Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round was a comedy sketch show which ran on BBC2 for a total of 6 episodes over one series in 1998. Alexei Sayle's final series was almost identical in format to The All New Alexei Sayle Show except with yet another change of writers.. Unusually, there was no studio audience. Sketches included the talents of Noel Fielding, Lee Hurst, Paul Putner, Gemma Rigg, Reece Shearsmith, Jessica Stevenson, David Walliams and Peter Serafinowicz The continuing adventures of Bobby Chariot were chronicled. Now free from any obligation to be Alexei's warm-up man, he traversed a series of other career cul-de-sacs under the appalling management of the repulsive "Edna" Denise Coffey. In one episode, the joke was turned on its head as Chariot performed for an audience of students, who enjoyed his act ironically and responded to his catchphrase "How ya diddling?" with an enthusiastic reply of "We're diddling fine!". Meanwhile Alexei Sayle himself was depicted as living in a Teletubbies-style burrow somewhere in the posh part of North London.
Episode 1
May 8, 1998
Comic hero Alexei Sayle dons his tight suit to deliver high-octane monologues and off-the-wall observations in a six-part series propounding his slanted view of the world. See today's choices.
Episode 2
May 15, 1998
Alexei Sayle finds out what it's like to be a sex object, uncovers the mysteries of retailing, and advises on the best way to leave a porn shop as he continues his off-the-wall observations.
Episode 3
May 22, 1998
Alexei Sayle explains how to look like an authentic expert while visiting an art gallery, reveals the true meaning behind some of Shakespeare's works, and takes a look at censorship of the press.
Episode 4
May 29, 1998
Alexei Sayle reveals that he has been the victim of an alien abduction, but comforts himself with the fact that at least it was a business-class kidnapping rather than the slower, economy-rate snatch. He also delivers insights into celebrity marriages and how they can be a wise career move, particularly if you marry the director-general of the BBC.
Episode 5
Jun 5, 1998
Alexi Sayle offers his services to the government as minister for curries, claiming that he would ensure every curry has the "same mouth-burning strength" from Glasgow to Guildford
Episode 6
Jun 12, 1998
In the last of the series, Alexei Sayle considers what might have happened if the career of Bobby Charlton had coincided with penicillin's invention and the building of Hadrian's Wall.
