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The Last Leg
Genre
Presented by
Opening theme"Harder Than You Think" by Public Enemy
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series30
No. of episodes323 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersAndrew Beint and Danny Carr
Production locations
Running time
  • 40 minutes (series 1)
  • 30–50 minutes (series 2–5)
  • 60–120 minutes (from series 6)
Production companyOpen Mike Productions
Original release
NetworkChannel 4
Release30 August 2012 (2012-08-30) –
present

The Last Leg (known during its first series as The Last Leg with Adam Hills and in Australia as Adam Hills: The Last Leg) is a British late-night television humorous talk/sketch show that originally ran alongside the 2012 Summer Paralympics every night following the main coverage on Channel 4. Anchored by Australian comedian Adam Hills and co-hosted by Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker,[3] it gives a review of the week's events.[4]

Featuring a mix of comedy, guests and Paralympics highlights, the show received strong reviews and regularly pulled in more than a million viewers each night of the Paralympic Games.[5] It has since become a weekly show giving a humorous alternative look back at the week's events. Outside of the UK, the show is broadcast in Hills' native Australia by the ABC, albeit delayed until the Tuesday of the next week and with a different theme tune.[6][7]

Format

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Overview

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The Last Leg is described by main presenter Adam Hills as "Three guys with four legs talking about the week",[8] because Hills was born without a right foot and Brooker had his right leg amputated when he was a baby.

The original series, broadcast during the 2012 Paralympics, was a look back at each day's events during the competition, as well as a look at the news that week. Following on from the Paralympics, the series became weekly, and looks at political and other events in the news that week, as well as covering Paralympic matters. The show features guest interviews with Paralympians and celebrities.

Originally it was intended to be broadcast on More4 at midnight and was intended to feature Hills alone, hence the original title. However, after a run-through, Channel 4 saw more potential and put the show on at 10 pm every day. During the pilot, which saw Hills alone as presenter and Widdicombe and Brooker merely as guests, producers decided to keep Brooker and Widdicombe as recurring co-presenters.[9]

The series is broadcast live and encourages interaction with the viewers at home, holding polls via Twitter using hashtags. A recurring theme in the show is the use of the hashtag #isitok to highlight questions from Twitter users to be asked in the show. Initially it was for asking questions about disability that people felt awkward asking: the broadening of the show's remit is reflected in the questions asked in this stream.[10]

The show originally was broadcast from the Riverside Studios in London. It would later move to the ITV London Studios on London's South Bank. From series 14, it is now made in Studio TC1 at the BBC Studios in Television Centre, West London, which is operated and run by BBC Studioworks,[11][12] though some 2020 episodes were made at Elstree Studios.

In late-April 2020, it was announced that The Last Leg would be "Locked Down Under" during the coronavirus lockdown. Hills, Widdicombe and Brooker would be hosting the show from their homes in Melbourne, London and Huddersfield taking social distancing to the extreme and looking at the week's news in a comedic manner. Guests including Miriam Margolyes and Stephen Merchant were featured using video relay, and each episode ended with a song from The Horne Section. The show ran for five episodes from 8 May until 5 June and is available on All 4 after broadcast.

The show is currently playing at Television Centre, London.[13] The latest series aired in 2024.

Recurring segments

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Recurring segments in the show include rants or attacks by Hills on certain people and organisations, which has since resulted in the coining of Hills' catchphrase: "Don't be a dick!"[8] Another segment is "The Last 7 Days", in which Widdicombe looks at more comic news items that have occurred during the week, and Brooker's various attempts to qualify for the 2016 Summer Paralympics. Another is the "Bullshit Button", which was first used in a segment in which Brooker interviewed the then-Leader of the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg to see if Clegg could persuade him to vote in the 2015 UK general election. Brooker would press a large red buzzer that played an audio recording of him saying the word "Bullshit" if he thought Clegg was lying during the interviews.[14] Since then, the buzzer has been used in various situations whenever the show thinks someone is lying, and additional buzzers during various seasons have been added including phrases like "A shite in shining armour" and "A turd the size of Disneyland Paris" by Armando Ianucci and "Fuck off" by Brian Cox.[15]

Dick of the Year

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Year Dick of the Year Second place Third place Steaming Turd
2013 Vladimir Putin
2014 Katie Hopkins Nigel Farage
2015 Jeremy Hunt Donald Trump
2016 2016
2017 Donald Trump Theresa May Lewis Hamilton Harvey Weinstein
2018 Jacob Rees-Mogg Piers Morgan Boris Johnson Donald Trump
2019 Boris Johnson Jacob Rees-Mogg Prince Andrew
2020 Dominic Cummings Donald Trump Matt Hancock COVID-19
2021 Boris Johnson Priti Patel Anti-vaxxers QAnon
2022 Matt Hancock Elon Musk Liz Truss Vladimir Putin
2023 Suella Braverman Richard Masters Elon Musk

Since January 2014, The Last Leg has presented a mock prize to the "Dick of the Year", awarded for being the biggest dick over the previous year. Nominees are suggested by viewers on Twitter, as well as the hosts. The winner is voted on by the viewers using Twitter with the hashtag #dickoftheyear.

In January 2015, journalist Katie Hopkins received the most votes for 2014's "Dick of the Year" but Hills and the team making the show decided not to give Hopkins the prize on the grounds that she would enjoy receiving it. Thus, the prize went to the person with the second-highest number of votes, UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage.

In the 2016 Christmas special, the prize was awarded to whole of the year 2016, defeating Donald Trump, Nigel Farage and David Cameron.

In 2017, it was announced that the people who have come second and third in the "Dick of the Year" voting will be named "Ballbags of the Year". The "Steaming Turd" award was also created for Harvey Weinstein, who was ruled out of running for the main award on the grounds that it was possible that Weinstein may take "Dick of the Year" as a compliment.

In 2019, comedy writer Graham Linehan was the runaway favourite nominee by viewers to be given the award, in light of controversial comments he had made on social media about transgender people.[16] After Linehan expressed interest in winning the award, Hills and the team disqualified him from receiving the award under the precedent set by Hopkins in 2014. Another poll by the show also announced David Cameron as "Dick of the Decade".

In 2023, it was decided that multiple time nominee Vladimir Putin would be made a lifetime recipient.

In collaboration with YouTubers Josh Pieters and Archie Manners, The Last Leg presented Suella Braverman with her Dick of the Year 2023 award in person by inviting Braverman to a fake boat launch in her constituency.[17]

Theme music

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The theme music is Public Enemy's "Harder Than You Think", which became the show's permanent theme after initially serving as the title music to the whole of Channel 4's 2012 Summer Paralympics coverage.[18]

Episodes

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Main article: List of The Last Leg episodes
Original logo (with original title) used during the first series

The first and ninth series were broadcast daily at the end of the day's Paralympics coverage on Channel 4. The second series was broadcast each Friday, with the show moving to Wednesday nights for its third series, before reverting to Friday nights for the fourth and fifth series.

In October 2012 it was announced that the show would return for a Christmas special titled The Last Leg of the Year and a second series, which began broadcasting in January 2013.[19] A third and fourth series followed in July 2013 and January 2014 (timed around the 2014 Winter Paralympics) respectively. A fifth series started broadcasting in August 2014, followed by a sixth series in January 2015 and a seventh in June 2015.

After the seventh series, a special 2-part series entitled The Last Leg Goes Down Under was broadcast on 29 January and 5 February 2016, and preceded the start of series 8 on 12 February.[20] Starting from series 8, the show was given a brand new set.

On 25 March 2016, in a parody of the Boaty McBoatface internet poll controversy, the show released the #renametheLastLeg hashtag on Twitter live on the set to allow viewers to choose a new name for the show. The show brought the number of choices down to the four most popular ones and then they released a Twitter poll to change the name of the programme for next week's final episode of the series. The poll received a total of 3,731 votes with the highest scoring programme name being "Your Mum" with a 30% vote.[21][non-primary source needed][non-primary source needed] The last episode of the series aired on 1 April 2016 and was called Your Mum. During one 2016 Summer Paralympics episode on 14 September 2016, host Adam Hills announced that the show was to be renamed again, this time in Paralympic athlete Libby Clegg's honour. The remainder of that show was called The Fast Clegg.

The show aired a two-hour special entitled Re-United Kingdom dedicated to MP Jo Cox on 16 June 2017 (the anniversary of her death). Featuring dozens of comedians and politicians, the show aimed to inspire the public to resolve animosity between people they had fallen out with. Politicians appeared in pre-recorded skits where they were stuck in a lift with another politician they disliked, and found common ground; some members of the public who had resolved arguments with each other were shown in a hot tub together.[22]

Following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday 8 September 2022, it was announced that there would be no new episode that Friday. This was not due to any regulations, but was rather a choice made by those involved with the show, with Adam Hills breaking the news on Twitter: "It just doesn’t feel right".[23] The show the next week was a tribute to Her Majesty, without the typical broad coverage of the week's news.

Reception

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Adam Hills was quoted as saying "If the Paralympics is covered well, it can change the way Jim Davidson looks at and treats people with disabilities".[24] The Daily Mirror described The Last Leg as "a real success".[25] Veteran TV pundit, the late Clive James said: "Taken as a whole, the Channel 4 coverage of the Paralympics was very good, but almost the best part of it was The Last Leg, the discussion show at the end of each day".[26]

The programme provoked a discussion in the media about whether disability and comedy could work together on TV.[27] The Independent described it as "a high risk venture" saying that Hills "reminds us frequently that he has a prosthetic leg, giving him licence to crack jokes that most of us wouldn't dream of."[28] Frances Ryan, for The Guardian, described it as "often tasteless, sometimes awkward, always funny".[29] Damon Rose for BBC News said that "Comedian Adam Hills' late night irreverent Para-chat show The Last Leg – a title reflecting Adam's lack of a segment of his lower limb – has taken mainstream viewers to dark and delightfully surprising places that only disability humour can go. And it has given a sense of permission for regular viewers to talk openly about things they may previously have shied away from".[30]

Brooker's 2015 interview with Nick Clegg for the programme was described by political journalist Hugo Rifkind as "a model of how to talk normally to a politician – and make them talk normally back".[31]

Awards and nominations

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Year Association Category Nominee(s) Result
2017 Diversity in Media Awards TV Programme of the Year The Last Leg Nominated[32]
Royal Television Society Awards Entertainment Adam Hills, Alex Brooker & Josh Widdicombe, The Last Leg Won[33]
British Academy Television Awards Best Entertainment Performance Adam Hills Nominated[34]
Best Comedy and Comedy Entertainment Programme The Last Leg Nominated[34]
2018 Royal Television Society Awards Best Entertainment Performance Adam Hills, Alex Brooker & Josh Widdicombe Nominated[35]
2019 Best Entertainment Programme The Last Leg Won[33]

References

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  1. ^ "The Last Leg". BBC Studioworks. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  2. ^ @ElstreeStudio (5 March 2021). "Last episode of this series of @TheLastLeg tonight from Elstree Studios! @Channel4 at 10pm" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Boulting, Ned (2 September 2012). "Ned Boulting: Alex Brooker deserves a medal for his Paralympic performance". Metro. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  4. ^ "The Last Leg with Adam Hills and The Kindness of Strangers: TV picks". Metro. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  5. ^ Deans, Jason (3 September 2012). "Channel 4's Paralympics coverage boosted by Pistorius controversy". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  6. ^ Brain, Anna (14 November 2015). "Aussie comedian Adam Hills says he never set out to 'go on a rant'". news.com.au. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  7. ^ Davidson, Helen (28 November 2013). "Adam Hills quits as ABC TV host, saying he's 'running out of funny'". theguardian.com. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  8. ^ a b Millar, Benjamin (27 May 2013). "Adam Hills' star continues to shine". The Weekly Review. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  9. ^ "Exclusive – Adam Hills on The Last Leg's future, favourite guests over the years and filming without a studio audience". Radio Times. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  10. ^ "Is Twitter killing topical comedy?". Chortle. 29 March 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  11. ^ Dams2018-05-29T14:07:00+01:00, Tim. "The Last Leg and Love Island spin-off move studios". Broadcast.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "The Last Leg and Love Island: Aftersun – BBC Studioworks". Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  13. ^ "sro audiences". 24 September 2021. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021.
  14. ^ Rifkind, Hugo (5 February 2015). "How Alex Brooker made political interviews interesting again". The Spectator. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  15. ^ The Brand New Bullshit Buttons – The Last Leg, retrieved 15 August 2023
  16. ^ "'King of the transphobes' Graham Linehan is dominating the nominations for Channel 4's D*ck of the Year". PinkNews. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  17. ^ Suella Braverman collects ‘D*** Of The Year’ award in The Last Leg prank, 16 December 2023, retrieved 16 December 2023
  18. ^ Heath, Sophia (18 July 2012). "London 2012 Paralympics: Channel 4 launches Paralympic Games advert". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  19. ^ "Channel 4's 'The Last Leg' to return". International Paralympic Committee. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  20. ^ Travis, Ben (29 January 2016). "The Last Leg Goes Down Under, Channel 4: Can Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker survive in Australia with Adam Hills?". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  21. ^ "Channel 4's 'The Last Leg' to change its name to 'Your Mum' following a Twitter poll". The Last Leg. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  22. ^ Power, Ed (17 June 2017). "The Last Leg Re-United Kingdom review: both an emotive tribute to Jo Cox and necessary feel-good escapism". The Daily Telegraph.
  23. ^ @adamhillscomedy (9 September 2022). "We've decided not to do an episode of @thelastleg tonight" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2023 – via Twitter.
  24. ^ Nunn, Gary (6 September 2012). "Language, laughter and Paralympics". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  25. ^ Mark Jefferies (10 September 2012). "TV gold: BBC and Channel 4's superb coverage of Olympics and Paralympics show's there's life in the old telly box yet". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  26. ^ James, Clive (15 September 2012). "Clive James on... The Last Leg, Parade's End, The Culture Show, Darwin's Struggle: the Evolution of the Origin of the Species, Treasures of Ancient Rome and Dallas". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  27. ^ Saner, Emine (24 August 2012). "Australian comedian Adam Hills: 'I was born without a foot. Dull. Move on'". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  28. ^ Tong, Andrew (2 September 2012). "Sport on TV: When it comes to jokes Hills holds the moral high ground". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  29. ^ Ryan, Frances (5 September 2012). "The Last Leg: often tasteless, sometimes awkward, always funny". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  30. ^ Rose, Damon (9 September 2012). "Paralympics legacy: Seize the momentum". BBC News. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  31. ^ Rifkind, Hugo (7 February 2015). "How Alex Brooker made political interviews interesting again". The Spectator. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  32. ^ Percival, Ash (14 September 2017). "Diversity in Media Awards 2017: Seven Things To Expect at the Inaugural Ceremony". HuffPost. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  33. ^ a b "The Last Leg wins at UK TV awards". 23 March 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  34. ^ a b "Bafta TV awards 2017: full list of nominations". 11 April 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  35. ^ "The Last Leg wins UK TV award". 22 March 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
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