This week, Mel Brooks turned 100, and as fans reminisced on his iconic life, one moment shone out above all the others.
The EGOT winner, whose acclaimed Hollywood career spans seven decades, made the trek across the pond in 2017 to promote a new musical based on his film Young Frankenstein and did his mandatory turn on BBC’s The One Show.
The daily evening talk show throws together a random assortment of celebrities from A-listers to British reality TV hosts who are all after their five minutes of One Show fame.
In between their genial chats with the celebs, the quintessential British talk show features pre-recorded segments often highlighting charitable causes or inspirational human interest stories.
For most UK TV viewers, switching between an interview about an upcoming star-studded movie to a cheery segment about a flower show is par for the course.
But the tonal switch-up clearly proved too much for the US comedian, who made his baffled feelings about the mad swings and roundabouts crystal clear.
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In the episode presented by Alex Jones and Matt Baker, Mel was joined on the sofa with Russell Crowe, Lesley Joseph and comedian Ross Noble.
In a classic twist, talk turned to Patricia, a woman who had contacted the show about her long-lost father. But before Matt could say any more, Mell spoke for the nation by declaring: ‘What a crazy show’ which immediately led to laughter from the entire studio.
Alex gave an agreeable ‘I know’ while Matt snaked his arm to represent the rollercoaster, while Ross and Lesley simply descended into hysterics.
As Mel continued to ramble in exasperation, Russell stepped in to give him a crash course on the eclectic format.
‘This is kind of like the sponsors break where they have to do something serious and they’ll be back to the frivolity of us shortly,’ the Gladiator star said.
Matt said: ‘It’s serious, we just turn the page and move on,’ while Alex, conscious of time wasting, tried to get things back on track by saying: ‘Right, let’s focus on Patricia now, alright.’
Mel got in the last word, however, adding: ‘Okay, but this is nuts, I want you to know,’ as more laughter resonated from all around.
Of course, even almost ten years on, people are still revelling in the brilliance of the moment.
‘Imagine being Patricia, you find your long-lost father, then you get Mel Brooks turning it into a gag on The One Show. She must have been having the BEST week,’ Dr Ellen Walker joked on X.
‘You could watch this five thousand times and the timing would still crack you up,’ Rob Power said.
Not even legendary filmmakers can escape the chaos of The One Show when push comes to shove.