Laughing all the way home
This hilarious travel show sees its stars make their way to the highlands and lowlands of their youth, writes James Croot.
Move over Travel Man, the crown of TV’s funniest geographical adventure show may have just shifted to two queens in a campervan.
Eighty-year-old provocateur Miriam Margolyes and 56-year-old acting bon vivant Alan Cumming may seem like an unlikely pairing for consistently mirthsome banter, but within a few minutes of the opening episode of Miriam and Alan: Lost in Scotland (which debuts on Sky TV’s Living Channel on Saturday at 7.30pm) you’ll be hard pressed to suppress the meatiest of laughs.
Each taking turns to be in charge of the itinerary, the duo traverse the highlands and lowlands of their youth, reminiscing and rediscovering those places that have a special place in their heart. For the self-confessed ‘‘tart from the slums’’ Margolyes, that means visiting the Glaswegian street where her Jewish family first lived in Scotland and going back to the little village of Fordyce, where she had a memorable experience making 1980 drama series The Lost Tribe.
Waiting for them there is fellow actor Bill Paterson, who, despite being four years younger than Margolyes,
played her father. Taking a literal trip down memory lane (Margolyes aided by a wheelchair) she and Paterson light up as they share tales from the set and delight in how the village is in a better state now, than when they left it.
Cumming meanwhile investigates his potential links to royalty at Cawdor Castle, confronts painful tween and teenage memories at his childhood home of Panmure Estate and can’t resist taking Margolyes to the tartan specialists he has invested in. Proudly showing her the ‘‘Aliam’’ colour combination he had especially created for their adventures, she snatches at the blanket that is her gift. ‘‘I’ll kill anyone who tries to take it away from me,’’ she stares down the camera with a steely smile.
Known for such painfully honest candour, which makes the Shakespearean specialist a popular guest on talk shows, Margolyes is in full flight here, egged on by the mischievous Cumming.
There’s a lot of discussion about her high-fibre diet and how that may impact on their onboard toilet and she has him and the entire crew in stitches as a discussion about driving leads to the blurted out revelation that, ‘‘my knickers fell off the first time I took my driving test’’. Even an explanation involving how it was elastic failure before she even got in the car that caused it fails to quell the laughter, especially as Margolyes recalls ‘‘feeling the soft rustle’’ of them falling to the ground.
As they encounter an eclectic ensemble of Scottish characters, both provide warm company for each other and the viewer, even if you’re never quite sure what probing question, accusation or observation, particularly Margolyes, might pose next.
Miriam and Alan: Lost in Scotland debuts on Sky TV’s Living Channel on Saturday.