Comedy Gold - Classic Noel's House Party 'Gotchas'

My humour is very much centred around that of the 1980s and 1990s. Not surprising really as it was this era that coincided with my childhood - they were very much my formative years.

The humour of the day rubbed off on me and such programmes as Beadles About, which was then then modern day equivalent of Candid Camera, held me in an awe-ful state of suspense.

In the 1990s, this could be witnessed every Saturday night on Noel's House Party. I'm not ashamed to say that I was a fan and why not? For a decade, it was one of the most popular Saturday evening entertainment programmes on the box. It had many memorable features including the Gunge Tank, 'Wait 'Till I Get You Home', NTV and Grab a Grand.

Then there was the Gotcha. Whilst Beadles About caught out unsuspecting normal people living their day-to-day lives, Noel Edmonds' take on it saw us see how well known celebrities reacted to what were apparently real though ludicrous scenarios whilst being filmed by hidden cameras as a part of the practical joke.

Along the way, there were some absolute classics...

I can always remember the Will Carling Gotcha. A giant of English and World rugby during the 1990s, he was nevertheless brought to frustrated distraction by a man in a big pink costume - Mr Blobby!



The Richard Whitely Gotcha on Countdown is just a visual joy to watch.



Comedian and Eastenders favourite Mike Reid also found himself in a head-scratching scenario which again is a joy to watch. "Chicken"...



Speaking of Frank Butcher, his lovely wife Peggy's alter-ego Barbara Windsor also suffered the Gotcha treatment on a bus tour of Basingstoke!



But it wasn't just individuals who were targetted, but entire groups of people. Then Premiership club QPR were caught out in a Clothes Show hoax! Where are Les Ferdinand and Trevor Sinclair now...



But what of the great DLT? Dave Lee Travis's Pub Team Challenge on Radio 1 challenged himself more than anyone!



There was Lionel Blair as well! On stage with Les Dennis and Vicky Michelle, what should've been a play, turned into a right farce!



Even multi-award winners weren't immune to the hoax. The Bee Gees were also caught out - but did so in a surprisingly reasonable manner!



Far-flung travellor Judith Chalmers also fell for the prank!



The final Gotcha went to Dale Winton and again, a wonderful naiivety on the celebrity's part made the ludicrous plot seem believable.

The line - "I don't believe it, the car's gone - that's a £45,000 car"!



But not every celebrity succumbed to the trick. The first ever gotcha failure was with eagle eyed Annabel Croft who spotted the camera!



But then, maybe she shouldn't have rumbled Noel because this is what happened to her...she got the gunge treatment!