Gandalf and Victor Meldrew getting a massage together?! I don't believe it!!!

 "Put on Radio 4 now!" - a request that sends a shiver down my spine. Maybe I'm odd but I have no interest in the state of modern GM farming; the records Ed Miliband would take to a desert island; or who stole Fallon's bunting from the village green in Ambridge. Anyway, this was the message I received from my partner last Friday, just as my arthritic wrist characteristically clicked as I began to unscrew the top of the gin bottle. I sighed deeply as I put the bottle down and turned to twiddle the knobs on the wireless. Well, blow me down with a feather! What I heard was not the usual monotone monologue from a former politician that I was used to! I could hear Richard Wilson...I could hear Antony Sher...I could even hear Ian Mckellen! Music to my ears! What was going on? What was this gold mine of the cream of English theatre? And, more importantly, what have I been missing whilst I've been listening to my beloved Round the Horne, Beyond Our Ken and Stop Messing About on Radio 4 Extra? (More of those later).

This was 'Believe It!', a programme where the national treasure Richard Wilson, best know for his portrayal of grumpy old man Victor Meldrew in the 90's classic, 'One Foot in the Grave', narrates parts of his autobiography. The catch? Well, Wilson's oration is purportedly partly fictional but it's nevertheless entertaining to wonder which bits are true: Is Ian Mckellen actually known as 'Head of Gay' in the narrator's social circle? Do Victor Meldrew and Gandalf actually go to a Mayfair health club and receive a side by side body scrub from Kenneth who manages to massage four buttock's at once? The episode I was listening to was part of the fifth series of the programme(I know what you're thinking - where have they been hiding this?). As we hurtle towards winter, in a time where things are not looking very promising, this programme has been an absolute to delight and, like a rat up a drainpipe, I've hurriedly been trying to find the previous series and episodes to catch up.

 Part of the first episode I listened to recounted Wilson embarking on writing a celebrity biography, and told how he and Mckellen contrived an affair between them to make the book a bit more juicy and interesting. This got me asking the question: is Richard Wilson actually gay? Before I knew what I was doing I was googling faster than a speeding bullet and scrolling through the results....I DON'T BELIEEEEEVE IT! Something else that evidently passed me by, Richard Wilson was 'outed' by Time Out magazine as number 80 in their list of most influential gay people way back in 2013 and he subsequently made it clear that it's something that doesn't mind being publicly known. Not only that but the veteran actor has been noted to support both Stonewall and the HIV/AIDs charity the Terrence Higgins Trust but emphasises that he is no gay rights campaigner. 

What we do know, however, is that Wilson is a much loved British actor that has delighted us right from his early performances as prosecution counsel in 70's classic, Crown Court right through to his appearances as Gaius in Merlin, not forgetting the legendary Victor Meldrew. That's also not to mention his stage performances: his Malvolio in the RSC's Twelfth Night was the perfect old fool and his headmaster in Alan Bennett's '40 Years On' at Chichester in 2017 was a triumph. Age and illness may have meant that Wilson has not appeared on our television screens for a while, and without doubt he is missed, but it is wonderful to hear his unmistakable voice in this delightful spoof of a radio comedy - you'd better 'Believe It'!

Sound interesting? Series 5 of the programme can be found at the link below and the final two episodes of this series are broadcast on Friday's at 11.30.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03m36pl