Weekend in Wallop

Weekend in Wallop is a made-for-television documentary of the First Nether Wallop International Arts Festival. The premise was the creation of a new arts festival to compete with the Edinburgh Festival. It was broadcast on Channel 4 in 1984.

The village of Nether Wallop is located in rural north Hampshire, close to Middle Wallop and Over Wallop. It was used as a location for the BBC Television version of Miss Marple, starring Joan Hickson.

Nether Wallop hosted the festival on a scale far less grand than Edinburgh. The main review show was held in the scout hut with a video feed for the overflow audience in the village pub (the hall looked as if it could only hold about 150 people). Ned Sherrin and Gore Vidal vied in the village shop for the best location to hold their book-signing sessions. Norman Lovett did his turn on the back of a farm vehicle. The festival included a guided walk of the village with Michael Hordern and a quiz hosted by Bamber Gascoigne which pitted village locals against the greatest minds in the world featuring the philosopher A. J. "Freddie" Ayer (the locals won!).

The main review was compered by a local dignitary (Major Billy Jepson Turner) and performers included Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith and Peter Cook (as two members of a "lesbian" synchronised swimming team), Rik Mayall first as "Kevin Turvey" and then later singing "Trouble" with Jools Holland on piano and Bill Wyman on guitar, Jenny Agutter, Wayne Sleep, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Arthur Smith, John Wells, Roger McGough, Stanley Unwin in a sketch as a school teacher trying to dissuade Bill Wyman from going and playing that Rock and Rollode. It also featured local people doing their "turn". The closing act was Billy Connolly.

Although the festival was a "one off" and was not repeated, all the stars gave their time for free in aid of charity. A seed was sown in Nether Wallop and many of the same performers went on to found the highly successful Comic Relief which has raised millions for charity since.