Digital TV Blog

Monty Penguin’s Flying Circus

So, how many of you were fooled by the BBC’s April Fool’s stunt? We were yesterday alerted to the startling news of flying penguins by a Mr Rolf Opali, and forwarded to the BBC iPlayer page via a link.

The video, a cleverly conceived and executed viral piece for the iPlayer is simply titled ‘Penguins’, and has shot to the top of the BBC iPlayer’s Most Popular list after users from around the world logged on to check out the footage. Whether you fell for it or not, you can’t help but admire the quality of the film, impressive in an age of FX-literate audiences, and the sheer gall of the project.

The film ostensibly follows ex-Monty Python star Terry Jones and a camera filming a colony of Adélie penguins on King George Island. Keeping within the spirit of April Fool’s, Mr Jones said of the film; “The film reveals nature’s stunning glory in exciting and unexpected ways, so much so that it defies belief.”

The Mirror also ran a piece about a forthcoming TV show called Greyhounds on Ice, where the race dogs are fitted with special shoes and made to race across an ice rink, a la Crufts meets Dancing on Ice.

Previous April Fools jokes involving doctored images include The Sun’s famous giant chicken, supposedly cloned by Dutch scientists. The chicken, bred by Dr Evan Yuon (get it?) was the size of an ostrich, and could apparently supply enough meat for 7,000 nuggets.

The BBC’s Penguins video is currently still sitting at the top spot on the iPlayer’s list, and it available for streaming only (no downloads unfortunately) for the next five days.

‘When we said your show could do with more exposure, we didn’t mean…’

In what has widely been derided as a last-ditch publicity stunt to stall flagging ratings, Lily Allen decided to get all controversial with a Janet Jackson routine, with Phoenix Nights star Paddy McGuinness playing the Justin Timberlake role, sort of.

The singer decided to up the ante for Auntie when interviewing Paddy on her BBC3 chat show Lily Allen and Friends when she scooped out her right breast and played with her nipple for roughly three minutes, it said in The Sun.

According to audience members, the interview had become a bit lewd; 26 year Rob Difrancesco, 26, told the newspaper: “Lily and Paddy were both quite lively. They were sitting on the sofa and she pulled out her right boob.

“Everyone in the audience was doing a double take as Lily sat there with her breast hanging out.”

Lily’s flashing antics were not caught on camera, as another guest was being filmed at the time, which is a shame for her; the infamous ‘third nipple’ incident on the Channel 4 Friday Night Project last summer became one of the most watched videos on YouTube.

BBC3 boss Danny Cohen defended the entertainer, saying: “Lily is a star. She has developed astoundingly well.” Faster than you can say ‘nepotism’, the BBC has recommissioned Lily’s show for a second series despite near non-existent viewing figures.