This was one of the coolest days out of my entire trip. One of my goals for my trip was to watch ‘Would I Lie to You’ live, but since it wasn’t recording (YET heh) I decided to settle for another show I quite liked- 8 Out of 10 Cats. Like Would I Lie to You, 8 out of 10 cats is also a panel show, with Jimmy Carr as the host.

Jimmy’s always been a comedian I enjoy, his brand of offensive comedy is one that I absolutely love. His jokes really make you wonder how this dude made his way to television. Plus his laugh, iconic. I also enjoy the other regulars of this season, Katherine Ryan and especially Rob Beckett. His teeth, almost as iconic as Jimmy’s laugh.

The recording was at BBC Elstree Studios, which is a great visit if you’re a film nerd in general. The whole area has a few recording studios, which have been the recording locations of some very famous films and series. Much of Stanley Kubrick’s movies were filmed at Elstree & Borehamwood Studios.

I arrived about an hour early and there was already a queue. Here are some tips if you’re going for the recording- An hour early is enough, bring some food or something to munch on while queuing, bring a jacket and umbrella for waiting in the cold/rain. While waiting they took an audience poll from us as well.

When the time to enter arrived, I was one of the few people who got a white wristband, which worried me at first. They then led us to another waiting area, but there was sitting area here and food/drinks being sold.

After a while more they called all the people with white wrist bands to enter. My eyes lit up when I saw our seats- at the front baby! This means we (our heads to be specific) could be seen on television, which is a great memento since I can always look back at the episode and say “I was there!”

But then, tragedy- I was placed at the back row. I’m what you would call vertically challanged and so I couldn’t see anything. I had to sit on my jacket for a height boost. Oh well, by shifting my head around I could still see everyone, Jimmy especially was always in my line of sight.

The episode itself was pretty good, you can see the full thing here. My favourite section was definitely the spelling bee, I couldn’t stop laughing. Also, there’s a fantastic line by Jimmy that they cut out- when Kathrine Ryan says “If there are any teen mums watching, I would pay you to buy your placenta and inject it into my face”, Jimmy follows up with “If there are any teens who want to be mums watching…”, *lifts eyebrow*. It got a huge reaction but I guess it was too risque for television.

Great day, the process was fascinating to watch. I’m so glad I got to hear Jimmy’s laugh live. The chemistry onstage is real and the jokes come in rapid fire, these comedians really are extremely talented. It’s not easy being consistently funny, and I was really impressed by Jimmy, Katherine Ryan, Tom and Richard. The other two guests were alright as well. It’s about 3 hours of free entertainment, I highly recommend it to anyone who loves these panel shows. You can apply for tickets here!