C4 launched a new channel, E4, on January 18^th 2001. Below is 12 minutes of a stitched together series of promos, for the new channel. Decent quality for footage taken from old VHS tapes.

At 1 minutes and 11.50 there are 2 female presenters (don’t recognise them) who explain that the new show, Show Me The Funny, is interactive (same clip for both times). The show format was such that viewers could vote, online, on what sketch they wanted to see next.

The important part is at around 6.28 where Jimmy talks about his Drunk Review segment (a better-quality version of the video on here).

At this point Jimmy’s main TV experience was the 11 O’Clock Show (here), writing for Meet Ricky Gervais (here), being a warm-up man (here). Him being featured in the channel launch promos was probably an indicator of how much C4 were betting on him being a big star (see this 2005 interview).

As a trip down memory lane for Brits – this is what (some) people were watching in 2001.

The video has quite a lot of Ali G, plus what looks like very young Dermot O’Leary, Pat Sharp and David Blaine.

Top C4 shows were also showing on E4:

• Sopranos
• Smack the Pony
• So Graham Norton

And the shows promoted as new series included:

• Friends
• ER
• Ally McBeal
• Trigger Happy 2 (Dom Joly)
• Banzai
• Los dos bros
• Chained
• Nu Skool
• Generation E
• The Secret Life of Us
• Action
• Dawson’s Creek
• Hollyoaks
• Five-go-Dating
• Streetmate (Davina McCall)
• As If

I was reminded by the clip from Trigger Happy that Dom Joly can probably be blamed for the “TikTok pranksters” running around, annoying people going about their business, for internet clicks.

When it was just the one TV show (plus Paul Kaye’s Dennis Pennis) it was amusing. Now everyone is doing it.