''Light Lunch'' (later ''Late Lunch'') was a

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

lunch-time comedy chatshow broadcast on weekdays at 12:30 between 24 March 1997 and 27 February 1998, which was moved to weeknights at 6:00 PM between 31 March 1998 and 5 March 1999. It was hosted by Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, also known as

Mel and Sue Mel Giedroyc (born 5 June 1968) and Sue Perkins (born 22 September 1969), known collectively as Mel and Sue, are an English comedy double act. They are known for hosting the BAFTA Award-winning BBC One cookery series ''The Great British Bake ...

, who started their comedy careers at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Footlights Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University. History Footlights' inaugural ...

club. The show was a huge success initially, but audience figures declined slowly.

Format

The show was structured around the making and eating of a luncheon. The main part of the meal would be prepared by a guest chef, with either Mel or Sue talking to the chef during the demonstration. Once the meal was ready, it was eaten by Mel, Sue and two celebrity guests, during which an interview would take place. In the final part of the programme, a third celebrity guest brought in dessert, and a further period of interviewing would occur on the sofa, which would include

phone-in In broadcasting, a phone-in or call-in is a programme format in which viewers or listeners are invited to air their live comments by telephone, usually in respect of a specific topic selected for discussion on the day of the broadcast. On radio ( ...

questions from viewers. The studio audience were also expected to bring in their own lunch to eat during the show, and were each given £3 to cover the cost of this. They were encouraged to bring in unusual food, their own creations, or food in some way relating to that day's celebrity guest, and the most creative ideas would be shown on camera.

''Late Lunch''

As a result of declining viewing figures and because of a general change in viewer demographics in the UK, ''Light Lunch'' was moved to a 6:00 PM time slot in March 1998 and rebranded as ''Late Lunch''. It ran in that slot for nearly a year before being cancelled in 1999.

Band

The show's house band (introduced individually as "Steve, Matt, Dylan and Dan" and collectively by numerous different names, mostly food puns) included

Dylan Howe Dylan Lee Howe (born 4 August 1969) is an English drummer, bandleader, session musician and composer. The son of guitarist Steve Howe with whom he has sometimes collaborated, Dylan is also noted for his work with rock band the Blockheads ( ...

on drums.

References

External links

* * 1997 British television series debuts 1999 British television series endings 1990s British comedy television series 1990s British television talk shows Channel 4 original programming English-language television shows Television series by Banijay {{UK-tv-prog-stub