Mick Hucknall’s Pink Pancakes

Mick strolls the length of Blackpool’s ‘Golden Mile’ clad only in a tight transparent macintosh.

A bit weird, this one. Obviously. The title is quuuuite the giveaway. What even was TVGoHome? I’ve got it down as a ‘book’ here, but that’s almost an afterthought. I suppose ‘web series’ could possibly be more accurate?

Whatever the fuck TVGoHome was, it was the brainchild of Black Mirror‘s Charlie Brooker and happened fortnighly from 1999 for about two years. The basic idea was to copy the same format as the British TV pamphlet Radio Times, but just invent preposterous programmes. It’s well documented now that the reason it ended was because the stuff they came up with ended up being less batshit than real-life TV shows that were appearing on telly at the time.

History lesson over. For the most part, TVGH shows were one offs. Other than the news. However, they did have a few recurring programmes*, one of which being ‘Mick Hucknall’s Pink Pancakes’. The reason you’re here. The premise of the show is the Simply Red frontman pressing his naked testicles onto various transparent surfaces – mostly windows – and documenting it in the titular programme.

I don’t want to dwell on that more than I should, so the design is pink and features two balls. I’m sure you’re with me thus far. The typography is broadly related to daytime television. Just on the basis that the show is pitched as sort of ‘Michael Portillo does trains on BBC2**’ type show but with more scrotal involvement. I did try to get some hair on the balls, but to no avail. It just looked rubbish.

If you do browse the archives (and you really should), look out for a couple of Mick’s sister programmes, notably ‘Moira Stuart’s Mauve Envelope’ and Mariella Frostrup’s Mahogany Coin’. Knowing what you now know about this programme, I’m sure you can use your imagination to work out what those are about.

*The TVGoHome show ‘Cunt’ became ‘Nathan Barley‘ in 2005.
** Fuck Michael Portillo. Still. After all these years.