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Derby Evening Telegraph, April 6, 2007

The goodies life is still the best for Rams fan Tim

SLAPSTICK and plenty of silliness is what Tim Brooke-Taylor promises when he arrives with his comedy outfit The Goodies this month.

Tim, 66, who grew up in Buxton, is currently touring the UK for the first time with the live stage show The Goodies - Still Rule OK!. The show reaches Derby next Friday and Tim is thrilled to be back on home ground.

"It's great to be heading back to Derby to perform," he says. "The last time I appeared in the Assembly Rooms was to receive an honorary doctorate from the The University of Derby, for which I'm extremely grateful."

Last month Tim appeared with The Goodies on stage at the Buxton Opera House.

"It was terrific," he recalls. "It was a great audience and a wonderful theatre - The Buxton Opera House is one of the best theatres I know. When I was a kid it was a cinema so it's lovely to see it back in its full glory.

"I didn't realise I had so many old friends. People were coming up to me who'd I'd not see for 40 years - and showing me photographs I'd much rather had been kept hidden!

"In fact my wife and I made a bit of a trip of it, all around the town and area. At its best, the Peak District can't be beaten."

Another factor in Tim's continuing affection for his home county is his allegiance to his football team - the Rams.

"One thing that my two sons - they're in their 30s and married now - have inherited is my love of Derby County," he says. "It's a wonderful time right now and I've been to see them a few times this season."

When The Goodies appear on stage only two of the three original characters will be present. Tim will be joined by Graeme Garden but Bill Oddie was unable to make the show due to other work commitments. However, he will still make an appearance - via video - and Tim says fans will still recognise the Goodies style.

"I think our humour is still silly," he says. "And fans of I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again will be pleased to know that Lady Constance de Coverlet makes her first live appearance in Derbyshire.

"The show goes backwards and forwards. It's an excuse to perform bits we've not performed for a long time. We tell the story behind some of the clips and then show the clips. We're picking the best fruit, so to speak."

And Tim is finding The Goodies attract a wide range of fans.

"The show was always written for adults but we are always delighted that it did and still does appeal to youngsters," he says.

"I have enjoyed the tour - a lot more than I thought I would. Audiences want to enjoy themselves and the reaction has been better than I dared hope. The Goodies haven't been shown on terrestrial TV since 1981 so I started off in a pessimistic mood."

Tim has had a varied career, taking on acting roles, presenting radio shows, writing books and, of course, creating comedy trio The Goodies. However, he still has unrealised work ambitions.

"I think what I would like to do is be in something like New Tricks, when you're a character actor, doing a regular on-going drama. I've had one or two appearances in Heartbeat, which has been fun.

"It's good to keep working, especially in comedy. I recently had an email from Eric Idle saying 'I've just heard you're touring. Well done - that means that three of us are still working'."