Backing into the Spotlight
A Memoir
Michael Whitehall
- 'Backing
- into
- the
- Spotlight
- is
- a
- hilarious
- and
- an
- unashamedly
- non-PC
- memoir
- .
- .
- .
- Now
- in
- his
- eighth
- decade,
- Whitehall
- is
- a
- fine
- raconteur,
- gloriously
- unreconstructed
- and
- still
- deeply
- suspicious
- of
- modernity'
- Daily
- MailStanding
- in
- front
- of
- a
- full-length
- mirror
- in
- my
- dressing
- room
- at
- ITV
- studios,
- waiting
- to
- go
- on
- to
- the
- set
- of
- Backchat*,
- I
- had
- a
- brief
- conversation
- with
- my
- reflection.*'Michael,
- what
- the
- f***
- do
- you
- think
- you're
- doing?'Theatrical
- agent
- Michael
- Whitehall
- spent
- a
- career
- pushing
- others
- into
- the
- spotlight.
- He
- had
- been
- involved
- behind
- the
- scenes
- with
- the
- careers
- of
- many
- prominent
- actors,
- including
- Colin
- Firth,
- Richard
- Griffiths,
- Daniel
- Day-Lewis,
- Tom
- Courtenay,
- Ian
- Ogilvy,
- Judi
- Dench,
- Edward
- Fox,
- Michael
- Fassbender,
- Angela
- Thorne
- and
- Nigel
- Havers.But
- then,
- much
- to
- his
- surprise,
- his
- son
- Jack
- becomes
- a
- successful
- comedian
- and
- actor
- and
- decides
- that
- his
- new
- comedy
- partner
- should
- be
- his
- father.
- Whitehall
- Snr.
- finds
- himself
- reluctantly
- appearing
- on
- stage
- and
- then
- television,
- cast
- as
- the
- archetypal
- grumpy
- old
- man
- and
- thrust,
- in
- his
- early
- seventies,
- into
- a
- whole
- new
- career
- in
- front
- of
- the
- camera.
- Minor
- fame
- comes
- at
- a
- sedate
- pace:
- one
- of
- the
- highlights
- being
- a
- record
- £300,000
- win
- for
- charity
- with
- Jack
- on
- Channel
- 4's
- The
- Million
- Pound
- Drop.In
- this
- enchanting
- memoir
- Whitehall
- looks
- back
- on
- his
- life,
- from
- growing
- up
- in
- suburban
- London
- in
- the
- 1940s
- and
- '50s
- with
- his
- saintly
- father
- and
- social
- climbing-mother,
- who
- coined
- the
- phrase
- 'à
- la
- carte'
- to
- describe
- people
- who
- were
- posher
- than
- she
- was
- and
- whose
- company
- she
- craved,
- to
- falling
- into
- a
- career
- as
- a
- successful
- theatrical
- agent
- and
- producer.
- As
- he
- says,
- 'Actors
- can
- be
- egotistical,
- greedy
- and
- vain,
- but
- they're
- not
- half
- as
- bad
- as
- agents
- and
- producers.'Charming,
- gossipy
- and
- above
- all
- very
- funny,
- Backing
- Into
- The
- Spotlight
- is
- no
- ordinary
- show
- business memoir.
