The Krankies
Janette and Ian Tough | |
|---|---|
 Janette Tough as "Wee Jimmy Krankie" (looking at camera) and Ian Tough at a public event in the 1980s. | |
| Born | Jeanette: 16 May 1947 Stirlingshire, Scotland, UK Ian: 26 March 1947 Glasgow, Scotland, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation(s) | Television presenters, comedians, singers |
| Children | none |
The Krankies are a Scottish comedy duo that enjoyed success as a cabaret act in the 1970s and on television in the 1980s, featuring in their own television shows and releasing their own music single. They entered semi-retirement in 1991, but they have regularly appeared in pantomime since.
The duo comprises wife Janette Tough and her husband Ian. As the Krankies they portray schoolboy Wee Jimmy Krankie (Janette), and Jimmy's father (Ian), though in their comedy act they also portray other characters.
Biographies
Janette was born on 16 May 1947 in Stirlingshire, Scotland, and Ian on 26 March 1947 in Glasgow, Scotland. The two met each other in 1966, and Ian bought Janette an engagement ring from a market in Turkey. They were married in 1969.
Career
They began their career as a comedy duo performing various characters, working the comedy circuit. In 1978 they got their "big break" as they won a major award and were given a place at the Royal Variety Performance.
Television
Due to their popularity they were given several television shows. They were presenters/performers in the BBC's stalwart children's entertainment series Crackerjack. They also had three television series — The Krankies Klub[1] (1982), The Krankies Elektronik Komik[2] (1985) and Krankies Television[3] for Border Television in the early 1990s.
Music
In early 1981 they released a single named "Fan'dabi'dozi", their catchphrase. It stalled at number 46. Janette also appears as Jimmy Krankie in the video for 2007 Comic Relief single "500 Miles" with The Proclaimers, Brian Potter, Andy Pipkin and other celebrity stars
Post 1991
In 1991, the duo entered semi-retirement but continued working in pantomime.
In 1999 Janette Tough made a cameo appearance in a season 4 episode of Murder Most Horrid ("Elvis, Jesus, and Zack"). The episode concerns an artist who fakes his death to gain popularity. Janette is seen at the end of the episode, calling Dawn French's character for help faking her own death. Also in 1999 she appeared as Janice, friend of Petula in an episode of dinnerladies entitled 'Christmas'.
In 2003, "Wee Jimmy Krankie" was voted "The Most Scottish Person In The World" by the readers of The Glasgow Herald.
In 2004, Janette was badly injured in a fall during a performance in the pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk, but has since made a full recovery.[4] [5] [6]
Janette makes recurring appearances in various series of French & Saunders. Her most recent appearance was on the 2005 Christmas Special, in which she appeared in the mock theatre trailers for The Graduate and Chicago. She also appeared in the 5th series of Absolutely Fabulous playing both a midwife and nightmare baby in the episode "Book Clubbin."
The Krankies appeared in a widely-seen advertising campaign for stv Bingo[7].
On the 12 June 2008 they appeared as guests on The Paul O'Grady Show, where they appeared in character at the beginning, before coming on later in the show not in character. Ian sat in the middle of the sofa next to Ivana Trump, and Janette sat on the end closest to the host, Paul O'Grady. Janette made several jokes about her age and height. Ian made several comments which were feeder lines to these jokes. They were promoting a forthcoming tour in which they will perform with other "semi-retired" acts such as Frank Carson, Brotherhood of Man, and Jimmy Cricket (all best known in the 1970s and 1980s).
In a 2008 interview, David Tennant (jokingly) suggested that he would like Wee Jimmy Krankie to take over the role of the Doctor[8].
References
External links
- The Krankies official website
- Janette Krankie at IMDb
- Ian Tough at IMDb
- British Theatre Guide article on Janette Tough's fall in 2004