The Daily Mail reports that almost a third of the audience for Lily Allen & Friends walked out of the first show's recording, commenting afterwards that the BBC Three chat-show was "horrible" and "limp".
One walkout said: "Everyone really, really wanted it to work for Lily. She is such a lovely person, but all the jokes fell flat and she seemed very nervous. It just did not work."
Another fan added: "She was halfway through her interview with David Mitchell when she seemed to forget the questions and launched into an attack on all the horrible things people had written about her on online chat forums."
Guest Cuba Gooding Jr -- after a segment where internet videos of animals having sex were shown -- commented to the audience: ""I don't know what's sicker; animals having sex or you clapping."
One walkout said: "Everyone really, really wanted it to work for Lily. She is such a lovely person, but all the jokes fell flat and she seemed very nervous. It just did not work."
Another fan added: "She was halfway through her interview with David Mitchell when she seemed to forget the questions and launched into an attack on all the horrible things people had written about her on online chat forums."
Guest Cuba Gooding Jr -- after a segment where internet videos of animals having sex were shown -- commented to the audience: ""I don't know what's sicker; animals having sex or you clapping."
What makes the walkouts even worse is that the 150-strong audience at Pinewood Studios were made up of Lily Allen's Myspace friends! If her online fans can't stomach the show, what chance do TV viewers have?
I suppose it's just further evidence that singers should stick to singing. I know The Charlotte Church Show was a big Friday night success for Channel 4 while back, but I couldn't abide watching Charlotte fumble through comedy monologues and fawn over her guests.
Maybe this has all been blown out of proportion for Lily? The show was also struck by technical glitches -- such as a loss of autocue which left Lily reliant on handwritten cards -- which can't have helped. As you probably know, Lily also suffered a miscarriage and broke up with her boyfriend recently, so she probably wasn't in the best mood to host an irreverent entertainment show!
Oh well. Car crash television in the making? We'll see soon enough... when Lily Allen & Friends debuts on BBC Three this Tuesday @10.30 pm.
