[4] It tells the story of J. J. Curtis, an aging gameshow host played by O'Toole, who hires novelist Jonathan Stitch (Adrian Lester) to pen his biography, in the hope of sealing his immortality in the hearts and minds of the British public.
The film begins with novelist Jonathan Stitch describing the story of veteran game show host and entertainer J. J. Curtis.
The speech that Stitch makes reminds Curtis of the fact that his time is short, and that immortality can be achieved through the printed word.
As Stitch delves into the veteran entertainer's life, he encounters some quite unsavory characteristics and events from the past, including the mysterious circumstances surrounding the injury of Monty Franklin, a fellow performer on a 1973 variety show bill.
An increasingly bitter rivalry develops between Curtis and Dave Turner, host of a downmarket game show called Current Account, in which contestants are invited to subject family members to shocks of higher voltage in exchange for larger cash prizes.