Succession star Brian Cox may have an abundance of experience as a performer approaching 60 years in the industry, but he appears to be lacking in understanding of the Spice Girls.
On Monday, the renowned performer joined co-hosts Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond on the This Morning sofa to discuss Season 4 of Succession, the concluding season of the gripping dark comedy-drama.
The three spoke at length about the behind-the-scenes truth of producing the TV show, with the 76-year-old admitting that he couldn’t imagine his co-stars crying over the show’s conclusion, and confessing his personal distaste for improvisation.
However, the Spice Girls came up in discussion, causing Brian to laugh when he attempted to identify the members of the band. Dermot mentioned that the actor appeared with fellow actor Alan Cumming in an episode of Carpool Karaoke, a famous segment that debuted on James Corden’s Late Late Show in the US before being transformed into a spin-off series.
‘This whole thing with the Spice Girls is a nonsense. I have no idea who the Spice Girls are,’ he claimed.
He then clarified that he wasn’t completely unaware of the girl band, adding: ‘I mean I did know, there were some…’
Unconvinced that Brian hadn’t ever heard of the Spice Girls, Alison remarked: ‘You must know them.’
The Logan Roy actor continued: ‘Well I know there was various… Old Spice, Ginger Spice.’
Alison interjected to tell him that there was no ‘Old Spice,’ as he had apparently confused the members’ names with the renowned deodorant.
‘Maybe now there’s Old Spice,’ Dermot cheekily quipped.
Brian explained: ‘Alan Cumming actually happened to be in the Spice Girls film, so when we did Carpool Karaoke, he wanted to sing this ridiculous song, which I can’t even remember what it is.’
That ‘ridiculous’ song was, of course, Wannabe, which received the Ivor Novello Award for best British-written record the following year, as well as a Brit Award for British single of the year.
In a clip from Brian’s Carpool Karaoke show, Brian admitted to Alan that he was a “closet Spice Girls fan.”
He was then shown chanting along to the song freely and exuberantly.
Brian returned to the ITV stage and exclaimed, ‘That’s so embarrassing.’
He went on to remark, ‘When I say ‘a wardrobe’, I mean a very deep closet.’
It’ll take a lot more convincing than that, Brian!
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.