Sally Phillips and Victoria Pile variously created, wrote, and starred in Channel 4's award-winning sketch show Smack The Pony.

The duo share the inside story with TV veterans Peter Fincham and Jon Plowman.

When Smack The Pony debuted in 1999, the critics talked about it being a “female” sketch show. Which was right in as much as it starred and was run by women, and it pushed back against the male gaze which had so dominated the world of British comedy for so long.

But of course, it also rather missed the point – it wasn’t a female sketch show. It was a brilliant, edgy, silly, and gloriously funny sketch show.

Victoria and Sally discuss the challenges the show faced on its journey from a small idea pitched (by a man!) at a fancy Park Lane supper, to its BAFTA and Emmy success.

They chat through some of their favourite sketches and reveal how they created their vast array of characters. And they talk about the possibility of more episodes of Smack The Pony ever finding their way on to our TV screens.

Producer: Owen Braben

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Expectation Productions, and first broadcast in September 2021. Show less