'Where Do I Sit?' was one of the great clanging disasters of BBC2. It was a chat show with an accent on comedy, intended to highlight the talents of Peter Cook as a wit with a splendid ability to ad-lib. The misborn brainchild of Cook and 'Monty Python' producer Ian MacNaughton, this show's format alternated between comedy sketches (written and starring Cook, and filmed in advance) and live sequences in a studio setting, in which Cook would interview a show-biz guest. The half-hour episodes were in colour, boasting of a large budget, and this show was expected to be a major 'prestige' hit.
The film sequences managed to be more bizarre than funny, but the interviews were a total disaster ... made worse by the fact that Cook's drinking problem was now out of control. The biggest name who was booked as an interview guest was Kirk Douglas (he was in London to plug a movie), but Cook was quite obviously stonkered when he interviewed Douglas on this live show. Instead of asking Douglas 'How are you?', Cook asked him 'Who are you?'
Other guests interviewed on this series were Spike Milligan, English television writer Johnny Speight and the brilliant American humourist S.J. Perelman (who was living in London at the time). After three episodes, the plug was pulled permanently on 'Where Do I Sit?'
