BBC Radio 4 Extra

The Real Comedy Controllers:  The Things That Made Us Laugh

The Real Comedy Controllers: The Things That Made Us Laugh: Episode 1: Origins

The Real Comedy Controllers: The Things That Made Us Laugh

Episode 1

Episode 1: Origins

Origins

BBC Radio 4 Extra - The Real Comedy Controllers: The Things That Made Us Laugh, Origins

Paul Jackson, Beryl Vertue, John Lloyd and Jimmy Mulville pick their top comedic moments.

Clocking up over 150 years of collective comedy-making between them, Paul Jackson, Beryl Vertue, John Lloyd and Jimmy Mulville pick their top post-Second World War comedic moments.

Instead of celebrity Comedy Controllers choosing their favourites, it’s the turn of those who, in their own ways, must take the blame for many of the shows heard on BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Between them, Paul Jackson, Beryl Vertue, John Lloyd and Jimmy Mulville have well over a 150 years of gut-busting, side-aching woofers, gags and - let's be honest - the occasional horrific mistimed silence.

In front of an audience in London's iconic BBC Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House - the home of British Radio comedy - they reveal why they do it and what it was (and is) that made them laugh. 

Over four special 4 Extra showcases, they survey broadcast comedy from its origins before and during the Second World War to the laughs (and groans) of the internet age. And they select their favourite moments.

It's back to the wartime stars of Variety and the entertainers, the men and women (though largely men) who entertained us through the dark days of conflict and the drab times of austerity and rationing.  Featuring: 

*  ITMA - It's That Man Again (Victory Edition).
Tommy Handley's gang celebrate victory in Europe, as broadcast on 10th May 1945. 

*  The Goon Show - "The Phantom Head Shaver (of Brighton)" 
As baldness breaks out in Brighton, is there a connection to a glut of cheap tobacco? From October 1954. 

*  The Navy Lark - "The Multiple Mines"
A drunken night out sparks chaos when an old mine used as a collection box is set adrift. From May 1959

*  Hancock's Half Hour - "Sunday Afternoon At Home"
Bored and miserable, the lad tries to decide what to do. From April 1958

Series Producers: Paul Kobrak and Dixi Stewart. 

Made for BBC Radio  4 Extra, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in 2017.

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama. With recent favourites from BBC Radio 4.

Comedy: Chat

Paul Jackson, Beryl Vertue, John Lloyd and Jimmy Mulville select their top comedy moments

Paul Jackson, Beryl Vertue, John Lloyd and Jimmy Mulville select their top comedy moments from after the Second World War

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Real Comedy Controllers: The Things That Made Us Laugh

Episode 1: Origins

Genres

Series

BBC Radio 4 Extra

About BBC Radio 4 Extra