Other Doctor Lives: W1A: 2024 Comic Relief (2024)

While W1A did a short special over Zoom in 2020, David Tennant wasn’t a part of that one, so we’re jumping ahead to this Comic Relief bit from a couple years ago. Although, when I was looking for this, I found out that there’s a new new spinoff with Ian and Siobhan, and Tennant narrates that one too. Not sure if I’m going to jump right into that show or if I’ll take another short break from this franchise. I guess you’ll find out next week!

It’s Sir Lenny Henry’s last year hosting Comic Relief, and Ian, Tracey, and Siobhan have invited him over to the BBC offices to say farewell, showering him with thanks and telling him how irreplaceable he is. Unfortunately, Lenny shows up late to the meeting, causing it to overrun with the people auditioning to replace him as host.

It’s an 11-minute sketch with essentially one main joke: that BBC doesn’t think Lenny Henry is nearly as “irreplaceable” as they claim. A host of British celebrities pop in and out of the meeting room, most of whom are people I don’t recognize. There are some amusing bits. One guy auditions as one of Lenny’s old characters, and Lenny gripes that another shouldn’t get the job because he’s already in everything—to prove his point, he switches on the TV, where the guy is hosting The Weakest Link. And this bit, from the start of the meeting, made me smile:

IAN: “After nearly 30 years of Comic Relief…” 

LENNY: “Actually, it’s nearly 40.” 

IAN: “Gosh, is it really?” 

At which point, of course, Ian takes the farewell card they got Lenny and writes a heavy “4” over the “3.”

As with the previous Comic Relief special, there’s only a smidge of David Tennant here, mainly just a quick intro at the start of the sketch. I liked, ““It’s Friday, and somewhere—in wherever the BBC is now—some senior executives have gathered together.”

Okay, last thoughts on the David Tennant portion of W1A!

Accent Watch

Scottish.

Recommend?

In General – A soft maybe. It’s amusing, but it gets too repetitive for me.

David Tennant – Not necessarily. While he does a nice job, it’s not really worth it to watch just for Tennant if you’re not otherwise interested in the show.

Warnings

Language, drinking/smoking, and mild thematic elements.