In the days of yore, in working class areas around Britain, meat raffles used to be a tried and tested method of raising money for community initiatives and sports teams. Participants would buy a ticket for the chance of going home with a bag full of assorted butcher products.
In a move which parodies the time old tradition, Al Murray’s comedy character The Pub Landlord presents a new quiz show for the Dave comedy channel called Compete for the Meat.
Murray has performed in the guise of a public house proprietor for a number of years. Public houses, or pubs, are a traditional type of bar in the UK. The Pub Landlord character expounds a full range of xenophobic, nationalistic and misogynist views best summed up by the running joke of categorising all women’s careers as “secretary” or “nurse”.
Watch as a whole raw chicken sweats under the studio lights and Al Murray quizzes the teams of friends hoping to win it. The only problem facing the new series is an entire generation of young Brits who may never have experienced a meat raffle. Regardless of this issue, Al Murray’s Pub Landlord remains a popular character – appealing to those who enjoy the satire and those who don’t even notice it.
Al Murray’s Compete For The Meat airs on Dave at 9pm on 19th May 2011.