Comedy Controller

Shortened

BBC Radio 4 Extra

Comedy

Series in which guests choose six comedy shows that have influenced them

Comedy Controller: Galton and Simpson

Galton and Simpson

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Comedy Controller, Galton and Simpson

Hancock and Steptoe writing duo Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's pick of radio comedies

Writing duo Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's favourites - including some of their own: Take It From Here, Ray's A Laugh, Round the Horne, Hancock's Half Hour, Steptoe and Son.

Writing duo Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's choose their favourite radio comedy, including some of their own: Take it from Here [1958], Ray's a Laugh [1949], Round the Horne [1967], Hancock's Half Hour [1958] and Steptoe and Son [1974].

Ray Galton & Alan Simpson, the comedy writing duo famous for such classic comedies as Hancock's Half Hour and Steptoe and Son, started writing together in 1948. They met in a Milford Sanatorium where they were being treated for TB when they were just seventeen and at the start of their career they earned just five shillings a joke. They went on to write over 600 scripts. They recall their early influences such as Frank Muir and Dennis Norden, as they introduce the comedy show "Take It From Here". They also talk fondly of post-war comic actor Ted Ray, as they introduce "Ray's a Laugh".

They remember the magic created by Kenneth Horne and his gang of comedians in the classic show "Round The Horne". Then it's time for a bit of self- indulgence as they look back at some of their best work, writing Hancock's Half Hour. They reminisce about how they met Tony, and what it was like to tap out those first scripts on an old typewriter in their little office in Shepherd's Bush. The episode they've chosen is from 1958, called Sunday Afternoon at Home, and provides a fine example of the Galton and Simpson humour as Tony Hancock's dry delivery captures just what it's like to be truly bored.

They recall the inspirations behind "Steptoe and Son". They admit that the idea came out of sheer desperation as they tried to write a show for the comedy playhouse. This first episode, The Desperate Hours (Galton and Simpson's personal favourite) was born in 1962 and over the next twelve years we were treated to five series on radio and a further eight television series.

Alan Simpson died in 2017 aged 87. 
Ray Galton died in 2018 aged 88.


First broadcast on BBC Radio 7 in 2003.

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.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Comedy Controller

Galton and Simpson

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 4 Extra

About BBC Radio 4 Extra