Oliver Reed

Who & Why?

In 1991, Reed appeared on the late-night Channel 4 discussion programme After Dark (popularly known as After Closing Time). The subject was violence, and Reed was determined not to disappoint. Drinking wine from a half-pint glass, he freely expressed his views on the subject, periodically falling off his chair before kissing a surprised feminist author and announcing "Right, I'm off to have a slash". Channel 4 took the programme off the air after 20 minutes; when it returned, Reed terminated the discussion with the words: "Look, I'll put my plonker on the table if you don't give me a plate of mushy peas".

His drunken singing appearances on tv shows such as The Word and Aspel and Co where major factors for his inclusion.