Director Edgar Wright had some material used in the first episode of Beadle's Hot Shots, and was asked to join the show as a researcher. In May 2017 he appeared on an Adam Buxton podcast, where he admitted that the standard of videos sent in by the public was too amateurish to be transmitted, and he shot around "a third" of the clips himself.
Wright clarified that "[Jeremy Beadle] had absolutely no knowledge that I was fabricating some of the clips", and that he thought that it would have been a scandal had the show been a bigger hit. Wright's involvement saw him shoot some brand new sketches himself, with his face off camera, and also contact some members of the public who had submitted good ideas but with poor production, causing Wright to reshoot the sketches with the people involved.
Wright clarified that "[Jeremy Beadle] had absolutely no knowledge that I was fabricating some of the clips", and that he thought that it would have been a scandal had the show been a bigger hit. Wright's involvement saw him shoot some brand new sketches himself, with his face off camera, and also contact some members of the public who had submitted good ideas but with poor production, causing Wright to reshoot the sketches with the people involved.
Although the 1994 pilot episode was a reasonable hit with viewers, the follow-up series in 1996 wasn't as successful, with an average of 6.2 million viewers and only one episode making the UK TV Top 70.
It could be argued that the show was too "niche" for a wider audience, or that it was somewhat ahead of its time. However, another contributing factor to its lack of success was that the show was broadcast directly opposite Casualty (1986), which was a big hit at the time.
It could be argued that the show was too "niche" for a wider audience, or that it was somewhat ahead of its time. However, another contributing factor to its lack of success was that the show was broadcast directly opposite Casualty (1986), which was a big hit at the time.