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Graham McCann
Graham McCann

Graham McCann

  • English
  • Author

Graham McCann features

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

Comedy Chronicles: 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 Features

Comedy Chronicles: 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 Features

Comedy Chronicles: 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 Features

Comedy Chronicles: Let's do the show right here? The 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 Features

Comedy Chronicles: 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.

Hetty King pictured in costume as a sailor, circa 1910s. Hetty King Features

Comedy Chronicles: There's something about Hetty - The cross-dressing comedy of Hetty King

Sunday 9th February 2025

A profile of Hetty King, a masterful cross-dresser who was once known and celebrated internationally as 'England's greatest star'.

Round The Horne. Image shows from L to R: Hugh Paddick, Kenneth Williams. Copyright: BBC Features

Comedy Chronicles: The Quiet One - The understated art of Hugh Paddick

Sunday 26th January 2025

Graham McCann argues that the quiet and classy delicacy of Hugh Paddick's comedy performances should have won him far greater praise than he received, both in his lifetime and after it.

Jack Hobbs Features

Comedy Chronicles: Mr Hobbs takes a vacation - When it all backfired for Jack Hobbs

Sunday 12th January 2025

Poor Jack Hobbs. The hilarious but embarrassing tale of what happened to the publisher of comedians' books on a train to Walton-on-Thames has been immortalised thanks to many retellings by his friend Spike Milligan.

Ernie Wise Features

Comedy Chronicles: Who you gonna call? When Ernie Wise launched the mobile phone

Sunday 29th December 2024

An article looking at comedians helping to launch new technology, particularly sitcom star Reg Varney making the initial withdrawal from the world's first voucher-based cash-dispensing machine and Ernie Wise making the first mobile phone call.

Arthur Askey Features

Comedy Chronicles: Random acts of kindness #2 - More comedians being nice to each other

Sunday 22nd December 2024

A series of anecdotes about comedians being genuinely kind and nice to each other. Those featured include Ray Alan, Roy Hudd and Arthur Askey.

Kenneth Horne Features

Comedy Chronicles: The incomparable charm of Kenneth Horne

Sunday 1st December 2024

A profile of one of comedy's great facilitators. For many years, Kenneth Horne was at the centre - the heart - of some of the funniest and best-loved shows of his era.

Neil Innes Features

Comedy Chronicles: Do I have to spell it out? Neil Innes own right

Sunday 17th November 2024

A profile of Neil Innes, the comedy writer and musician who so many times managed to dip our hearts, as well as our brains, in joy.

Duggie Small Features

Comedy Chronicles: Up and away - The big fall of Duggie Small

Sunday 3rd November 2024

The sobering, warning story of comedian Duggie Small. He won TV talent show New Faces in 1986 but things did not go smoothly for him.

Image shows left to right: Derek Nimmo, Bill Maynard Features

Comedy Chronicles: Stage fight - When comics fall out in plain sight

Sunday 20th October 2024

A look at squabbles between stars that took place in the full glare of the spotlight. When Bill Maynard was paired with Derek Nimmo it turned out to be a particularly notable recipe for resentment, rage and revenge.

Jokers Wild. Ray Martine. Credit: ITV Features

Comedy Chronicles: A Hackney diamond - The much-misunderstood Ray Martine

Sunday 6th October 2024

A record-straightening reappraisal of comedian Ray Martine, usually either forgotten or lazily maligned, his career heights and boundary-pushing bite are long overlooked.

Roy Jay Features

Comedy Chronicles: You'll all be doing it tomorrow - The strange ways of Roy Jay

Sunday 22nd September 2024

'Slither!'. 'Spook!'. Graham McCann recounts the slow rise and rapid fall of Roy Jay, the comic with a strange zig-zaggy walk. Graham McCann recounts the slow rise and rapid fall of Roy Jay, the comic with a strange zig-zaggy walk.

Betty Marsden Features

Comedy Chronicles: Tell me darling - am I going too far?: The protean powers of Betty Marsden

Sunday 8th September 2024

The overlooked and untold subject in this article is the chameleonesque comedian and actor Betty Marsden, best remembered for roles in Round The Horne and Carry On Camping.

Eric Barker Features

Comedy Chronicles: Hark at the other Barker - The many achievements of Eric Barker

Sunday 25th August 2024

A profile of Eric Barker. He is best-remembered these days for his roles in countless British film comedies from the middle of the 20th-century, including several of the Carry Ons. That, however, is merely the tip of the iceberg.

Peter Sellers: A State Of Comic Ecstasy. Peter Sellers Features

Comedy Chronicles: 'A very small pebble in a very large pool' - When Peter Sellers broke up with the BBC

Sunday 11th August 2024

Graham McCann recounts the bitter feud between Peter Sellers and BBC executive Tom Sloan.

Image shows left to right: Benny Hill, Dennis Kirkland Features

Comedy Chronicles - A dubious double act: Benny Hill and Dennis Kirkland

Sunday 28th July 2024

Benny Hill is noted as one of British television's great comic minds, but, entwined with producer Dennis Kirkland his fall from grace at the end of the 1980s is more complex than is often described.

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