Porky blinder! ‘Career highlight’ for Coronation concert Muppets sketch writer
"I can now say I've worked with the Muppets," Ivor Baddiel tells Jewish News of a "career and life highlight"
The scriptwriter behind the Coronation Concert Muppets sketch jokes that he is “kvelling” for himself.
Ivor Baddiel told Jewish News that the televised skit, featuring the iconic Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog, with Coronation compere Hugh Bonneville, was something that only the production crew knew about.
The appearance of the Muppets at the commemorative show for King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla, watched by an average audience of ten million, was “a big secret”.
Members of the 20,000-strong live audience laughed as Miss Piggy and Kermit encountered Bonneville as they searched for their seats in the Royal Box. Baddiel wrote the script which saw the one and only Prima Donna Piggy assume Bonneville was a Lord because of his role in Downton Abbey; in true Miss Piggy style, she wants to be the Lady to his Lord and flirts up a storm.
“I have always loved the Muppets,” says Baddiel. “I really admire comedy that makes children and adults laugh. The Muppets have always been genuinely funny.”
Writing the script was “very collaborative” with ideas going back and forth across Zoom sessions, between the crew, producers, Baddiel, Bonneville and the ‘voice’ behind Kermit since 2017, Matt Vogel.
“The characters are very dear to them,” he continues. “You’ve got to get it right. At one point there was talk about the Archbishop of Canterbury presiding over Piggy’s and Hugh’s wedding. During the televised sketch, Eric Jacobson, the voice of Miss Piggy, puppeteered Miss Piggy’s left arm, whilst another puppeteer out of shot did her right arm. There were about six or seven Muppet-related people there.”
Describing the behind the scenes at the Coronation Concert as “organised chaos”, Baddiel says “it was a very hectic day. Hundreds of singers. Pianos being moved back and forth. The co-ordination by the floor management team is incredible. The choir was huge; they filed out of one door, and dancers filed out the other to make way for Lionel Richie. How they put it all together is amazing.”
Baddiel says he’s delighted that King Charles and the audience laughed: “I can now say I’ve written I’ve written for the Muppets.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
