John Henry

It is 1923 and the BBC is at war! Theatre managers have banned their stars from broadcasting on the new-fangled wireless, fearing audiences will prefer to stay at home and listen to all their favourite celebrities for the price of a radio licence.

The only solution is for the BBC to nurture its own talent. Which is how a bespectacled office clerk, moonlighting under the assumed name of John Henry, quickly becomes a nationwide comedy sensation. Standing alone in a bare studio, his mournful Yorkshire tones cause hilarity across the land. He instantly grasps the potential of radio, painting his surreal misadventures directly onto the canvas of the listener's imagination.

John Henry was radio's first megastar. The first BBC comedian to perform topical comedy. The first to have his own comic strip. The first to broadcast live from an aeroplane. And when wife Blossom joined the act, the rudimentary sitcom was born. They even made silent movies about listening to the radio!

But his fame soon began to fade. And when the press revealed his complicated secret life (and secret wives), John Henry's misfortunes abruptly ceased to be funny.

Alan Stafford has exhaustively researched the fascinating life of this overlooked comedy innovator. The jokes, the sketches, the successes and failures of an absurdist comedian who entertained millions in their own homes. When radio was new, John Henry was right at the heart of it - the first true pioneer of BBC comedy.

First published: Tuesday 5th November 2024