Tony Hancock

The good news is that David Suchet appears to be better at presenting documentaries than Sid Field. The bad news is that we didn't see much of Sid Field.

However, this is not Suchet's fault, as very little archive footage of him exists. He only made a handful of films, the most famous of which was London Town, a film panned by critics and which fails to show him at his best. Not only that, there is only one existing sound interview with him. Due to the lack of footage, very few people remember him, although he was one of the most popular comedians of his age.

Not only was he incredibly popular, he was an influence on both Tony Hancock and Spike Milligan. He invented character comedy and camp comedy. He was a popular singer and he could also do straight acting, starring in the lead role in the stage version of Harvey.

There was much to like with this show. My favourite titbit from it, mind, was the story of Field's wedding day. As his mother didn't approve of his marriage he got married on the quiet. His wedding day dinner was a cup of tea and some fish and chips from the local chip shop.

The best bit of news from this programme is that a previously lost feature film starring Field called That's The Ticket has been rediscovered, so we can see him perform in a more successful manner.

You're entitled to ask why you should be interested in a comedian you've never heard of who died 60-odd years ago. Bob Hope called Sid Field "probably the best comedian of them all". For Tony Hancock, Field was inspirational and David Suchet tells a good story with actorly flourishes. Tragically, scarcely a fragment of Field in action survives. Yet we get a glimmer of how Field created the character-based sketch comedy that's become the norm in British comedy. He also pioneered camp - "the original mince," observes Julian Clary, tartly.

Tony Hancock: The tragic downfall of a genuine one-off

Celebrated writers, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, talk to Suite 101 about the late actor and discuss why their 10-year association with him came to an end.

British sitcoms salute the labour force

Since the beginning of time, well, at least since 1946 when Pinwright's Progress premiered on the BBC, the British sitcom has always saluted the labor force. After Pinwright's Progress, the evolution of how the situation comedy dealt with the workforce really took off. Up next in the mid-50's was Hancock's Half Hour where Tony Hancock seemed to change jobs every episode.

Revealed: Tony Hancock screenplay that he turned down

The Day Off, by writing team Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, was unearthed during research for a new biography of the duo

Archie Andrews, the dummy loved by millions, is back

Ventriloquist dummy Archie Andrews, whose radio show Educating Archie attracted 15 million listeners and featured co-stars like Tony Hancock, is returning to the British stage after 50 years.

Death of Tony Hancock's brother leads to inquest

Roger Hancock, the brother and agent of the celebrated comedian Tony Hancock, is said to have died in 'unnatural circumstances'.

A pattern is emerging in this second series as it ruthlessly bumps off one key character per episode, but whose number is up tonight? A trip to a vintage toy emporium, Hoyti Toyti, takes warty Mr Lomax's obsession with Tony Hancock to another level. Homicidal David Sowerbutts makes a deadly pact à la Strangers on a Train, and misanthropic clown Mr Jelly walks into a gruesome Dirty Pretty Things scenario. Yes, the deft movie pastiches continue unabated. The newer characters see disturbing action, too. Librarian Jeremy (Reece Shearsmith) is still hung up on an overdue reference book and bedevilled by the freakish Silent Singer, while extreme fag hag Hattie gets her claws into gay Iranian Shahrouz. Is it just me or is Steve Pemberton channelling Corrie's Deirdre Barlow here?

The Beeb's drama department has carved out a neat niche with its biopics of beloved British comedy stars: from Kenneth Williams and Tony Hancock to Frankie Howerd and Morecambe and Wise. This latest film, first shown on BBC Four in January, is a worthy addition. Gavin & Stacey's Ruth Jones stars in an acclaimed dramatisation of Carry On star Hattie Jacques's life. Though she played an austere matron on screen, Jacques's private life was actually rather racy. The story focuses on the early 1960s love triangle between Jacques, her chauffeur (Aidan Turner) and her husband, Dad's Army star John Le Mesurier (a heartbreaking turn from Cold Feet's Robert Bathurst) - whom she continued to love, even when she moved her toyboy into their bed. It's a bittersweet story, superbly acted, and followed by a repeat of Jacques's 1963 appearance on This Is Your Life.

He made his name as Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour and was a member of the bullion robbery gang in The Lavender Hill Mob but cockney comic Sid James will be remembered most as a star of the Carry On films. This profile, first broadcast in 2000, delves into his private life: his widow Valerie recalls how his hectic lifestyle and workaholic tendencies led to a heart attack at the age of 53, an affair with Barbara Windsor at 59, and his death at age 62 after collapsing on stage at the Sunderland Empire Theatre (unaware of what was happening, the audience laughed, believing the events to be part of the show).