Jimmy Carr

Your Face or Mine was one of the programs of 2002 and if we had to sum it up into one easy digestible catch phrase it would be - Blind Date on Acid!!! Later this month it makes it move from the Satellite Channel E4 to terrestrial with Channel 4 and a new series has already been commissioned for a 5 day a week fix over the summer. We caught up with comedian Jimmy Carr who hosts the show alongside June Sapong to find out about the fights and the break ups...and even played a one off edition of Your Face Or Mine @ Designer Magazine.

Q: Your Face or Mine - one of the programme's of 2002 you just could not miss. Could you fill in our readers who are still awaiting the transfer over from E4 to terrestrial C4 in the New Year?
A: It's a guilty pleasure. It's morally reprehensible television....and somewhat more entertaining than blind date!!! It's virtually impossible I found not to play along. If you watch it you can't help but get involved at some level, like how is she better looking than her.
 

Q: When you first started auditioning couple for the show did you ever find anyone who was just too ugly to bring on the show?
A: There was no-one too ugly to get on, but there were people that were too well balanced to get on the show. Basically what were looking for - it doesn't matter whether it's ugly, beautiful, whatever - just deluded. So it's as funny to have a girl who thinks she's ugly and who is gorgeous, as to have a guy who is really quite plain and thinks "Brad Pitt - slightly better looking than him". As long as people don't quite know where they stand it's funny.

And the audience are extremely important because they vote and you only win if you agree with the audience. But the audience just seem to be mental and if they take a dislike to someone it doesn't matter what they look like.
 

Q: What we all want to know is have there been any fights in the audience?
A: There's been some fairly close calls. We do a thing where contestants have to judge themselves against photo's and on those photo's happens to be someone in the audience, but we don't tell them that.

So there was this girl when she got the photo of the girl in the audience and just went "that girl is a mess - she is buttas" (which I didn't know what it meant, but buttas is apparently bad and from butt ugly I believe), "she the worst looking girl i've ever seen", "she looks as if she's been in a serious accident". At which point I said fine and went and chatted to the girl in the audience and it was like something off Ricki Lake. It was like "At least i'm not a bitch, gal" and we did think there was going to be trouble - in the end we had to pacify her by giving her a bottle of champagne.

We've got some security and it is worth having because the other one that hasn't kicked off yet, but almost did on one occasion is when we brought in an ex-girlfriend. So we had a guy and his girlfriend and brought in his ex-girlfriend to see who was better looking and he said his ex-girlfriend. Suddenly there's a moment where you go right, this is going to get nasty...and it really looked as if there was going to be that classic Jerry Springer bitch fight.
 

Q: Finally - have any couples split up as a result of appearing on the programme?
A: There was an Australian guy who came on with his English girlfriend and they won about £2500 and we said "what are you going to do with the money?". He goes "Probably going to go to Canada". So that was the most instant one where we gave them too much money and it was like "right, i'm off then".

The one between the 2 gay guys cos one of them was really vain and thought he was gorgeous and the other guy who wasn't that handsome but was quite a attractive man won everything. And basically they split up shortly after that. The guy was so crushed because he thought he was doing the other guy a favour and it turned out he was very very wrong.
 
 

YOUR FACE OR MINE @ DESIGNER MAGAZINE


Fern Brittain Vs Colleen Nolen
That is tough. I think probably Fern and I'd rationalize it...they certainly both be a comfortable ride...but really you wouldn't would you!!!


Princess Di Vs Paul Burrell in her dresses
Well, I'm going to have to give it to Princess Di. But you've made it easy for me - Paul Burrell leaving awkward stains is never good!!!

  
Saddam Vs Bin Laden
Bin Laden's a much better looking man. Bin Laden is quite a handsome man - at 6'7" he's a very striking man and if he lost the beard he could be a bit of a looker. Whereas Saddam he looks at if he's suffering water retention and he's wearing uniforms from 1992 and he's put on a lot of weight.
 


Kylie Vs Dannii
Dannii Minogue's not a bad looking lady and were going off faces, not arses here aren't we. I think Dannii has got a nicer looking face, but it probably is Kylie. And lets face it in terms of dirtyness and chances of her sleeping with you Dannii is head and shoulders above.


Jimmy Carr Vs June Sapong
There's absolutely no competition. I wish I could even debate that. I wish I could even say I suppose some people might think...but she's gorgeous and I'm looking to be working outside the medium of radio. Unless you're a big Lloyd Cole fan from the 80s there's no benefit to looking like me.

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Your Face Or Mine is on Channel 4 in January
Check TV Guides for Details or for more info
www.jimmycarr.com
www.channel4.com
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