In Which Riona's Journal Becomes Heat Magazine.

[rionaleonhart]

So it turns out that Charlie Brooker and Konnie Huq are engaged! I am a bit sad that the media found out, because I suspect that the plan was to get married secretly and then go 'LOL WE'RE MARRIED AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WE WERE DATING', which would have been hilarious. Alas, it was not to be.

I won't pretend my reaction to the news wasn't mixed, given how unexpected it was and the part of my little fannish heart that massively 'ships Brooker with David Mitchell/Victoria Coren/me. But the two of them are charmingly mismatched, and Huq seemed adorable during Konnie's Great British Wee (parts one, two): 'I'm Konnie Huq. I'm thirty-three years old, but I look about nine, and for as long as I can remember I've been fascinated by the world of urination.'

(I really hope that Konnie's Great British Wee was how Huq and Brooker first met. I can't imagine a better answer to the question 'So, how did you two meet?' than 'Well, we were making a documentary about weeing in public...')

Also, Brooker has seemed happier and calmer in recent months than he used to be, and perhaps that's due to Huq's influence. If so, that's a good thing. Brooker's misanthropy and rage may be entertaining, but I disagree with comments I've seen on the Internet criticising him for becoming more mellow; it's absurd to wish unhappiness upon someone we admire for the sake of our amusement (and, in any case, I think he's still hilarious even in his mellowed state). I wish them the very best of luck.

(My only real selfish concern about this is how it will affect the Brooker fandom. I love this fandom, but this revelation has made me feel a bit guilty about writing for it. I hope I'll be able to get past this, because Brooker and Mitchell are such a joy to write (and read) for. I'm not ready to switch fandoms yet.

I suppose I can always write gen.)

Comments

[fireholly.livejournal.com]

I'm actually really happy about this. Konnie Huq kept me sane when I was six and coming home to Blue Peter was the highlight of my day, and Charlie Brooker kept me sane when I was eighteen and moving out of home for the first time. AND THEY MET AFTER KONNIE SHOUTED THROUGH A LOUD SPEAKER AT A GROUP OF MEN TO PISS FOR HER. This is obviously the best RL celebrity pairing ever.

Both my father and I are jealous, though. I didn't think I fancied him, but it turns out I do. Oh.

[fireholly.livejournal.com]

Also, ficwise, I'm hoping this'll push meme!Charlie further away from 'this is my interpretation of what he's really like' and make him slowly more and more outrageous and based on the worst excesses of his comic persona. Because as much as I love the meme, I can't read anything where he's gentle and nice. I know IRL he is definitely a really lovely guy - a lot of the appeal of his persona comes from the fact that it knows this too, and it hates that as much as it hates anything - but I don't want to read about nice!Charlie the whole time, I want to read about the worst excesses of Screen Wipe/News Wipe Charlie who pours boiling water on the hands of his production team, shouts sarcastic angry nonsense at innocents and wanks to the eight year old who sung the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, who I don't see a lot of. So I think an event that forces the gulf between real!Charlie and fiction!Charlie wider will be good for the tonal range of fic in the long run.