
Comedy Chronicles
Graham McCann looks back at some of British comedy's most interesting but overlooked stories.
Setbacks & Fightbacks #3: Frankie Howerd - The serial survivor
Sunday 29th June 2025
Biographer Graham McCann charts the varied ups-and-downs in the long, remarkable career of comedy icon Frankie Howerd.
Setbacks & Fightbacks #2: Morecambe & Wise on TV
Sunday 15th June 2025
When one thinks of Morecambe & Wise, one tends to think only of their success. However, before they mastered the medium of television, Running Wild almost knocked them right out of the picture.
Setbacks & Fightbacks #1: The fall and rise of Max Wall
Sunday 1st June 2025
One of the last comedians to survive the variety stage and find success in the television age, Max Wall nevertheless suffered far more than his fair share of both personal and professional ups and downs across an extensive career.
The strange career of Dave King
Sunday 18th May 2025
Dave King was built from almost nothing by producer Ernest Maxin and took the world by storm. Then he all but disappeared. This is his story.
Big dreams, small scenes: The missed hits of Larry Martyn
Sunday 4th May 2025
Few people, in the history of British comedy, must have felt so diminished, as they reflected on the disparity between their dreams and their reality, as actor Larry Martyn.
Hugh & You: The amiable acting of Hugh Lloyd
Sunday 20th April 2025
A profile of Hugh Lloyd, the actor with the craftiest of comic spirits who appeared in many comedy shows between the 1950s and early 2000s.
Kindly get on the stage: The real comic heritage of heckling
Sunday 6th April 2025
What many hecklers, these days, fail to understand, is that the best hecklers are comedians. That's why they're up on the stage and we're down in the stalls.
A road less travelled: John Le Mesurier and The Culcheth Job
Sunday 23rd March 2025
A deep dive into The Culcheth Job, an obscure, light-hearted heist movie short from the mid-1970s that John Le Mesurier ended up getting involved in after splitting from his snobby agent, Freddy Joachim.
Pros and cons of improv
Sunday 9th March 2025
Graham McCann takes on the topic of improv comedy. He notes that it is considered an almost magical kind of creative activity to some, while - to others - it is little more than a series of stabs in the dark being played out under a full set of lights.
The Great Tiddlywinks Caper: Goons, Royals and Cambridge games
Sunday 23rd February 2025
The story of the time The Royal Family asked The Goons to represent them in a game of tiddlywinks against the University of Cambridge.