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 Tiswas © 1974 ATV Network Limited, © 2004 Granada Media . This is a non-profit site intended for education about the British televison series Tiswas. This site acknowledges all copyrights and presents material under the 'Fair Use' clause of international copyright law, for the purpose of review. . |
Dissection The Daily Mail is a UK newspaper published from Monday to Saturday. Its website is at http://www. dailymail.co.uk.  [In the children's Saturday morning show Tiswas, who played the Phantom
Flan-Flinger?] 29 Jul 2004 In the children's Saturday morning show Tiswas, who played the Phantom Flan-Flinger? QUESTION: In the children's Saturday morning show Tiswas, who played the Phantom Flan- Flinger? FURTHER to the earlier answer, with respect to Benny Mills, he may have been the longest- serving Phantom Flan-Flinger, but he wasn't the first - I was. Tiswas was an unscripted affair for which Frank Carson and I used to turn up on a Saturday morning and join in without being asked. I recall one morning at 8am in the make up room of ATV studios in Birmingham, Frank and I were sharing a bottle of whisky while Crossroads star Noele Gordon regarded us with what I took to be contempt. Just as I thought she was about to rebuke us for being unprofessional, she shouted: 'Pass it over then!' The Phantom was nearly killed once. Chris Tarrant and I were devising a Phantom Flan-Flinger detection machine. It exploded, very loudly, throwing Chris and I into a state of shock - and on live TV, Chris uttered those immortal words: '**** that for a lark!' As I became more involved in the show, it was decided I couldn't play the Phantom any more. My girlfriend at the time, Jane Beaumont, was asked to play the part. After the show, we were walking to the dressing room, with Jane in her costume with the hood off. A passing Tiswas fan remarked: 'My, the Phantom Flan-Flinger's a girl!' The Phantom was next played by Kevin Laming, my driver, but as he was not an Equity member, Benny Mills stepped in and played the part brilliantly. The Phantom also emerged in my Generation Game for three series, played by... sorry, it's a secret! Jim Davidson, OBE, London.  Local newspaper for the West Midlands area, and hence, covers a good deal of stories about midlands-based Tiswas heroes, and what they're up to nowadays.  The fifth issue of this short-lived men's magazine did an excellent four-page feature on the legacy of Tiswas, interviewing Chris Tarrant, Sally James, John Gorman and Bob Carolgees. Recommended reading.  A true TV mag in its heyday, these pages have articles on the show when the show was being transmitted! |
  
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