Coming up on this episode of White Wine Question Time.

I was at the bar and there was a kerfuffle and a disturbance.

And emerging from the kerfuffle was George Harrison, seeking me out.

And the first words he said to me were, thanks for keeping us amused in the 1980s.

It was about a world where all musical culture is controlled by a massive corporate

machina and basically beamed straight to the consumer to their ears directly, which allows

them to be kind of held online.

And so it all came true. Why don't we do a Spice Girl sitcom? And I said, blind it. I think that could be amazing. Because the film had been really good. I enjoyed Spice World. I thought they all came across great. Anyway, I said, yes, I'd be fascinated. Let's talk soon. She said, absolutely. I'll get the girls together. We'll talk soon. A week later, she left the band. So there you go.

Hello and welcome to a white wine question time. The podcast that asked its guests, three

thought-provoking questions over three glasses of wine. And my guest today is a BAFTA-winning

British comedian, an actor, a director and writer who's had a hand in some of the UK's most seminal, loved and influential comedy, from the young ones to Blackadder, to Mr Bean and Saturday Live.

He's also had huge success on stage and his musical celebrating the Songs of Queen, We Will Rock, he was one of the longest running in West End history. And then, of course, there's his whopping 16 novels and the Sunday Times best-selling autobiography he published last year. It's called What Have I Done? Which is out on paperback on the 21st of May and a book about what he hasn't done. It might have been a quicker one to write. So let's dial him in. He's one of the comedy

greats. It's Ben Elton.

How are you? I'm very well, Kate. Very well indeed. Thank you for that lovely introduction.

Well, it's all true. And I'm sure I think, Ben, when was the last time I saw you, and bizarrely, and I don't know if you have any recollection of this, I think we were in the Tower of London with the then-Prince Charles, random, but true. I think it was a Prince's trust thing, wasn't it? Yes. We had been sent to the tower.

I blocked all the unpleasant parts from my memory.

That doesn't include you.

You were one of the few highlights.

I did, honestly, I went through a long process talking to them about what routine I was going to do.

I took over from out in debt for the sort of late night bit of what was a Prince's Trust sort of, you know, trust-a-thon, you know, and I hosted the final section. Yeah. And they can say, no, do whatever material you want. I was going,

you know, this is, I'm, you know, I'm quite, I can be quite, you know, I can be quite on the edge.

Not, you know, politically necessarily. I mean, I wasn't going to do that.

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