Beryl Vertue

Comedy Chronicles: Taking on the tabula rasa: Inside the writing room

Sunday 19th May 2024

Writing comedy. Some like to do it standing up; some prefer sitting down; and others have ended up lying flat out on the floor. Graham McCann examines how some of Britain's finest comic minds got their words down on the page.

Comedy Chronicles: The ITV Job - The day when the BBC almost lost British comedy

Sunday 26th June 2022

Graham McCann's column charts a fascinating 'what if' moment in British television comedy history: a fork in the road that had consequences of epic proportions in either direction.

Comedy Chronicles: Beryl Vertue - The woman who changed her world

Sunday 4th April 2021

Accidentally falling into a job with the likes of Sykes, Milligan, Galton, Simpson and Howerd, Beryl Vertue quickly became a one-woman powerhouse, transforming the British television industry with changes that remain to this day.