The Mrs Merton Show


The Mrs Merton Show was a mock talk show starring Caroline Aherne as the elderly host Mrs Dorothy Merton.
Originally portrayed as 'Mrs. Murton' in a pilot for Yorkshire TV which was not picked up, Caroline Aherne retooled the character, making her older, and recorded a second pilot in 1993 for Granada Television who commissioned the series. The series ran from 10 February 1995 to 2 April 1998 and was produced by Granada and aired on the BBC. The writers included Aherne, Craig Cash, Dave Gorman and Henry Normal.
Prior to TV success, Aherne's Mrs Merton character appeared on Frank Sidebottom's album 5/9/88 and made her television debut on Frank’s Yorkshire Television series, Frank’s Fantastic Shed Show. She later appeared on the 1991 Channel 4 gameshow Remote Control, hosted by Anthony H Wilson. The talk show was followed up by a sitcom, Mrs Merton and Malcolm, based on Mrs Merton and her son Malcolm, who was played by Craig Cash.

History

For the first two series, the house band was Hooky and the Boys, fronted by Aherne's then husband Peter Hook. Following their marital break up the band was replaced by The Patrick Trio from the 1996 Christmas special until the end of the show's run in 1998.
In 1997 the production moved to Las Vegas for a series of specials with Hollywood stars. The series was not well received and was slated by critic Garry Bushell amongst others. For the following series back in the UK, Bushell was a guest and got appropriately roasted by Mrs Merton and her studio audience.
In an interview in November 2001 Aherne revealed that she did not want to carry on with the show and wanted to write a sitcom with Craig Cash and only agreed to a final series if she could do it. This became the BAFTA Award winning The Royle Family.
In August 2006 a poll of 4,000 people was commissioned by UKTV Gold for the best comic one-liner. In second place was a line from The Mrs Merton Show when she famously asked Debbie McGee, "So, what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?"

Episodes

SeriesEpisodeAirdateGuests
N/AYTV PilotNever broadcast1991: Mrs Murton's Nightcap. Liz Kershaw and Andy Kershaw
N/AGranada Pilot5 December 1993Carol Thatcher, Mark Porter and Terry Christian
1110 February 1995Kriss Akabusi, Debbie McGee, Chris Greener and Steve Coogan.
1217 February 1995Drusilla Beyfus, Kevin Kennedy, Ken Livingstone and Mandy Smith
1324 February 1995Jilly Goolden, Cynthia Payne, Arthur Tomlinson and Dave Lee Travis.
143 March 1995Dale Winton, Mary Whitehouse, Royal butler Peter Russell and Derek Jameson.
1510 March 1995Russell Grant, Countess Bienvenida Sokolow and Fred Talbot.
1624 March 1995Ned Sherrin, Mr Motivator, Terry Major-Ball and Nick Owen.
2112 November 1995Jo Brand, Lorraine Kelly and Chris Eubank.
2219 November 1995Matthew Kelly, Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer and George Best.
2326 November 1995Germaine Greer, PJ and Duncan and Michael Parkinson.
243 December 1995Jimmy Hill, Andrew Neil and Paul Daniels.
2510 December 1995Peter Stringfellow, Des Lynam and Rolf Harris.
2617 December 1995Patrick Lichfield, Carol Vorderman and Barbara Windsor.
2724 December 1995Johnny Briggs and Amanda Barrie, Glenys Kinnock and Gary Rhodes.
3124 December 1996Noddy Holder, Clive James and Daniel O'Donnell.
3214 February 1997Jeff Banks and Jonathan Ross.
3321 February 1997Michael Winner and Teresa Gorman.
3428 February 1997Sacha Distel and Jeremy Clarkson.
357 March 1997Boy George and Vinnie Jones.
3621 March 1997Keith Chegwin and Ian Botham.
3728 March 1997Joanna Lumley and Martin Clunes.
3810 April 1997Tony Curtis and Patrick Duffy.
3917 April 1997Englebert Humperdinck and Bo Derek.
31024 April 1997-
4127 December 1997Edwina Currie and Max Bygraves.
4226 February 1998Keith Floyd and Melinda Messenger.
435 March 1998Shane Richie and Wayne Sleep.
4412 March 1998Garry Bushell and Lisa Stansfield.
4519 March 1998Richard Wilson and Bernard Manning.
4626 March 1998Barry McGuigan and Nigel Kennedy.
472 April 1998Richard Whiteley and Jimmy Tarbuck.

Media releases