The Krankies
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| Janette and Ian Tough | |
|---|---|
Janette Tough as "Wee Jimmy Krankie" (looking at camera) and Ian Tough at a public event in the 1980s.
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| Born | Janette: 16 May 1947 Queenzieburn, North Lanarkshire, Scotland Ian: 26 March 1947 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Television presenters, comedians, singers |
| Children | none |
The Krankies are a Scottish comedy duo who enjoyed success as a cabaret act in the 1970s and on television in the 1980s, featuring in their own television shows and releasing their own music single. They have regularly appeared in pantomime. The duo comprises wife Janette Tough and her husband Ian. As the Krankies they portray schoolboy Wee Jimmy Krankie (Janette), and paternal figure Ian Krankie (Ian), though in their comedy act they also portray other characters. Beginning in the 1990s, they regularly appeared as The Krankies in episodes of the BBC comedy series French and Saunders.
Contents
Biographies
Janette was born on 16 May 1947 in Queenzieburn, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, and Ian on 26 March 1947 in Glasgow, Scotland. The two met in 1966, and were married in 1969.
Career
They began their career as a comedy duo performing various characters, working the comedy circuit. In 1978 they got their "big break" when they were given a place at the Royal Variety Performance.
Television
During the 1980s they were given roles in several television shows, including the BBC's stalwart children's entertainment series Crackerjack.
- Crackerjack (1980–1982)
- The Krankies Klub[1] (1983–1984)
- The Joke Machine (1985)
- The Krankies Elektronik Komik[2] (1985–1987)
- K.T.V[3] for Border Television (1989–1992)
Music
In early 1981 they released a couple of singles.
- "Fan - Dabi - Dozi", their catchphrase, peaked at number 46 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1981.[4]
- "Wee Jimmy Krankie" which only charted in Scotland.
Janette also appears as Jimmy Krankie in the video for 2007 Comic Relief single "500 Miles" with The Proclaimers, Brian Potter, Andy Pipkin and other celebrity stars.
Recent career
The pair made recurring appearances in various series of French & Saunders. Janette played, for example, Anadin Skywalker in the Star Wars: The Phantom Menace parody, and they both appeared in several other movie parodies throughout the series.[5] Her most recent appearance was on the 2005 Christmas Special, in which she appeared in the mock theatre trailers for The Graduate and Chicago. She also appeared in the fifth series of Absolutely Fabulous playing both a midwife and nightmare baby in the episode "Book Clubbin."
In 1999 Janette Tough made a cameo appearance in a season 4 episode of Murder Most Horrid ("Elvis, Jesus, and Zack"). The episode concerns an artist who fakes his death to gain popularity. Janette is seen at the end of the episode, calling Dawn French's character for help faking her own death. Also in 1999 she appeared as Janice, friend of Petula in an episode of Dinnerladies entitled 'Christmas'.
In 2003, "Wee Jimmy Krankie" was voted "The Most Scottish Person in the World" by the readers of The Glasgow Herald. In 2004, Janette was badly injured in a fall during a performance in the pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk, but has since made a full recovery.[6][7][8]
The Krankies appeared in a widely seen advertising campaign for 'stv Bingo'.[9] In 2007, The Krankies appeared in the video for the Comic Relief remake of The Proclaimers' song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", which featured Brian Potter and Andy Pipkin (fictional characters portrayed by Peter Kay and Matt Lucas respectively).[citation needed]
On the 12 June 2008 they appeared as guests on The Paul O'Grady Show, where they appeared in character at the beginning, before coming on later in the show as themselves. Ian sat in the middle of the sofa next to Ivana Trump, and Janette sat on the end closest to the host, Paul O'Grady. Janette made several jokes about her age and height. Ian made several comments which were feeder lines to these jokes. They were promoting a forthcoming tour in which they performed with other "semi-retired" acts such as Frank Carson, Brotherhood of Man, and Jimmy Cricket (all best known in the 1970s and 1980s).
In a 2008 interview, David Tennant (jokingly) suggested that he would like Wee Jimmy Krankie to take over the role of the Doctor in Doctor Who.[10] In 2009, 14 December, they once again were on the Paul O'Grady show for the pantomime special of 'Sleeping Beauty' where Janette played a hooker and Ian played a rampant camel. This was billed as the last ever Paul O'Grady pantomime. The duo appeared on ITV's daytime show Loose Women on 25 February 2010.
During the 2010 panto season, the Krankies made a re-appearance to Scottish panto alongside John Barrowman at the SECC for Aladdin. They appeared as the Police, with Janette parodying Susan Boyle and Lady Gaga, and making an appearance as Wee Jimmy Krankie.
In December 2011, during an appearance on BBC Radio Scotland's Stark Talk programme, Ian Tough revealed the couple had enjoyed a colourful sex life at the time when their profile was at its highest in the 1980s, admitting to episodes of swinging. He told the story of one amorous incident where the pair almost sailed off course to France in a small boat while partaking in a sex act.[11]
On 24 December 2015, the Krankies appeared on the BBC One programme Pointless, losing out to Su Pollard and Jeffrey Holland to get to the final.
References
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- ↑ stv Bingo
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External links
- The Krankies official website
- Janette Krankie at the Internet Movie Database
- Ian Tough at the Internet Movie Database
- British Theatre Guide article on Janette Tough's fall in 2004
