So who was (or is…) your favourite Fast show character?
For me, it has to be the legendary Dave Angel, “eco warrior”. As the great man once said for his intro: “Heey! My name’s Dave Angel, eco warrior. Behind me there is my missus Shirley, and we haven’t had sex for twelve years, which is fine because we got better things to do.”
Now just in case you’re, let’s say, 21 or under, and you have no idea what The Fast Show was, then that’s very sad, arguably unacceptable, and you really ought to be searching on YouTube and the like to “give yourself a bit of a treat” to steal a phrase from Arthur Atkinson (another Fast Show character based on the late Arthur Askey).
Anyway, I digress; The fast show was a BBC comedy sketch show programme that ran for three series between 1994 and 1997 with a special “Last Fast Show Ever” following in 2000.
Except the last one ever wasn’t, because The Fast Show is back every Thursday at 1pm courtesy of Foster’s; just go to their website and enjoy!
But I digress again! Dave Angel was, for my money, given a very close run by garage owner Swiss Toni, a car dealer with a bouffant quiff and silver-grey double-breasted suit with silk handkerchief in pocket who is clearly going through a mid-life crisis.
Swiss Toni sees himself as a kind of guru-figure to trainee Paul, to whom he gives constant advice, likening every situation in life to “making love to a beautiful woman”. Here’s an example: “Washing a car, is very much like making love to a beautiful woman. You’ve got to caress the bodywork. Breathe softly and gently. And give every inch of it your loving attention. And make sure you’ve got a nice wet sponge!”
Watch it.