Michael Parkinson, Kenneth Williams, Maggie Smith and Sir John Betjeman
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 Published On Nov 29, 2020

This upload is a companion video to the Parkinson special of 1973, featuring an extended debate between Kenneth Williams and union leader Jimmy Reid, with a little help from the audience. That programme can be found here;

   • Kenneth Williams and Jimmy Reid - Par...  

During this segment preceding the debate episode, Parky and Kenneth Williams got into a brief, heated exchange over the conduct of the trade union movement, and social and political ideologies more generally. Although by today's standards there wasn't too much in it, it garnered such a reaction that Kenneth was invited back to debate with union leader Jimmy Reid for a special show. In this case, both Parkinson and Kenneth Williams showed their professionalism, in that neither allowed things to escalate, and KW himself defused any tension with a brilliantly over the top, "I've never been so insulted!"

Otherwise it's an interesting combination of guests, with Sir John appearing to have a great time. It ends with a poignant reading, by Kenneth Williams and Maggie Smith, of John Betjeman's Death in Leamington.

In a subsequent retrospective, Michael Parkinson stated that this episode was from late 1972, but it may have been early in 1973.

#MichaelParkinson #KennethWilliams #MaggieSmith #JohnBetjeman #Parkinson

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