Eurotrash

A rather bizarre 30 minute showcase of soft core pornography and other bizarre acts from all over Europe. Antoine de Caunes is the perfect choice of host for this show, he's handsome and charming, yet with a tiny smidgen of sleaze about him, just how we English girls like our European men! Lolo Ferrari's segments are just.. well.. what you'd expect, her jumping on a trampoline, being in a paddling pool, very strange, but when you've got 56JJ boobs, I don't suppose you can miss them, rest in peace! Very good watching though :)

The 22:30-midnight slot on Friday/Saturday evenings on British TV was reserved in the 90s for what was popularly called 'after the pub TV'. It's doubful that anyone who'd been out at the pub that evening would already be back home to watch any TV, but for those that stayed in home, especially those too young for the pub, it was the slot where TV got rowdy. Ideally watched with a group of friends over with a few drinks and smokes. Shows broadcast during this slot were The Word (reviled, but worth watching for the music), The Girly Show (like The Word, but without any music), and Eurotrash - even more lowbrow, but loved equally by fans and critics. Eurotrash premise was to present the subjects by telling the viewers 'just look at those decadent shameless foreigners!' whilst French presenters Antoine de Caunes and Jean Paul Gaultier mocked the British viewers back for their weather, their food, their early closing times, and that they were watching mainly for the naked people, about the only chance they'd get to see any on terrestrial TV. And there was indeed nudity, loads of it, but it was more hilarious than erotic, thanks to the voice translations, read out in regional English. Cue the German naturists or the Italian sex actress dubbed with a broad Lancashire or Brummie accent. But there was also the really weird stuff, the penguin man, Lolo Ferrari, the Romeo Cleaners, Eddy Wally, the latex twins and countless others that left a long imprint on the memory. There was also the chance to glimpse the fabulous continental cities that prompted me to buy an Interrail ticket once I was a little older. Friday evenings in the 90s could be a stay-in night due to the unmissable comedy on TV - Father Ted, The Fast Show, Alan Partridge, and whilst Eurotrash tends not to appear on the same list of the aforementioned programmes, it was just as reliable for big laughs.

Why is Sister Bendy not credited? She was the best character on Eurotrash. Yes, I think that Sister Bendy, the art-critic nun cycling to major European cities to meet weird and peculiar artists was the best character in Eurotrash and yet there seem to be no credits for such great character? Do you remember her? She was very funny and the audience loved her. It would be cool to see her again. Eurotrash will never be the same without her! The least vulgar and the most charming, genuine and witty persona I can recall from that otherwise deeply trashy programme. She had many fans and people still remember her I am sure... "Hello viewers, I've cycled all the way from London to meet a very interesting website called IMDb!"

The strength of Eurotrash isn't in its showcase of weirdness, tackiness and porno happenings within Europe, but in the English regional accents dubbed on to the subjects of its short films - many provided by talented voice artist Kate Robbins. There's something very funny indeed about hearing a Yorkshire accent coming from a voluptuous Danish blonde who clearly thinks she's being featured seriously. Has she ever seen the show? It mercilessly sends up whatever it features (while giving it lots of screen time, of course).

In the first four years, Antoine de Caunes and Jean-Paul Gaultier presented together. Their dual approach and the la-la tune proved a winning combination and the show quickly became a staple of late night UK telly and an unmissable weekly event.

Guests such as the odd Mr Penguin (an old bloke who dressed as a penguin) and the ill-fated Lolo Ferrari (she of the enormous boobs) added to the odd feel of the show. After the departure of Gaultier I felt the programme began to sag, although de Caunes has continued to soldier on with the same old blend of cover girls, Eurovision failures, and transvestites that were always the staple of 'Eurotrash'.

Smutty, quirky, funny and off the wall, Eurotrash was essential Friday night viewing. It was like nothing else on the box at the time, it had a real low budget, trashy feel, in hindsight it was probably very well produced.

The earlier years were definitely the best, or maybe it was my age, but the combination of De Caunes and Gaultier, with the hilarious voice overs by Maria McErlane, it was a winning combination.

As a young teenager, this show was like a discovery session, I'm sure others learned and discovered as much as I did.

The crazy characters definitely made it, who can forget Eddy Wally, Eva and Adele, all a little surreal, but definitely entertaining.

I always will be sad about Lolo Ferrari, she died so young, I know she was there to be sexy, I always felt a bit of sadness about her.

Essential viewing, 8/10.

8/10.