John Peters and Adrian Nichol, two Gulf War pilots captured in Iraq and released on the 8th March, were originally scheduled to appear in this episode, along with MP Mike Carr. However, all three interviews failed to materialise.
The Sandwell Evening Mail praised the show the following day (14th March 1991), with columnist Peter Freeman writing: "Our Tel was let down badly last night. And so were all the viewers who, like me, had switched on in the hope of seeing a world scoop live interview with returned PoWs Flt Its John Peters and Adrian Nichol. Engineers were unable to make the link-up to Germany, and we will have to wait for their promised live appearance on Wogan (BBC 1).
Tel was also unlucky that another of his guests, the new MP for Ribble Valley, Mike Carr, was in the House of Commons making his maiden speech. But there was a sunny side. The absence of guests other than Tom Jones meant we had a delightful half hour in the company of that most lovable of men, Sir Peter Ustinov. He is the complete actor and raconteur. Without moving from his chair he became an airline pilot, an Arab woman with a cold, an American Father Christmas, a Thai hotel worker, an American matron on a cultural holiday...
Tel may have been short of two very important guests. But he got a dozen replacements."
The Sandwell Evening Mail praised the show the following day (14th March 1991), with columnist Peter Freeman writing: "Our Tel was let down badly last night. And so were all the viewers who, like me, had switched on in the hope of seeing a world scoop live interview with returned PoWs Flt Its John Peters and Adrian Nichol. Engineers were unable to make the link-up to Germany, and we will have to wait for their promised live appearance on Wogan (BBC 1).
Tel was also unlucky that another of his guests, the new MP for Ribble Valley, Mike Carr, was in the House of Commons making his maiden speech. But there was a sunny side. The absence of guests other than Tom Jones meant we had a delightful half hour in the company of that most lovable of men, Sir Peter Ustinov. He is the complete actor and raconteur. Without moving from his chair he became an airline pilot, an Arab woman with a cold, an American Father Christmas, a Thai hotel worker, an American matron on a cultural holiday...
Tel may have been short of two very important guests. But he got a dozen replacements."