnt talk to London.

They used to have their budgets and time slots to fill.

I mean I cant tell you.

WithCheggers Plays Pop, you could watch the show and buy it in the afternoon!

And so that really affected the charts.

Er, do you know what.

It was all like that.

Id love to name them, but you know…

So how come the show was axed?

After the first one!

So where did it all start?

You said they came to you with the idea?

Yeah, literally we sat down and had a chat, I always remember it, in Victoria.

But and it sounds really big headed doesnt it?

the show was so big, we could get people phoning us wanting to be on it.

What does Ken Dodd want to be onCheggers Plays Popfor?

The queue of guests who just wanted to come on and say hello who would trek up to Manchester!

All the Radio One DJs!

A lot of them.

So wed have three recording breaks in the show.

It ran for half an hour, but it would probably take about 45 minutes to record.

No, not really.

Id imagine, nine years worth of a show with little kids…?

I mean when I worked onSwap Shopthere were some kids.

I had one vomit on me!

And we went live on TV, I said good morning, and she went bleeeurrrghhh!

And just threw up all over me!

Has anyone dug out the clip yet?

Its been shown, just not recently.

Because I dont know whether you know that the BBC got rid of their archive?

It was so sad.

Presumably your influence over Cheggers Plays Pop grew as it became more successful?

Not really, no.

Ive always been fan of bosses are bosses.

Because it cost 25,000 to change the titles!

Yep, that is true.

It was about even.

Everybody thought it was one-sided…

I thought it was fixed!

It was about even.

Any truth or thought in reviving it?

The reason being because they wont do it the way I want to do it.

Er, no, it wouldnt happen for a while, another year I would say.

I want to see Dollar on there, I dont just want to see old clips ofCheggers Plays Pop.

[Keith then notices his burger is undercooked.

Its sent off to be cooked a bit more.

Keith Chegwins own website can be found atwww.keithchegwin.com