One afternoon at school, our history teacher - Mr.Devonauld - was late, so the class filled in time the way kids do normally when left to their own devices - hard studying. Actually, that last bit is not true. The room was full of smutty talk and flying chalk. One girl, though, was oblivious to the chaos. Her name was Karen, and she was writing furiously in her exercise book. When Mr.Devonauld finally showed up, the pandemonium ceased. Karen, however, kept on writing. He asked what she was doing. "I'm writing to 'Jim'll Fix It'", she said, seriously. He took the letter, and read it aloud. "Dear Jim, can you please fix it for me to meet Gary Glitter? I was sad when he retired. Love, Karen.". Sniggers ran round the class. Yes, Glitter was despised even in those days. Not up to speed on '70's British pop culture, he asked Karen who Glitter was. One boy had his answer ready: "He's a poof, sir!". The class erupted in laughter.
I have recounted this anecdote because I think it illustrates just how popular the 'Jim'll Fix It' television show once was. Children who wanted to meet somebody famous or get to do something extraordinary like parachute jumping were prepared to write in their millions to a Radio 1 disc jockey. Rumour has it he got Thatcher into Downing Street. 'Jim'll Fix It' was not his first attempt at Saturday early evening light entertainment. A few years before, he hosted a Simon Dee-type chat show called ( what else? ) 'Clunk Click' in which guests included Uri Geller ( the infamous spoon bender ), Freddie Starr, and Roy Wood of 'Wizzard'. Gary Glitter also appeared, a fact that seems disturbing today. Actually, Jimmy was not the man who did the 'fixing'. It was Roger Ordish, the producer. The fix-it's ranged from slapping Eric Morecambe to singing with a Welsh rugby team to appearing in a 'Dr.Who' sketch with Colin Baker ( 'A Fix With Sontarans' ) to eating a packed lunch on a roller-coaster to dancing with The Royal Ballet to meeting David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser. Each fix-it would be commemorated with a special badge that said: 'Jim Fixed It For Me'. Some viewers moaned in the letters pages of 'The Radio Times' about the cost of some of these fix-it's, but in actual fact they were not really that expensive. If a boy wanted to go to Egypt, for instance, British Airways would be happy for him to travel free with them because it made good publicity for the company. Esther Rantzen must have liked Jim's show, because her series 'The Big Time' ( which gave the world Sheena Easton ) was a prime-time imitation. My father badgered me to write to Jim, and I did. Unfortunately, my request to meet Sylvia Kristel, star of the 'Emmanuelle' soft porn films, was never acknowledged. What can one say about this show? It had a spectacularly long run, from 1975 to 1990. A lot of fixing took place in that time. Last year, U.K. Gold made 'Jim'll Fix It - Now And Then' ( wrong title. It should have been called 'Jim'll Fix It - Now, Then, Now, Then ) in which we got to see some of the children as they are now. It was nice to see them still in possession of their 'fix-it' badges after all this time.
UPDATE: Saville died in 2011. A year later, dozens of women came forward to make accusations of paedophilia. Jim's name is now mud. Whoever would have dreamt all those years ago that 'Jim'll Fix It' would someday be relegated to the same status as 'The Black & White Minstrel Show'?
I have recounted this anecdote because I think it illustrates just how popular the 'Jim'll Fix It' television show once was. Children who wanted to meet somebody famous or get to do something extraordinary like parachute jumping were prepared to write in their millions to a Radio 1 disc jockey. Rumour has it he got Thatcher into Downing Street. 'Jim'll Fix It' was not his first attempt at Saturday early evening light entertainment. A few years before, he hosted a Simon Dee-type chat show called ( what else? ) 'Clunk Click' in which guests included Uri Geller ( the infamous spoon bender ), Freddie Starr, and Roy Wood of 'Wizzard'. Gary Glitter also appeared, a fact that seems disturbing today. Actually, Jimmy was not the man who did the 'fixing'. It was Roger Ordish, the producer. The fix-it's ranged from slapping Eric Morecambe to singing with a Welsh rugby team to appearing in a 'Dr.Who' sketch with Colin Baker ( 'A Fix With Sontarans' ) to eating a packed lunch on a roller-coaster to dancing with The Royal Ballet to meeting David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser. Each fix-it would be commemorated with a special badge that said: 'Jim Fixed It For Me'. Some viewers moaned in the letters pages of 'The Radio Times' about the cost of some of these fix-it's, but in actual fact they were not really that expensive. If a boy wanted to go to Egypt, for instance, British Airways would be happy for him to travel free with them because it made good publicity for the company. Esther Rantzen must have liked Jim's show, because her series 'The Big Time' ( which gave the world Sheena Easton ) was a prime-time imitation. My father badgered me to write to Jim, and I did. Unfortunately, my request to meet Sylvia Kristel, star of the 'Emmanuelle' soft porn films, was never acknowledged. What can one say about this show? It had a spectacularly long run, from 1975 to 1990. A lot of fixing took place in that time. Last year, U.K. Gold made 'Jim'll Fix It - Now And Then' ( wrong title. It should have been called 'Jim'll Fix It - Now, Then, Now, Then ) in which we got to see some of the children as they are now. It was nice to see them still in possession of their 'fix-it' badges after all this time.
UPDATE: Saville died in 2011. A year later, dozens of women came forward to make accusations of paedophilia. Jim's name is now mud. Whoever would have dreamt all those years ago that 'Jim'll Fix It' would someday be relegated to the same status as 'The Black & White Minstrel Show'?
