Saturday 21 November

BLOGS

blogCategory
Previous
Back to blog
Next

Robert Webb on Let's Dance for Comic Relief

Robert Webb in Let's Dance for Comic Relief
  • Posted at 11:17am
  • 20 March 2009
  • by AlisonGraham-RT
  • 5 comments

I know a number of women - sensible, level-headed ones at that - who've blushingly admitted that they found Robert Webb's winning turn on BBC1's Let's Dance for Comic Relief powerfully erotic.

On any level, this is impossible to analyse. This was, after all, a man dressed as a woman, wearing a hideous black wig, full make-up, a high-cut leotard, legwarmers and shiny tights. And he has sensational legs, the kind of pins that wouldn't disgrace a supermodel. Yet there was no mistaking Webb's, ahem, masculinity, and not just because that leotard left little to the imagination.

There was no doubt that he would win the Let's Dance final (14 March) with his bravura display as the female welder from Flashdance who only wants to get into ballet school and who dances her bursting heart out to What a Feeling.

Webb heroically swirled around the stage in his own vortex, spinning, skipping, twirling, simpering, gurning, punching and investing the whole thing with just the right level of seriousness. Surely, at last, big things were about to happen for Webb, who for years, with comedy partner David Mitchell, has been chipping away at the foothills of alternative British comedy.

So what that he's starred since 2003 in five series of Channel 4's Bafta-winning Peep Show, the best British sitcom since Blackadder. It seems that all it takes for mass TV audience acceptance and instant national treasure status is a little bit of harmless cross-dressing and a willingness gamely to sacrifice your dignity - as yourself, and not a comedy character - on a talent show.

Webb danced last on the big night and, really, we all knew that the others were there just to make up the numbers, though Keith Lemon and Paddy McGuinness doing The Time of My Life from Dirty Dancing were his closest competition. They were great, but they blew it for me by overplaying the pretend sexual chemistry and the murmured "I love you"s as the judges gave their verdict. After a very short while, it became just a bit icky.

Alison Graham is TV editor of Radio Times
**
Relive Robert's incredible routine here

Link to this post
Post a comment | 5 comments

Comments

  • Posted on 12 April 2009
  • at 11:44pm
  • by Christine

Brilliant. And hot! I am also now a Mitchell and Webb fan. Especially Webb...

  • Posted on 01 April 2009
  • at 8:50pm
  • by kelly

Robert was excellent, and yes alarmingly sexy was his performance...i'm now a Mitchell & Webb fan..

  • Posted on 25 March 2009
  • at 5:22pm
  • by suedeapple

envious, jealous and just a little turned on

  • Posted on 24 March 2009
  • at 10:18am
  • by M&S

Absolutely fantastic laugh of my life

  • Posted on 23 March 2009
  • at 1:38pm
  • by lucy

brave and brill performance!

Post a comment

Do you have something to say about this post? Share your thoughts…

Post a comment

(first or nickname only)

Please do not include any personal or personally identifiable information about yourself or others (including email addresses). All information you submit about yourself or others can be viewed by others.

Thank you for your comment

Thank you for your comments. All comments will be looked at by a moderator, however, due to the numbers of comments we receive, we can't promise that all will be posted on the site.

Post another comment

More


Advertisement