The most-watched programme on BBC2 that week, with 6.45 million viewers.
Bob introduces Charlie Drake by saying that 25 years ago in the same studio, he had a Colt 45 revolver and almost blew Charlie's brains out. However, the anecdote goes by without reference during their time together, and Bob never explains it.
An explanation was given in Bob's 1993 autobiography, "Crying With Laughter". In it, Bob recalled the incident which had taken place while filming Fast and Loose (1954):
"Charlie Drake still bears the scars of 'Fast and Loose' to this day. On one show, I blew half of Charlie's left ear off. [...] Charlie had to hide in one of [...] six connecting bedroom cupboards. The frantic plotline called for me to fire my revolver into each cupboard in turn while Charlie played Russian roulette, scurrying from one cupboard to the next, trying to avoid the bullets. On the sixth shot the wadding blew out of the gun's cylinder and blasted a hole in the flimsy door. When Charlie came out, he kept his right side to the audience. The left side of his face was peppered black and wetly red and his eyes were wide with shock.
We were under two minutes from the end of the sketch. Heaven knows how courageous little Charlie kept going but he did, getting every one of his laughs and all in profile. I was cold with horror as I watched his left side becoming bloodier with each second. We finally got to the last punchline and the BBC's Hammersmith Theatre's curtains closed to conceal Charlie's genuine collapse."
An explanation was given in Bob's 1993 autobiography, "Crying With Laughter". In it, Bob recalled the incident which had taken place while filming Fast and Loose (1954):
"Charlie Drake still bears the scars of 'Fast and Loose' to this day. On one show, I blew half of Charlie's left ear off. [...] Charlie had to hide in one of [...] six connecting bedroom cupboards. The frantic plotline called for me to fire my revolver into each cupboard in turn while Charlie played Russian roulette, scurrying from one cupboard to the next, trying to avoid the bullets. On the sixth shot the wadding blew out of the gun's cylinder and blasted a hole in the flimsy door. When Charlie came out, he kept his right side to the audience. The left side of his face was peppered black and wetly red and his eyes were wide with shock.
We were under two minutes from the end of the sketch. Heaven knows how courageous little Charlie kept going but he did, getting every one of his laughs and all in profile. I was cold with horror as I watched his left side becoming bloodier with each second. We finally got to the last punchline and the BBC's Hammersmith Theatre's curtains closed to conceal Charlie's genuine collapse."
As with the vast majority of BBC light entertainment programmes, an uncredited "warm up man" would be used to get the audience in a laughing mood for when the show was ready to begin recording. In this edition the warm up man was Ronnie Hayward.