The Five Foot Nine Show

A one-off comedy show that reunited two of the regulars from That Was The Week That Was. 

But why The Five Foot Nine Show? Writer Dave King explained: 'It's simply a different size in entertainment. Originally it was The Four Foot Three Show, but the BBC-tv planners thought this would be rather low stuff for a family audience. We then tried out for size The Six Foot Six Show but this felt likely to be over the heads of many viewers. So we compromised on five foot nine. Although if it overruns it could well end up as The Six Foot Show.' 

Producer Barry Lupino tried to give readers of the Radio Times a little more useful information about the show - but failed quite miserably. '(The show is) rectangular-a convenient shape for the talents of Lance Percival, Roy Kinnear and Tsai Chin*. We've also put in a chit for six dancers, a singing Eskimo, a singing tadpole, and pipes and drums. If we find the budget can stand it, we may even have musicians to play them.' Could it be described as a new type of show? In this Lupino was quite candid. 'No!' He said. 'It's an old-style show but we're giving it a lick of paint and freshening it up a bit. Actually, the whole thing has been written to fit some old scenery we found lying around.' What, then, is it all about? 'About five foot nine.' Replied Lupino. 'Give or take an inch.'

*Tsai Chin, the Chinese-British actress, singer, director, and teacher, left Shanghai at the age of 17 and travelled to England to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she became the first Chinese student at the institution. Her career has spanned more than six decades (she is 91 years old at the time of writing) and three continents. Chin appeared in two James Bond films, 39 years apart – first as a Bond girl in You Only Live Twice, and later in Casino Royale.

In the United States, she is best known for her role as Auntie Lindo in the 1993 film The Joy Luck Club. She also featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. In China, she is widely recognised for her portrayal of Grandmother Jia in the 2010 television adaptation of The Dream of Red Mansions.

Chin’s first major film role came in The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958), in which she played the adopted daughter of Ingrid Bergman’s character.