Andy..

Might I point you in the direction of the last Word podcast, hailed by one and all as one of the finest ever, and dangle the figure of one Daniel Baker before you?

Too many of the raconteurs of the past - prime candidates being Peter Ustinov and David Niven - did tell a good story but it was the same good story recounted verbatim time and again. I'd prefer the likes of Billy Connolly who, we seem to forget, is now knocking on a bit in years. In attitude, however, he's still a very young man. Eddie Izzard and Ross Noble are, primarily, surrealists.

It's just that there's no outlet for this kind of thing anymore.

Jonathan Ross said something quite sad on his twitter. He said he wasn't interested in having conversations on his chat show because the show was about entertainment.

Don't think Ken was actually talking about his real life though was he?

It may not be the staple of chat shows now, but there are plenty of people who can tell a good old yarn on Podcasts or the radio. Podcasts in particular are great for this as they don't have the issue of time or a producer looking at his or her watch...much like the 70s Parky when you could smoke a fag in the studio etc. Why our very own Word podcast for example, (when they can be bothered to record one..grrr) is full of 'em. Richard Herring and Andrew Collins are another good example, Danny Baker, Adam & Joe, its all out there...its just not where you left it.

Oliver Reed.Anyone who can make that slimeball letterman uncomfortable is alright by me.

here he is on Top Gear being ridiculously entertaining.

I read much of Kenny Williams' diary, a good dip-in-and-out book, and when he had concluded the Carry On's he was thrashing around looking for work, and chat show staple is what he became.

The problem nowadays is that the only guests we see are people who have something to promote. That may have always been the case, though my recollections of Parkinson in his pomp was having a mix of guests regardless of their present concerns.

I like the style of the Piers Morgan chat show which goes in depth with people who aren't banging on solely about their current project. Shame there isn't more of that type of thing. Without a studio set and audience, it can't be that expensive to produce.

But Joe Brown tells a good story and is always good value in interviews. Get him on The podcast

I thought that Jack White and Brendan Benson had disappeared or something. Really. I'll get me coat.

one of the great raconteurs.

But it can be a euphemism for a bore.

But needs to self edit on occasion...

Can see Chris Evans growing into a decent one should want to move in that direction too

OK so a lot of what he does basically a "children say the funniest things" schtick, no tales of the wild and famous. Apparently he's on the comfy slippers end of Radio 4 a lot.

Didn't expect to enjoy him, but I've seen him do a couple of events, one huge one small, and he was fantastic at both, really funny and heartfelt.

Presumably Alan Bennett too.

Gyles Brandreth (six years younger than Billy Connolly) is one of the great raconteurs of today. This is mainly because, like most raconteurs, he's a shameless ligger, is fascinated by people, varied in his interests and isn't afraid of name dropping. Like Stephen Fry, he seems to have mixed with the greats of the older generation before they passed on.
Superficially, people find him irritating but if you can get past that stage (perhaps by reading his brilliant diaries, in which he's startlingly humble) he's one of the most engaging and entertaining talkers around.

It's always good to include a vote for Nick Lowe in a thread and I think he fits in perfectly here. In fact, he hasn't really changed a lot in the last 30 years in this respect which suggests that it may be something you're born with.

His "Chat Show Staple" was indeed an act, although he became very good at it, and could be relied on by producers to brighten things up. KW always wanted to be a Serious Actor but never managed it, and ended up doing pretty much whatever work he could get. His diaries are full of bitterness about same, whilst he also knew very well on which side the proverbial bread was buttered. According to the diaries, he resented doing most of the Carry On films because he saw them as cheap trash, but did them because they were easy work and ready money and involved a lot of showing off; he was resentful about doing most of the chat shows but knew it was something he found easy, and again, he could just show off to audience applause.

If there's an entry in the diary about this Parkinson show, it likely says something like "Went on Parkinson TV show. It was dreary. Trotted out the same old guff. Had them in stitches though. They loved me. Then picked up cheque; went home; had a Barclays".

He spins a good yarn - now he's got a bit more free time, I can see him reinventing himself as the new Peter Ustinov

Perhaps he could be added to Radcliffe and Maconie's list of regular contributors?