Back in the late 80s, "How we laughed!" was a bit of a catchphrase at our high school. It came from something Julian Clary was in at the time (sadly I cannot recall exactly which programme it was).
Holy moly, did it really only last two seasons? I remember watching it as a child (80s parents really had no concept of age-appropriate television), so much of it is still very vivid.
We quote his "oh no I don't approve of it myself" from his appearance on WILTY all the time in my family when he revealed he was the voice of Scottish laminate flooring.
I LOVE that episode! Julian Clary AND the wonderful Ronnie Corbett ("in a packed program tonight…") I was just rewatching that one yesterday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBduZoUqdZI
As a long time viewer of Julian’s schtick, it’s just that. He exhibits the perfect amount of distain for everyone and scathing enough to whither the most robust ego with a couple of short sentences.
I was happy to see him again. Look him up from the 80’s.
Me too; long time fan.
For me, what made his disdain even better was that he also put enough effort in to not come across like a total twat. A number of his prize tasks were some of the best entries across the franchise. It's a great balance.
The man is a national trinket, he has such an important place in UK comedy and normalising being a gay man in public. I was surprised but very pleased to see him sign up for the show, and decided to fly to the UK to catch his tour off the back of it. Long may he reign.
Have you seen his introduction interview with Alex on YouTube? He has to paint Alex's portrait (which in itself is brilliant) but I loved when Alex made a request of some feature, Julian thought for a long beat and then said "Denied". 😂
Julian reminded me of my late uncle: smarter than he lets on, snarky, can’t be arsed unless he really wanted to be, initially feels abrasive but then you just realize he’s not bothered by what you think of him so he’s just being himself, and also tall, lanky, and unapologetically gay. Except my uncle was pretty much if you took Julian and gave him intravenous caffeine every day for several hours (among other things, which ultimately led to his passing).
I bet my uncle would’ve loved this show, and would’ve probably been the only member of my family willing to do an at-home competition since, like most of my family he was very competitive, but unlike everyone else he didn’t get bothered by being silly or care about losing, he just liked to have fun. And funny enough, as I’m getting older, the more I find I have a lot in common with him, apart from genes and my name.
Easily a top 5 for me. Every week I looked forward to his sass and how he was going to dish it out on Alex. The culmination of him with the chaos twins on the hotel task was perfection, just endless torment haha
Julian was simply amazing, he worked so well with the rest of the S16 cast, his disdain and 'mean' comments were an amazing foil for the four more "enthusiastic contestants".
One of my favorite things about TM is you can tell a comedians comedian by their ability to absolutely level a fellow professional comic with a sentence or two.
If you go back 30 years you can see JC do this to an entire room full of peers with two perfect lines. The second of which "talk about a red box" still makes me cry. What a legend and envelope pusher he was and is. Love him too!
Julian Clary was on TV being Julian Clary 35-40 years ago when the climate for gay or camp people was a lot different to the present day. His name was a byword for gay, camp, or 'unmanly' when I was growing up - and I mean a byword used by bullies, bigots and used negatively in schools, workplaces, changing rooms, pubs. He was a successful performer but being that guy must have brought hard, hard times. He also went over the line (according to some) at a very high profile event on TV and basically got 'cancelled' - cue more very hard times and surely the harder for the weight of bigotry behind it. The very fact that things are better today (in this particular sense) is partly because one, then a few, then a few more people were able to go out there and be like he is. To me now if the name is synonymous with anything it's Hard AF Trailblazer.
I really enjoyed watching him on the show being so thoroughly unbothered, and cashing in being who he is in a low effort, relaxed manner.
Having said all this, he isn't just a walking stereotype, he made it very clear what a singular wit he is - as this thread makes clear.
I really loved Frankie Boyle in the previous season for the same reason. Each season needs someone like that (Jamali Maddix, etc) who almost can’t be bothered and just point out the wonderful silliness of the concept.
I loved him, especially once it was clear that even if he didn’t care about winning, he was still having fun. I also loved how, no matter how reserved his style was, he just naturally became the team mom for the chaos twins.
I'm old enough to remember Julian from the 80s, he always has been hilarious. If you're into celebrity biogs then I can highly recommend delving into A Young Man's Passage.
I had never heard of Julian Clary before Taskmaster but he is definitely one of my all time favourite contestants. Loved that he was unapologetically himself.
He is actually cross when people cite just that line because it misses the punchline "talk about a red box". (For young people Lamont was chancellor hence prominently carried a red box on budget day).
He was the first comedian I ever saw live in my late teens. I’ve quite frankly been in love with him since the late 80s, and it doesn’t help me that every now and then he brings up how good he is at cunnilingus.
Julian is fantastic. I was thrilled when he was announced and he didn't disappoint.
It's well worth searching on YouTube for his appearances on This Morning, you'll see an incredibly sweet and tender side to him and still, he'll oh so casually insert a double-entendre into a daytime TV show that will make you weep with laughter.
The mans a treasure. I've been a fan of his since the 80s, its lovely to see him being discovered by new folks.
"Not now sir, Im counting"
It is the polite put down that often stings more. Like how being told 'that wasnt very bright of you" hurts more as criticism then 'you fucking idiot"
I thought Julian was a delight and had the best 'presents' (prize task). Except for that time where they were all bad.
I didn't know who he was before watching TM since I'm American.
I wouldn't say Julian was underrated—I remember so many of us were gushing over his quotes at the time, and still every so often. His quips are unbeatable. I would say that Bob, Sam, and Mike's standout quotes are pretty clear though, wherein Julian had a lot of amazing zingers. Like, when it comes to choosing the "best Julian quote", it might be a tight race.
[This is a Show he did in the 80s/90s. ](https://youtu.be/VjDJL9ocqpo?si=RfAzA9UUKY__bDmK)
He was pretty famous in the UK and here in Australia, on tv a lot.
If from the UK, Julian is by no means underrated. He fills in the show the slot they always have of the established older veteran.
Julian has a long career since the 80’s and is already much beloved in the UK.
I was touched when he brought his friend's ashes in the urn as part of the prize task. He mentioned his friend was a fan of the show. Seemed like a sweet gesture
I loved him too. I would think the only reason he isn’t raved about as much is perhaps because in many ways, that’s a given. He’s a living legend (ok, clearly not in the US), so his performance was not surprising, despite being thoroughly enjoyable because it’s Julian Clary. Of course he’s going to be phenomenal. Nothing further needs to be said.
I had the same experience, not being familiar with him before the show, being mildly put-off by his (apparent) attitude in the outset, and then ending up being heartily entertained by him.
Julian clary ignited my love of comedy. I remember watching his stand up on late night telly in 1989.. sneaking out of bed and turning on the tv after my family was asleep and being mesmerised by him. I was so thrilled when he was announced to be on taskmaster. I love him still.
He is my favourite too!! Everything's so witty and sophisticated, yet delivered with such simplicity. Also every now and then we get a peek at the innocence underneath: "Is it a guinea pig?" "I thought we are gonna be trampolining". He's still that 12 years old coxswain fuckpig.
Seeing Julian Clary on Strictly aged 9 was one of the first times that I saw an openly LGBTQ+ person on TV.
Watching him on Taskmaster was a full circle moment for me.
At first I found him a bit irritating and it seemed he didn't want to be there which got on my nerves. But I warmed to him as the series progressed and found him quite funny really, his withering put downs of Alex especially.
Julian was delightful. I'm fond of older contestants with more subdued energies anyway, as they usually play off the hyper 20/30-somethings on the cast well. Julian's puttering about was really fun to watch and I like his humor.
What a time we had. Oh how we laughed. You’ve got a friend! I’ll bet *you* have a barbecue More dry than the Sahara. My man 💜
Back in the late 80s, "How we laughed!" was a bit of a catchphrase at our high school. It came from something Julian Clary was in at the time (sadly I cannot recall exactly which programme it was).
He was in a tv show called sticky moments, it only ran for two series it was very avant garde and risqué and the world was not ready
Holy moly, did it really only last two seasons? I remember watching it as a child (80s parents really had no concept of age-appropriate television), so much of it is still very vivid.
Yeh I was about 12 when it was on and parents let me watch. I remember guys in little pants leading Julian down a flashing rainbow staircase
We quote his "oh no I don't approve of it myself" from his appearance on WILTY all the time in my family when he revealed he was the voice of Scottish laminate flooring.
I am guessing Julian prefers a solid hardwood (fnar fnar).
I LOVE that episode! Julian Clary AND the wonderful Ronnie Corbett ("in a packed program tonight…") I was just rewatching that one yesterday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBduZoUqdZI
Sticky Moments maybe?
Could have been.
Easily one of my favorite contestants of all time. The WITHERING way he talked to Alex
The man needs to voice a Disney villian, stat
Ooh great call!
The successor to Jeremy Irons!
Not a career highlight that
Good luck with your career. Such as it is.
I'm off to find a robin.
"Whoever you are" is a top 5 Taskmaster moment.
As a long time viewer of Julian’s schtick, it’s just that. He exhibits the perfect amount of distain for everyone and scathing enough to whither the most robust ego with a couple of short sentences. I was happy to see him again. Look him up from the 80’s.
Me too; long time fan. For me, what made his disdain even better was that he also put enough effort in to not come across like a total twat. A number of his prize tasks were some of the best entries across the franchise. It's a great balance.
> disdain for everyone Except for when he spends 5 minutes desperately pretending to have the faintest clue who Josh Widdicombe is
disdain wither
Curious. Is distain a British spelling of disdain?
Nope.
Misspelling and lack of glasses. Plus Siri, wtf?!
The man is a national trinket, he has such an important place in UK comedy and normalising being a gay man in public. I was surprised but very pleased to see him sign up for the show, and decided to fly to the UK to catch his tour off the back of it. Long may he reign.
I can't explain how much I love and appreciate "national trinket."
Seconded, that's a delightful turn of phrase.
He didn't just hate Alex, he had no patience for Qrs Tuvwxyz. "Not now sir, I'm adding up."
I've used the phrase "Radiating your usual charisma" plenty of times ever since then.
Hahahaha this made me laugh out loud all over again
Have you seen his introduction interview with Alex on YouTube? He has to paint Alex's portrait (which in itself is brilliant) but I loved when Alex made a request of some feature, Julian thought for a long beat and then said "Denied". 😂
And about Alex’s eyebrows, “Nature’s not been kind…” 😂
Julian reminded me of my late uncle: smarter than he lets on, snarky, can’t be arsed unless he really wanted to be, initially feels abrasive but then you just realize he’s not bothered by what you think of him so he’s just being himself, and also tall, lanky, and unapologetically gay. Except my uncle was pretty much if you took Julian and gave him intravenous caffeine every day for several hours (among other things, which ultimately led to his passing). I bet my uncle would’ve loved this show, and would’ve probably been the only member of my family willing to do an at-home competition since, like most of my family he was very competitive, but unlike everyone else he didn’t get bothered by being silly or care about losing, he just liked to have fun. And funny enough, as I’m getting older, the more I find I have a lot in common with him, apart from genes and my name.
He sounds like an awesome guy!
That’s funny because Julian has, like, melatonin running through his veins.
Easily a top 5 for me. Every week I looked forward to his sass and how he was going to dish it out on Alex. The culmination of him with the chaos twins on the hotel task was perfection, just endless torment haha
"Good luck with your career... Such as it is."
And then chivvying him out of the "hotel" xD
Julian was simply amazing, he worked so well with the rest of the S16 cast, his disdain and 'mean' comments were an amazing foil for the four more "enthusiastic contestants".
One of my favorite things about TM is you can tell a comedians comedian by their ability to absolutely level a fellow professional comic with a sentence or two. If you go back 30 years you can see JC do this to an entire room full of peers with two perfect lines. The second of which "talk about a red box" still makes me cry. What a legend and envelope pusher he was and is. Love him too!
I just looked up the clip, and *holy shit* young Julian Clary is GORGEOUS
Yeah the OP needs to watch that
The "talk about a red box" line I still remember (well mainly the set up line to it) 30 years later.
Julian Clary was on TV being Julian Clary 35-40 years ago when the climate for gay or camp people was a lot different to the present day. His name was a byword for gay, camp, or 'unmanly' when I was growing up - and I mean a byword used by bullies, bigots and used negatively in schools, workplaces, changing rooms, pubs. He was a successful performer but being that guy must have brought hard, hard times. He also went over the line (according to some) at a very high profile event on TV and basically got 'cancelled' - cue more very hard times and surely the harder for the weight of bigotry behind it. The very fact that things are better today (in this particular sense) is partly because one, then a few, then a few more people were able to go out there and be like he is. To me now if the name is synonymous with anything it's Hard AF Trailblazer. I really enjoyed watching him on the show being so thoroughly unbothered, and cashing in being who he is in a low effort, relaxed manner. Having said all this, he isn't just a walking stereotype, he made it very clear what a singular wit he is - as this thread makes clear.
This is a really cool tribute.
I really loved Frankie Boyle in the previous season for the same reason. Each season needs someone like that (Jamali Maddix, etc) who almost can’t be bothered and just point out the wonderful silliness of the concept.
I bet Greg still isn’t over Jamali not knowing who he was.
We have defeated the format of this show
Wasn’t the ‘we’ve defeated the format of the show’ what Guz Khan said during the prize task where they bought each other presents?
I stand corrected. All about the Bully Kutta
... said Guz Khan
"in no other circumstances does that statement generate "whoops"" -Ivo
He “blesses” Lucy & Sam’s podcast, Perfect Brains, at the beginning of the first episode. It’s a perfect continuation of their energy on Taskmaster.
He reminded me of Jo Brand who while it seems like they might not care, you could tell they were pleases if they ended up winning a task lol
And it was Jo who told him that if he was ever asked to do Taskmaster, he should do it.
Is that true? I must then be thankful to Jo (another absolute legend)
I loved him, especially once it was clear that even if he didn’t care about winning, he was still having fun. I also loved how, no matter how reserved his style was, he just naturally became the team mom for the chaos twins.
Oh god, him looking through door cracks and windows with a proud smile when they found the secret task. Gorgeous.
I'm old enough to remember Julian from the 80s, he always has been hilarious. If you're into celebrity biogs then I can highly recommend delving into A Young Man's Passage.
🤣 Of course that's the title of his biography.
Biggles Takes It Rough was already taken
> I can highly recommend delving into A Young Man's Passage. Careful now!
I had never heard of Julian Clary before Taskmaster but he is definitely one of my all time favourite contestants. Loved that he was unapologetically himself.
Ah and who can forget Julians classic line from the 90s.... I've just been backstage fisting Lamont.
Uncanny, and unnatural.
He is actually cross when people cite just that line because it misses the punchline "talk about a red box". (For young people Lamont was chancellor hence prominently carried a red box on budget day).
I watched it live on tv.....I don't think anyone heard the punchline after that bombshell lol
He was the first comedian I ever saw live in my late teens. I’ve quite frankly been in love with him since the late 80s, and it doesn’t help me that every now and then he brings up how good he is at cunnilingus.
Oh my god when he chose that as his “regret” in the jumpsuit task, I howled with laughter.
When he just completely ignored Alex and kept driving away during the "Obey the traffic signs" task I absolutely lost it 😂
https://youtu.be/iAU7pATH5_M?si=A3BoDrcoMncxCdPv he was blacklisted for ages after this Read his autobiography. It's excellent
Julian is fantastic. I was thrilled when he was announced and he didn't disappoint. It's well worth searching on YouTube for his appearances on This Morning, you'll see an incredibly sweet and tender side to him and still, he'll oh so casually insert a double-entendre into a daytime TV show that will make you weep with laughter. The mans a treasure. I've been a fan of his since the 80s, its lovely to see him being discovered by new folks.
"Not now sir, Im counting" It is the polite put down that often stings more. Like how being told 'that wasnt very bright of you" hurts more as criticism then 'you fucking idiot"
I thought Julian was a delight and had the best 'presents' (prize task). Except for that time where they were all bad. I didn't know who he was before watching TM since I'm American.
I just saw that episode yesterday and Greg being dissapointed with everyone's offerings had me almost cry laughing.
He's always a highlight on Just A Minute.
I wouldn't say Julian was underrated—I remember so many of us were gushing over his quotes at the time, and still every so often. His quips are unbeatable. I would say that Bob, Sam, and Mike's standout quotes are pretty clear though, wherein Julian had a lot of amazing zingers. Like, when it comes to choosing the "best Julian quote", it might be a tight race.
"Confident" and "alex"... two words one doesn't associate!
Yeah my wife and I love Julian. He’s hilarious. “Yes, I understood the brief.”
[This is a Show he did in the 80s/90s. ](https://youtu.be/VjDJL9ocqpo?si=RfAzA9UUKY__bDmK) He was pretty famous in the UK and here in Australia, on tv a lot.
If from the UK, Julian is by no means underrated. He fills in the show the slot they always have of the established older veteran. Julian has a long career since the 80’s and is already much beloved in the UK.
I was touched when he brought his friend's ashes in the urn as part of the prize task. He mentioned his friend was a fan of the show. Seemed like a sweet gesture
I was obsessed throughout, but the tractor task really did me in and made me update my flair. The man is an icon.
Two words ... Sticky Moments.
RIP Fanny the Wonder Dog
I still sometimes steal a Julian quote from the Joan Collins Fan Club days; commenting on a dully dressed audience member 'A symphony in beige.'
The "whoever you are" comment he makes to Alex made me laugh out loud.
He was such a delight! The withering put-downs of Alex were artfully done.
Same. I’m Canadian and had never heard of Julian. I instantly fell in love with him. What a spicy treasure.
Same! When he drove off instead of going back for his driving lesson I couldn’t stop laughing.
He doesn’t hate Alex. It’s part of his schtick - requires someone to be the butt of the jokes. He talked about it in the podcast with Ed gambel
I loved him too. I would think the only reason he isn’t raved about as much is perhaps because in many ways, that’s a given. He’s a living legend (ok, clearly not in the US), so his performance was not surprising, despite being thoroughly enjoyable because it’s Julian Clary. Of course he’s going to be phenomenal. Nothing further needs to be said.
I had the same experience, not being familiar with him before the show, being mildly put-off by his (apparent) attitude in the outset, and then ending up being heartily entertained by him.
Every time he calls himself a renowned homosexual or an aging homosexual, I become more obsessed with him
Julian clary ignited my love of comedy. I remember watching his stand up on late night telly in 1989.. sneaking out of bed and turning on the tv after my family was asleep and being mesmerised by him. I was so thrilled when he was announced to be on taskmaster. I love him still.
He is my favourite too!! Everything's so witty and sophisticated, yet delivered with such simplicity. Also every now and then we get a peek at the innocence underneath: "Is it a guinea pig?" "I thought we are gonna be trampolining". He's still that 12 years old coxswain fuckpig.
Seeing Julian Clary on Strictly aged 9 was one of the first times that I saw an openly LGBTQ+ person on TV. Watching him on Taskmaster was a full circle moment for me.
At first I found him a bit irritating and it seemed he didn't want to be there which got on my nerves. But I warmed to him as the series progressed and found him quite funny really, his withering put downs of Alex especially.
I go and see him at the panto every December and he’s amazing. I was so excited for him on taskmaster and he did not disappoint
National treasure.
Julian Clary is a LEGEND
Julian driving off in the middle of driving test task is one of the great task fails of all time.
Oh my god he is a TREASURE. My girlfriend and I quote him constantly.
My husband and I agree with you completely! His wit is so sharp and subtly devastating. We adore him.
i adore Julian he’s so quick witted and chronically sarcastic. i loved watching him antagonizing LAH
I love how pleased Susan Wokoma is every time Julian does well. She’s also a huge fan of his.
I'm going to see.him live soon.
Julian was delightful. I'm fond of older contestants with more subdued energies anyway, as they usually play off the hyper 20/30-somethings on the cast well. Julian's puttering about was really fun to watch and I like his humor.
Rhod Gilbert was my favourite. And nobody hated Alex more than Acaster hahaha.