Comedian Jimmy Tarbuck hosts a late-night variety series featuring celebrity interviews, music, and stand-up comedy.
Fronted by veteran comedian Jimmy Tarbuck, this late-night entertainment programme followed a traditional variety format. Each episode opened with a monologue from the host before introducing a selection of guests for interviews and performances. The line-up typically included established musical performers such as Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey, prominent sporting figures like Barry McGuigan and Ian Botham, and rising stand-up comedians, with Lee Evans making an early television appearance in the first edition.
Positioned as a new style of late-night entertainment, After Ten With Tarbuck was in execution a thoroughly traditional variety show, built firmly around its host’s genial, old-school persona. A contemporary review described it as a “halfway house” between the programmes of Des O’Connor and Terry Wogan. The show’s most notable quality was Tarbuck’s genuine commitment to providing a platform for new talent, a mission born from his own career break on Sunday Night at the Palladium. Alongside major stars, the series gave valuable airtime to emerging performers like comedian Lee Evans and magician Kate Krystal, embedding them within a comfortable and familiar light entertainment structure.
Broadcast: ITV – LWT, 6 Episodes, Saturdays, 16 April – 21 May 1988
Executive Producer: Marcus Plantin
Producer: Paul Lewis
Director: Nick Vaughan-Barratt
Main Performer: Jimmy Tarbuck (Host)
Guests Included: Tom Jones, Barry McGuigan, Lee Evans, Tammy Wynette, Steve Davis, Howie Mandel, Tony Jacklin, Shirley Bassey, Bruce Forsyth, John Denver, Richard Digance, The Moody Blues, Ian Botham
