The Comedy Store of its day, this Club for the Forces of the Crown was a breeding ground for some of the variety talent that was to enrich the early days of television. Mark Lewisohn tells its story and talks to Mary Cook, who ran it while simultaneously auditioning its comic talent.

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The Nuffield Centre
11.30am R4
Without a lady called Mary Cook it's a real possibility that some of the cream of British comedy may never have made it to our TV screens - think Peter Sellers, Morecambe and Wise, and Tony Hancock. For Mary was holding auditions at the Nuffield Centre in London's Soho, a charitable club "for the forces of the Crown". And, while the role of the Nuffield Centre in the formative years of television comedy is the basis of this fascinating programme, it's the fabulously entertaining Mary Cook, now 92, who's so obviously the real star. (Jane Anderson)