This is what they have to put up with, an interview from Guardian Unlimited
Good day Mr McCririck. Sorry to interrupt your breakfast with this business.
Oh it's not a problem, Small Talk, I've already had that.
Ah, good. What did we have?
I had a very decent breakfast of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs with a glass of Perignon.
Dom Perignon? But it's only just turned 10am.
Indeed it is, and that was half an hour ago.
Are you sauced up as we speak?
No, no, I only had the one glass, though I may have more later.
Good, good. Have you ever refused to wear an outfit on the grounds that it might make you look, well, a bit foolish?
Well, people rarely ask me to wear any other outfits but I look preposterous enough as it is.
You don't really believe that, do you?
Well, I suppose so. But the thing is just I can't stand anyone in a grey suit, in a dark suit. You look at Parliament, and you see them all in their dark suits, you see all these gents in the City, everyone in boring dark suits. We'll look back on this age and wonder what on earth was wrong with the men in Britain and around the world.
[Small Talk nods, grumbles a bit and takes off its black-with-grey-dots tie in a show of sartorial liberation]
What I wear is a bit different and it's regarded as a preposterous now, but in time it will be regarded as carrying a beacon forward to wear what you want to wear.
Indeed it will. What do you wear about the house?
Cloaks.
Cloaks, eh. Eh?
I'm a great believer in cloaks. They let the air flow through and they have several pockets, which is always handy. And they're versatile; you can wrap up in the cold and open it up in the summer. I'm a great believer in cloaks.
So you wear just a cloak?
Well, I wear very little in the house, Small Talk. You can see me virtually nude when I'm walking around at home, it's a great thrill for the Booby.
For the Booby?
The Booby, yes.
That'll be Mrs McCririck?
Indeed it is. She's so grateful to have me, isn't she? She's old, her body's sagging, and in truth I'm fed-up with her, so I go around. Any other girls, Small Talk.
Erm, yes. Why's she called the Booby?
The Booby is a South American bird, and it's stupid and pathetically easy to catch, it goes along South American runways and the aircraft mow it down a lot. Oh, and it squawks a lot. That certainly sums up the Booby.
You old charmer. And what does she call you?
Well I'm her Boy.
Albeit a boy with monstrous sideburns. How long have you had them?
About 30 years at least. Having to take them off and then put them on the in the morning is the big nuisance though.
Indeed. What colour underpants are you wearing today?
A pair of boring white Y-fronts, but all the girls say what's inside them isn't boring, so that's all I can say.
Yikes. Do you have a pair of lucky tapping pants?
Only the last pair I go into, Small Talk.
Grrr, etc. What's your favourite biscuit?
Ooh, I'd say Ginger Nuts dunked in milk.
Not in tea?
No, no, no [Sounds like Small Talk has overstepped the mark]. Always dunked in milk.
Who or what would you put into room 101?
Well there's quite a few things, I've got something of a list. All religions, intolerance, birthdays and anniversaries, canned music, ties...
Ties?
Yes, ties. We look back at old films now and people can't walk properly because of them. In 100 years' time, they'll look back at our age and say, what were they wearing those things for? They're totally useless. All they do is constrain your throat and your breathing and everything. Totally and utterly useless, don't keep you warm, nothing.
Ok, so ties can go in. But birthdays and anniversaries?
Because why celebrate getting older? 'Oh, I'm older isn't that wonderful!' For kids up to 21 that's fine, but after that... Why celebrate, why announce 'oh, I'm older isn't it wonderful?' No it's not. You're more infirm, your faculties are failing, and you want to tell everyone about it. Ageing is obscene, and you want to celebrate it? Absolutely disgusting.
Bu...
Also I'd say facial make-up, women's make-up. I can't stand it. Why do women wear make-up? What does it do? It doesn't do anything. It's harmful for your skin, it stops air getting to your skin. My Booby's got beautiful skin, I'm lucky. I won't let her wear make-up. I think it's absolutely disgusting. It's awful snogging girls with lipstick, it's disgusting, revolting.
An...
Never have women wearing make-up, Small Talk. I'd also say beans in chilli, even though I get chilli con carne I have to take the beans out. I like chilli con carne but I hate those kidney beans.
There's no way they're goin...
And finally, tiny coffee cups in restaurants. What on Earth? You want a decent cup of coffee with a good meal, lie back, have a cigar, have a chat, and they give you these tiny little cups. It can't be done to save the coffee, because that's not costing them any extra money if you have a large cup or a small cup, it's a tradition. Absolutely disgraceful.
You ought to...
Whenever you get a small cup of coffee in a restaurant, always send it back. When you go to a function, they always give you a small cup, send it back and get a decent cup.
They're building an extra wing on Room 101 as we speak. What was the last record or CD you bought.
Ooh, I think that would be Yes Sir, I Can Booby. [Pipes up] " Yes Sir I can booby, booby, booby all night long."
You're scaring Small Talk now.
Don't you remember BOOGIE? [Small Talk coughs nervously] I've just tweaked it. "Yes sir I can booby, booby, booby all night long."
Erm...
I'm not a record buyer, Small Talk. I did a TV program the other day and they had to produce all the tunes that that I like. I ended up pretending that I bought them.
How about the Kylie or Britney conundrum?
Britney, obviously. Kylie you see is very much like a public schoolboy. You see the aristocracy in this country, they all marry thin women, all of them. Why? Because their first sexual experience was with boys at school, so that's what they're going for and that's what Kylie reminds them of. But Britney, she's a real woman, she's got meat on her and everything.
And she likes a few cheeky peeves too, which is good. How much is a pint of milk? [About 40-ish-p]
I reckon about 30p. But really I'm not sure.
Close enough. And if a lion was to fight a tiger...
I'll back a tiger to win. I think he's got the speed. It's like Muhammed Ali, float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, that kind of thing. I don't know if that's actually the case, you'd need to ask David Attenborough, but that's my gut instinct.
Cheese or chocolate?
Cheese. I'm off sweeties as much as I can. I'm much more on to cheese. When I go to restaurants and functions, I always ask for cheese.
What kind?
I like Gorgonzola and Danish Blue, oh, and a bit of cheddar too. I do like cheese, Small Talk.
A Dairylea triangle?
Dear oh dear, spare me, sonny boy, spare me.
What's your poison?
Dom Perignon, iced. Really iced, never have it lukewarm. Lukewarm champagne is absolutely revolting, so iced Dom Perignon please.
Do you ever drink bitter?
Yes I do. I have a pint of Blake the Third, I think it is, but I don't like lager. I don't like fizzy drinks at all, apart from Diet Coke. In fact I live on Diet Coke and I always say there's one advert in me, holding up a can of Diet Coke saying it can't work for everyone.
Have you ever been so drunk on Dom Perignon that you've forgotten your name?
Yeah, afraid so. It's horrible, especially with the sick. The trick is to get it all out and then you're all right. If I get into a torpor, I just start chundering up and everything's OK.
Have you ever been sick in a hedge?
I can't remember. Not often, I don't think.
Have you ever eaten a horse?
Never, never. I couldn't imagine eating a horse, I think it's absolutely awful. At least the French have the decency to call it rosbif instead.
And finally, where are you off to when you finally put this phone down?
I'll be off into London. I'm going to The Ivy for dinner this evening.
With your celebrity pals?
No, no, just the Booby. I don't have celebrity pals, Small Talk, I am a celebrity.
Indeed you are, and a charmer to boot. It's been Small Talk's pleasure, Mr McCririck. Not a problem, my boy, not a problem.