James Whale confessed that Whale On was, in essence, The James Whale Radio Show (1988) under a different name. In 2007's "Almost A Celebrity", he observed that they were: "[...] basically always the same sort of thing, they just went out under different titles. The programmes were never as anarchic at LWT as they had been at Yorkshire, though. The main reason for this was that, because of financial considerations, Whale On couldn't go out live. It was recorded 'as live', but there's a huge difference to a real live programme. The material doesn't get edited, but you're always aware that you've got that safety net if something goes horribly wrong; a safety net you just don't have on a live show. For Whale On, we used to record two shows back to back on a Monday evening, in a studio just off Carnaby Street in London, and we had some good guests and some good times. That was, financially, the only way we could do it. At that time, TV companies were cutting back on their budgets, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to get audiences to come out as well."