Launched in ITV’s very first week by Val Parnell, the first Palladium show on 25 September 1955 was presented by Tommy Trinder and starred the legendary Lancashire Lass, Gracie Fields, and American singing sensation Guy Mitchell.
Regular ingredients of the show – broadcast from the world’s most famous variety theatre – were the high-kicking Tiller Girls at the start, the game ‘Beat The Clock’ in the middle, and the famous ending where all the stars of the evening’s show would wave frantically and grin inanely from a revolve in the centre of the stage.
The centre-stage revolve caused many problems during the life of the show – Judy Garland was too emotionally upset to go on it, and in the 1960s, The Rolling Stones refused to go on it because it didn’t fit their rebellious image.
On one occasion, when a power failure blacked out the ITV network, Trinder ad-libbed for two hours. His first words when the picture was restored were, “Welcome to Monday Morning at the London Palladium”.
The best-known host was Bruce Forsyth, who took over in 1958. His handling of ‘Beat The Clock’ was sheer brilliance, and his catchphrase, “I’m in charge”, was the first of many he would use throughout his career.
Forsyth stayed for two years until ill health forced his departure. Val Parnell brought in another unknown – Don Arrol – who was fond of complicated props, such as a coat that he unfolded into a boat complete with oars.
Forsyth returned, his health restored, in 1961, and then another comparative unknown was introduced – Norman Vaughan. He and Forsyth alternated until 1965, when the era of The Beatles and all things Liverpudlian produced Jimmy Tarbuck, who had made his name earlier on the show as a cheeky comedian, joking about caviar butties with his thumbs hooked in his waistcoat pockets.
Tarby once completely forgot Petula Clark‘s name and had to introduce her as “someone who needs no introduction”.
In 1966, there came an Anglo-American series hosted by stars familiar to US audiences, like Lorne Greene from Bonanzaand Roger Moore of The Saint. But the show had moved away from its earlier, highly successful formula and the regular series ended in 1967 with Bob Monkhouse back in the compere’s job.
He introduced the final show, which starred three ex-hosts that the Palladium had made into stars – Bruce Forsyth, Norman Vaughan and Jimmy Tarbuck.
One of the vital tasks for most of the compères was conducting the ‘Beat The Clock’ interlude of party games, based on an American quiz show of the same name. It involved husbands and wives (or engaged couples) picked from the theatre audience playing silly games which they had to complete within a set time period, with a chance of winning a major prize and/or a cash jackpot.
Games involved blindfolds, fishing rods, swords, straw hats, inner tubes, frying pans, frogman’s flippers, hula hoops, and balloons (lots of balloons) – but the most common props were tennis balls.
At any time during the duration of the game, a bell could ring – which meant it was jackpot time! All contestants immediately stopped their efforts to win television sets, refrigerators, washing machines and motorcycles and concentrated on winning some cold, hard cash with an even more difficult problem than dancing on balloons with lead boots.
The jackpot challenge often involved real skill; bouncing four balls into four boxes placed one above the other on a pole, for example.
On two of the first occasions that a contestant won, the prizes of £1,100 and £1,300 were the highest ever to have been awarded on British television.
The game was killed off in 1965 as part of a bid to give the Tarbuck-hosted series a new image.
There were many odd occurrences during the life of the show – Frankie Howerd caused protests by walking on stage with a Union Jack held upside-down; Mario Lanza accidentally punched his own bodyguard; Norman Vaughan dropped a rifle on his foot and nearly broke his toe; Hughie Green was about to introduce Gracie Fields when a piece of scenery fell on his head, and Harry Secombe fell through a trapdoor in the stage.
The Palladium’s Sunday night curtain was brought down for the final time in 1967, although it didn’t stay down for good.
In 1973, Jim Dale hosted a new series – including an audience participation game called ‘Anything You Can Do’ and sparkling routines from The Tiller Girls (pictured below) – but it failed to make an impact on the viewers, and it lasted just one season.
Jimmy Tarbuck returned with a little more success some years later, but an attempt to revive it again in the year 2000, with Bruce Forsyth as compere, failed to win the approval of critics or viewers alike.
In its heyday, 28 million viewers tuned in – at the time nearly half the population of the United Kingdom.
