Mel Smith

Comic actor and writer Mel Smith has passed away from a heart attack, his agent confirmed for BBC News this Saturday. Smith was 60. The actor and writer behind such comedy favorites as Not The Nine O’Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones, which he co-created with partner and friend Griff Rhys Jones. The team went on to found Talkback Productions, currently one of the UK’s most influential producers of TV comedy and light entertainment. The comedy team created the independent production company in 19981, and Talkback has since gone on to produce prominent comedy programs, such as Smack the Pony, Da Ali G Show, I'm Alan Partridge and Big Train. In 2000, the company was sold to Pearson for £62 million.

Smith left his legacy on the entertainment industry.

The announcement of Smith’s death was made by Michael Foster, who said, on behalf of Smith’s widow, Pam: "Mel Smith, comedian and writer, died on Friday aged 60, from a heart attack at his home in north-west London."

Continue reading: Favorite British Comedian Mel Smith Dies, Aged 60

It’s been a long while since Kim Wilde’s been in the headlines and – whilst it probably wasn’t quite the career revival she may have been planning, she found herself at the centre of attention again, after a video of her drunken tube performance of ‘Kids In America’ went viral after it was posted on YouTube.

Looking a little worse for wear, this probably wasn’t the most – ahem – ‘musically accurate’ rendition of the song that Kim has ever performed but she and her brother Ricky Wilde still gave the late night London travellers something to enjoy as they ran through a seemingly endless version of the song. It’s a good job that Kim was travelling a few stops on the tube, because she simply did not seem to want to let go of that song, dragging it out for a few extra bars even after Ricky had stopped.

Then came an extra little treat, as Kim rescued her reindeer antlers from her head and decided to break into the Christmas song that she released with Mel Smith for Comic Relief back in 1987. As she sauntered up the train carriage, at least one other person joined in, singing the song, though it appeared that the majority of the passengers either didn’t know who she was or simply didn’t care. We’d like to congratulate Kim and Ricky for bringing a little festive cheer to the London Underground. We’d also like to congratulate Kim for overcoming her inebriation to remember most of the words to the songs. And Ricky deserves props for managing to stay upright on the moving tube train, whilst he played his guitar! 

Continue reading: Video Gone Viral: A Drunk Kim Wilde Gets Festive On London Underground