Friday Night With Jonathan Ross - Series 16, Episode 25 - Denzel Washington, Quentin Tarantino, Deborah Meaden, Theo Paphitis, James Caan, Peter Jones, a-ha - British Comedy Guide (original) (raw)

There is a rare interview with double Oscar-winning actor, screenwriter and director Denzel Washington; TV's toughest task-masters, Dragons' Den stars Deborah Meaden, Theo Paphitis, James Caan and Peter Jones are in the studio; provocative movie maverick Quentin Tarantino makes an exclusive appearance; and there is chat and music from born-again 80s supergroup a-ha.

Further details

In the final show of the current season Jonathan Ross welcomes Quentin Tarantino on to his sofa. The director says he wanted to direct Pierce Brosnan as Bond in Casino Royale, and would still like to direct a Bond movie. "I said I wanted to do Casino Royale, they said it was unfilmable... I would have done it with Pierce Brosnan."

He says he wooed Brad Pitt for his latest movie by getting him drunk on eight bottles of rose. And Quentin Tarantino is considering a rom-com for his next film: "I think I'd be really good at it."

Jonathan also welcomes Denzel Washington who confirms he'll play his hero Barack Obama on screen at the President's suggestion: "[But] he's got bigger ears than me!" He has been invited to play basketball against him: "I'd beat the hell out of him!"

But Denzel Washington condemns former President George W Bush: "We had a rough eight years and he isolated us from the rest of the world, it was embarrassing."

He says his wife likes him bigger - he put on 40lbs for his latest role: "Every wife wants their husband to be plump." He chose John Travolta as latest co-star: "He's a good bad guy... a sweet man." And he regrets he couldn't be an athlete: "I'm living it through my son, I'd have loved to have gone professional."

Also in the show is revelations from the Dragons' Den. Theo Paphitis says Duncan Bannatyne, despite his hard-man image, is a soft touch: "He's a pussycat, just give him a hard luck story." Peter Jones reveals Dragons' Den has made Levi Roots (Reggae Reggae Sauce) a multi-millionaire: "It was worth a million dollars to see his life change."

There's no sympathy for bad pitches, Theo says: "If someone comes in with a great idea and no passion, we fall asleep." And Jonathan makes his own pitch to the dragons - customised ingredients for the perfect cheese sandwich.

Notes

a-ha performed Foot of the mountain and The Sun always shine on TV.

Broadcast details

Date

Friday 24th July 2009

Time

10:35pm

Channel

BBC One

Length

60 minutes

Cast & crew

Cast

Guest cast

Writing team

Production team