I f ever there were to be a competition to find the most familiar face on television
– I know, I know, these competitions happen every 15 minutes on social media, but just hear me out for a second – this instantly recognisable mug would surely be near the top of the list.
It is, of course, Paul Eddington, aka the hapless Jim Hacker from the much-loved series Yes Minister and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister.
Our photographer has captured him at his brilliantly goofy best. It might be a still from the memorable scene in which Hacker "talks" to the European commissioner by pulling a series of eloquent faces and occasionally echoing the last word uttered by his formidable civil servant Sir Humphrey Appleby, played by Nigel Hawthorne.
So familiar is this virtuoso comedy double act that it comes as a shock to discover both actors are, in fact, dead. Eddington died from skin cancer in 1995; before he passed away, he showed a different – though perhaps even more eloquent – face in a brave TV interview recorded five days before his death.
In February 1984, however, he was much in demand as a celebrity for hire; which is why he was photographed for The Irish Times, opening the Holiday and Leisure Fair at the RDS in Dublin. His impeccable tweed jacket, immaculate cuffs and tightly-knotted tie would certainly meet with Hacker's approval, while the hand gesture invites us to speculate about what he might be about to say.
Meanwhile, it's worth noting that an attempt to revive the Yes, Minister franchise in 2013 was a disaster. As we often observe in this column, looking back at the past and turning the clock back to the past are two very, very different endeavours.
Arminta Wallace
