The Story of Radio Comedy
In the early 1930s, Radios Luxembourg and Toulouse were happily providing British listeners with a diet of 'popular entertainment'. But with the BBC's move in 1932 from Savoy Hill to Broadcasting House in central London, General Manager John Reith determined to win back that audience.
The 'Variety' department was created, with the ex-editor of Radio Times, Eric Maschwitz, as its head. He had at his disposal seven producers, a 77-seat vaudeville studio, a musical director, Henry Hall's orchestra and a good deal of first-hand experience of American radio.
Russell Davies listens again to the radio comedy of those years, when it built on the music-hall foundations laid by ROBB WILTON, STAINLESS STEPHEN and SANDY POWELL and developed a style of its own.
Written and compiled by RUSSELL DAVIES
Producer NEIL CARGILL