Keith Chegwin began his career as a child actor, starring in Robin Hood Junior, various sitcoms, and – weirdly – Roman Polanski’s ultra-violent take on Macbeth. More typical was this none-more-70s chopper-bike caper, Betcher!, featuring a cameo from Herman’s Hermits frontman Peter Noone (“I know he’s a singer, you nit!”).
Betcher!
Swap Shop
In an era when TV announcers still spoke with cut-glass voices, Keith Chegwin’s chirpy Merseyside accent, silly jumpers and low-level banter with Swap Shop host Noel Edmonds helped endear him to a generation.
Cheggers Plays Pop
He was soon rewarded with his own vehicle, the anarchic music/gameshow hybrid Cheggers Plays Pop. Some bands looked happier than others to enter Keith’s hyperactive universe of terrible jokes, balloon-popping and gunge.
Saturday Superstore
Chegwin’s impressive crowd-control skills meant that he was kept on to do the outside broadcasts on Swap Shop’s successor’s, Saturday Superstore. Here he is on a beach again, having a surprisingly in-depth chat with a hovercraft captain, who ultimately proves more popular with the kids than Paul Young.
Brown Sauce
One of the urban myths doing the rounds in the wake of Chegwin’s death is that he co-wrote Reach by S-Club 7. He did actually sing on a Top 40 hit, rising to Number 15 in 1981 with I Wanna Be a Winner by Brown Sauce, a band formed with fellow Swap Shop presenters Maggie Philbin and Noel Edmonds.
The Big Breakfast
Chegwin’s faltering career was revived in the mid-90s when he was hired by The Big Breakfast to go and bother celebrities early in the morning. It’s a testament to Keith’s likeability that a bleary-eyed Steve Coogan doesn’t tell him to take a hike but actually invites him into his hotel room to share Kenneth Branagh anecdotes.
Extras
Chegwin’s most memorable recent role was when he played a monstrously racist, homophobic version of himself on Extras. Any lingering doubts that Gervais was somehow exploiting Chegwin in those buttock-clenching scenes is dispelled by this bloopers reel, which shows the two of them having a right old giggle.
Kill Keith
Chegwin also played a ‘heightened’ version of himself in 2011 spoof slasher movie Kill Keith. “Impressively bad” said the Guardian. Although still probably not as bad as Naked Jungle.
Dancing On Ice
In 2013, Chegwin competed in Series 8 of Dancing on Ice, finishing a creditable sixth.
Celebrity Big Brother
He followed that up with a stint on Celebrity Big Brother, where true to the Chegwin legend he managed to remain generally cheery in the face of numerous provocations. Want to see him throw some principled shade at the abominable Katie Hopkins? Of course you do.
