British Comedy Guide
British Comedy Guide
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Comedy Chronicles

Comedy Chronicles

Graham McCann looks back at some of British comedy's most interesting but overlooked stories.

Frankie Howerd: In His Own Words. Frankie Howerd

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.

Running Wild. Image shows left to right: Ernie Wise, Eric Morecambe. Credit: Alex Dellow

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.

Max Wall

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.

Dave King

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.

Spring & Autumn. Brian Reid (Larry Martyn). Credit: Thames Television

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.

Lollipop Loves Mr. Mole. Reg Robinson (Hugh Lloyd). Copyright: Associated Television

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.

Statler and Waldorf

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.

The Culcheth Job. John Le Mesurier

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.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?. Image shows from L to R: Tony Slattery, Clive Anderson, Colin Mochrie, Caroline Quentin, Ryan Stiles. Copyright: Hat Trick Productions

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.

Image shows left to right: Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe

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.

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