Prince Charles Parodies Australian ‘Countdown’ Presenter Molly Meldrum’s 1977 Awkward Interview [VIDEOS]
Prince Charles remembers the most awkward interview he has ever suffered through, and he is making fun of it. The British prince recorded a sketch for the 40th anniversary of ABC’s “Countdown,” roasting host Molly Meldrum, who was so nervous in introducing the royalty that he gave perhaps the most cringe-worthy Charles interview ever.
Meldrum was already used to interviewing famous personalities on air, but in 1977, he met someone who was out of his league. He was a stuttering mess when the future king of the UK himself sat just inches beside him. He couldn’t keep his lines straight, and had even cursed in front of Prince Charles.
“Sorry. Can we start again? And now we come to the most important part of... Could I just have one glass of water, please? I’m terribly sorry about this,” a clearly nervous Meldrum said first to the staff then to the prince beside him.
“Not at all, it happens to everybody,” Prince Charles was kind enough to make the agitated interviewer feel at ease. That still didn’t help Meldrum relax, though, as he continued to stammer throughout the interview. At one time, Prince Charles is seen trying not to laugh at the poor Aussie.
When he kept making blunders, someone patted him on the shoulder as an attempt to bolster his confidence. That also didn’t help, but that made for a good sketch decades later when Prince Charles himself parodied Meldrum’s on-air gaffe.
“There is an old show business saying which warns never to work with animals or children, but nobody prepared me for Molly Meldrum,” Prince Charles said in a video he recorded for the 40th anniversary special of “Countdown.”
“Was it really 40 years ago? It seems like yesterday. I wish it were tomorrow, I’d cancel it,” he quipped. He then pretended to make mistakes during the segment’s filming, including asking for a glass of water, just as Meldrum had in the 1977 interview.
“Anyway, congratulations to Countdown. I was an evening I will never forget. And special thank you to Molly Meldrum,” Prince Charles said. “Countdown, gone but not forgotten.”
“I f----- myself up,” Meldrum, 71, admitted now, recalling the painfully funny interview with the then-young prince. “No, I don’t regret it, but I definitely stuffed that up.”
“Countdown” launched on Nov 8, 1974 on ABC and concluded in July 1987.
Prince Charles roasts Molly Meldrum
1977 interview
