Who was this radio sketch character?

Hello comedy connoisseurs!

I'm having trouble finding where this character was from.

It was a reoccuring sketch in a radio comedy where he would give a monologue about his neighbour's issues and might have dropped in a note about a piece of cake or some underwatered geraniums or similar.. I can't really remember any themes that carried on between instances.

He had a sort of midlands accent and would make frequent references to a neighbor of his who lived "at number *****y two" or something like that.

I keep looking at The Burkiss Way, Radio Active, Round the Horne, that sort of genre, but I can't pin him down. Does anybody know, or could somebody find out? It's very difficult to find any clues using search engines with so little to go on.

Sounds very Alan Bennett.

What period was this? 1930s, 1940s?

I think he was an Alan Bennett spoof, the voice is identical.

Since I'm not sure which show this was on, I'm not sure of the date, but from the feel of it I'd say 60s-70s.

Alan Bennett hasn't got a "sort of Midlands accent" though.

For "sort of Midlands accent", read Northern. ie Anyone from above the Watford Gap.

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 3rd August 2015, 10:05 AM BST

For "sort of Midlands accent", read Northern. ie Anyone from above the Watford Gap.

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Yes - it all sounds the same to us.

I even lived in Yorkshire for a while. It wasn't quite the accent I knew so I revised it southwards! Maybe it's Alan Bennett in Beyond the Fringe.

Quote: Jonny G @ 3rd August 2015, 6:21 PM BST

I even lived in Yorkshire for a while. It wasn't quite the accent I knew so I revised it southwards! Maybe it's Alan Bennett in Beyond the Fringe.

View original

From your description of the dialogue it certainly sounds like Alan Bennett, as Shaggy said, and I presume that like most counties the main city/town accent (AB came from Leeds) is different to what they speak in the sticks.

Maybe John Culshaw doing Alan Bennett on Dead Ringers

If that neighbour was Thora Hird, then yes it makes sense. Peter Sallis would often be mentioned.

And he was always mentioning Mr Petiforth (spl?) at number 42

Thank you Lofthouse! And thank you everybody.. joined the dots and got there in the end.