23rd in the charts with 10.5 million viewers.
Des's show, a regular and easy target for critics, received a rare positive review in the following day's Sandwell Evening Mail (20th December 1990), with Molly Blake praising this episode:
""Deadbeat" Des he used to be. Now Des O'Connor Tonight (Central) has become a thoroughly enjoyable hour that catches a fair number of big show biz names. Marti Caine was in cracking form last night, announcing that she'd forsaken her bra for a couple of corn-plasters, and had got her West End panto role as a wicked Red Queen because only she and Julian Clery (sic) had auditioned. The bleakest spot was the appearance of Corbin Bernsen, better known as divorce lawyer Arnie in LA Law, who handles multi-million divroce (sic) cases with wit and aplomb. In real life, alas, he's as exciting as an elderly cheese sandwich. Let's keep our illusions, eh? Don't expose these paper-thin types to real life. The night was stolen by a duo called Punt and Dennis, very, very funny men who blew up fairy tales for us. "Goldilocks is a bad example," they explained. "She wandered away from her family into a forest, broke into a house and stole porridge. "And today's kids will want to know how bears, dumb enough to go for a walk while their cereal cooled, got a mortgage In the first place....""
""Deadbeat" Des he used to be. Now Des O'Connor Tonight (Central) has become a thoroughly enjoyable hour that catches a fair number of big show biz names. Marti Caine was in cracking form last night, announcing that she'd forsaken her bra for a couple of corn-plasters, and had got her West End panto role as a wicked Red Queen because only she and Julian Clery (sic) had auditioned. The bleakest spot was the appearance of Corbin Bernsen, better known as divorce lawyer Arnie in LA Law, who handles multi-million divroce (sic) cases with wit and aplomb. In real life, alas, he's as exciting as an elderly cheese sandwich. Let's keep our illusions, eh? Don't expose these paper-thin types to real life. The night was stolen by a duo called Punt and Dennis, very, very funny men who blew up fairy tales for us. "Goldilocks is a bad example," they explained. "She wandered away from her family into a forest, broke into a house and stole porridge. "And today's kids will want to know how bears, dumb enough to go for a walk while their cereal cooled, got a mortgage In the first place....""