Jimmy Tarbuck has told how he once got caught drinking on the job.
The comedy legend loved having a secret tipple while he was at work back in his heyday.
But his antics were exposed during filming for an episode for game show Winner Takes All.
Jimmy said: “I’d do sometimes five shows in a day. That knackered me. One day, I’d done four. I said to the kid, ‘Get us a water’.
“Then I said, ‘Get me a glass of vodka and tonic’. So he got me a vodka and tonic. He came in and said, ‘Here’s your water, Jimmy’.
“He put it down. And the woman who was on the show said, ‘I’m dry as well’.
“And before I could get there, she got the glass. She said, ‘By God, that’s not water’.
On his time as Winner Takes All host, Tarby said: “It was the easiest thing in the world – just talk to people. I enjoyed it immensely.” (Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
“I thought, ‘The bosses are going to say, ‘Are you getting vodka up there or something?’. It was fun and games.”
Tarby fronted ITV’s Winner Takes All for 15 years. It ran for 14 series and more than 300 episodes, with up to 10million viewers.
He said: “It was the easiest thing in the world – just talk to people. I enjoyed it immensely.”
Jimmy’s time as a game show host also saw him fronting Full Swing and Frame Game.
It was during a showbiz career that has lasted more than 50 years. And at 80, Jimmy has no plans to retire from comedy.
He also longs to do another gig at The London Palladium, where he last performed in 2014.
Jimmy Tarbuck pictured with Maureen Lipman and Cynthia Payne (Image: Daily Express/Larry Ellis)
His return to the stage went down a storm.
He said: “It’s the most wonderful place. It is my
favourite place in the world. I just wish… I hope it’s not the last time I’m on there. I’d go on there tonight if they asked me.”
New documentary Jimmy Tarbuck: The Laughs Are On Me charts his glittering career.
The show, which features interviews with Sir Cliff Richard and Bradley Walsh, airs Sunday at 8pm on Channel 5.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
