Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill is a former British Prime Minister, who held office from 1940 to 1945 and 1951 to 1955, well known for his cigar, V-sign and bulldog appearance and primarily for helping extinguish the threat of fascism in Europe.

Biography (I)

According to Karl Pilkington ...

Winston Churchill was a very weak child. He only spoke to his dad four times in his whole lifetime, he didn't get on with his dad. One of the times when his dad spoke to him he was having a go, saying he didn't do as well in the Army as he wanted him to.

He was a very important bloke, because he did change a lot for us. We wouldn't be sat here now, talking like this, we could've been German. He didn't let that happen. Everyone had a go at him. When Chamberlain was in power, Churchill was saying "Don't be trusting that Hitler!" and everyone was, like "Stop causing trouble. Chamberlain has sorted it out. He sorted out this peace agreement." But it turned out that Hitler did actually do the dirty, and try and come over. He started a problem, and everyone went "Hang on a minute, that Churchill knew what he was talking about. Get him back in charge!" They got him in, and Hitler was scared of him because he knew Churchill wasn't going to have any lies or anything, he couldn't try it on with Churchill.

--Insert Churchill's war time efforts here--

The most amazing bit is, he wasn't fit, and he had a couple of strokes. But say, he had a stroke on a tuesday, he was up and fighting again on a wednesday, he was a strong bloke. And then he died at about the age of 86. He was really good.

Biography (II)

According to Ricky Gervais ...

Winston Churchill was a balding man who smoked cigars, and was also "coked up".

Movie hoax

For a brief period it was believed Ricky would be playing the role of Churchill in a biopic of the great leader, this was later revealed to be an hilarious April Fools' Day hoax, perpetrated by forum user ScottHanson.

Ricky to play Churchill
1 April 2008
According to Variety.com as well as the BBC, Ricky (left in a publicity shot) has signed on to play Winston Churchill in a biopic of the former British Prime Minister. Due to begin shooting next year for a 2010 release, the film will focus mainly on events preceding and during the Second World War. They quote Ricky as saying "Though I'm known primarily for comedy, I'd be a fool to turn down such an opportunity, and as I've always admired drama whether it be TV or film, this seemed like a natural choice." Discuss this news on the forum.

Mentions on the Show

• 24 November 2001 - Steve remembers getting a CD of Churchill's wartime speeches for Christmas.
• 23 March 2002 - As part of Educating Karl, the K-man gives his personal account of the life and times of Mr. Churchill. Ricky throws in his bit of knowledge of the man, too.
• 28 May 2005 - Karl cites Churchill as the person he admires most in the world.