Friday 14 December 2018

In the Audience of a Live TV Show - The Last Leg #IsItOk


My daughter and I have been big fans of The Last Leg for a very long time. The show, which was first commissioned to accompany the 2012 Paralympics, is hosted by Adam Hills and co hosted by Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe. It has evolved to become an insightful and fun topical show, focusing on the previous week's major events and explaining politics in such a way that even I can understand the more complex issues affecting our nation. The show has a live studio audience and did you know, you can get free tickets to see it? My daughter managed to get tickets and has written this guest post to give you an idea of what to expect if you get the chance to watch a live show being filmed.

On Friday the 7th December I was lucky enough to see The Last Leg when my boyfriend got us tickets. Here I will write a timeline of events, some tips for anyone going along and include things I would have done differently.

Friday 7th December: 15:55 Arrived in London, White City


Yes, we planned to arrive a few hours early to give us plenty of time to look for the Television Centre... which turned out to be five minutes down the road from the station. So, we spent a lot of time in Westfields, photographed behind me, shopping centre. It has the best Primark and a wonderful cafe on the second floor to sit down and regroup after two hours of travelling.



19:30 Arrived at the Television Centre, cue the touristy photos


We decided to get there a few hours earlier because although the tickets are free, they are 'not guaranteed', which we think means that they give out too many in anticipation of people not arriving, so given that the studio can seat a maximum of 600 people (not including the 100 sat behind them under the large THE LAST LEG letters) and the shows popularity- we decided to arrive in plenty of time. Here is a photo of us outside of the studio.



20:15 Bag searches complete, we are near the front


The photo below shows a part of the queue behind us just before we get to security. Our bags were searched for food and drink, as we were only allowed one bottle of water. We were also scanned with a metal detector by a very patient security guard. At the gate, after being given our red wristband and we were told under no uncertain terms not to take video or photography- because we would be immediately thrown out. This warning was the last serious sentence of the night.



21:00 Doors Open


We were let in after all of the white wristbands (who are the ones that sit underneath the big THE LAST LEG letters)

The studio itself, was so small I was surprised it fit everyone in. The green room is right next to the stage, so we could see all of the additional filming they do before it goes live.

Josh, Adam and Alex were welcomed onto the stage by the friendliest floor manager who was joking with us and the guests of the show before it began.

The night started by filming two introductions. The one that is seen at the start of the show, where they walk along to there theme music with flames behind them and another introduction for Australia, where the music is taken out and they change the script to say that it can be viewed on ABC. 

The entire camera crew were friendly and dedicated. The level of hard work can be seen from the moment you walk in and watch a member of the crew spend 20 minutes arranging presents under the Christmas tree and ornaments of Alex, Josh and Adam on the trees, so that the magic can be caught well by the camera.

There is no seven second delay, which means that from the second the camera switches on, you become part of the show. The twenty or so lights above us dimmed and then Adam began taking us through the news, it felt like no time at all before the first advert break. I went out for a few minutes and returned a little late, the crew said that they could not discreetly let me come back in, as the camera is put on the audience a lot during the show, therefore I could watch it stood with them. That was my favourite part, getting to see it from the camera crew's view and reading Adams prompt as he did. The crew were clapping and cheering along with the audience. It was amazing.



At the end of the night, we stayed to film some of their adverts, where we cheered as they announced who the guests would be for shows later in the year. This did mean that we left about half an hour later than we thought we would and we were only allowed to leave when they called our wristband colour. However, it was a really magical night and I'm grateful that I got to be enjoy every second of it.

Things I'd do next time....


1) Arrive Early


2 hours seems excessive but the queue had already formed and we were lucky to get our seats, most people must have been turned away.

2) Bring water


it's the only drink that's allowed in and it is needed.

3) Arrange how to get home


The show finishes later than 11pm, which makes public transport a challenge.


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8 comments

  1. Ahh! I love The Last Leg. What a fantastic show to go and see. I had never thought about where the audience came from and now I know x

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  2. I love that programme, it's hilarious! I stumbled on it a while back and have watched it ever since.
    Thanks for the insight into being in the audience, it can be a bit daunting when you don't know what to expect. I signed up to The Applause Store a couple of years ago but have only applied for a couple of things so far, I was unsuccessful though as it was a very popular show although I did get to go to The X-Factor final a couple of years ago but it wasn't in a studio and our seats were guaranteed

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  3. I’ve not been to a live show since, well, since forever. I was in the audience for a Sooty and Sweep Christmas Special when I was at primary school. I remember Orville was in it too!

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  4. Aww what fun! My husband absolutely loves this show, so this would be a dream for him :)

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  5. Oh I love this show! What a fab idea to go and see it live!

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  6. Wow how lucky were you that your hubby got tickets. It must have been great to go see it in person. I've never been to a live show like this.

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  7. I have not seen the last leg for a while and thanks for this post, did not know the tickets where free

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  8. Aww this looks like a fun night out. I would love to be in the audience of a live show :)

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