Coming up in Radio 2's Comedy Season
91Èȱ¬ Radio 2's new Comedy Season kicks off tomorrow with Hot Gossip, the comedy
panel show hosted by Claudia Winkleman, and ends on Wednesday 28 July
with Dave Allen: Goodnight and May Your God Go With You, in which Ed
Byrne examines the life and career of the Irish comic.Here's documentary producer Phil Collinge with a preview of the shows he has created for the season:
Well, that was fun! I've just finished several months working on five of the six documentaries that make up Radio 2's forthcoming Comedy Season.
We open with the two-part Carry On Forever. The Carry On phenomena remains a joy for me, and it was a pleasure to immerse myself in that world again for a while. There was plenty to cover too - films, stage shows, TV series and the projects that were never made - I don't know how I kept it up!
Sadly many of the team are no longer with us, but we've been able to source plenty of archive to sit alongside our new interviews with surviving team members, film historians and Carry On experts. Leslie Phillips presents, and he was a joy to work with, not only linking our Carry On story, but also giving us his memories along the way. And watch out for a couple of familiar characters who interrupt him throughout - thanks to actor and voice man David Benson.
Next up is Tommy Cooper, Just like This! presented by Sean Lock. Tommy of course was unique, and that comes across, as our contributors remember knowing and working with him. Listen out for the story of Tommy pretending to be a waiter in a Las Vegas restaurant - priceless! Bottle, Glass... Glass bottle... Oh my teeth itch...
Then there's Alexander Armstrong with Being Here - The Peter Sellers Story (on Monday July 26th). Thirty years after his death, Peter Sellers remains an enigma. Publicly a highly talented actor and comedian, his private life was often complicated. What I wanted was for this documentary to celebrate the man's talent as well as covering his often reported off screen difficulties. Eric Sykes probably puts it best when he reminds us that no one has lived a blameless life.
Finally, I worked on All Round Bob Monkhouse (catch it on Tuesday, July 27th) - presented by Barry Cryer. Like many of the people I've made documentaries about, I never met Bob, and it's interesting how you form an opinion of someone based on the reminisances of those who knew them. I always thought of Bob as a highly dedicated and professional comedian - we can see that from the work he left behind. But what was apparent from the people we spoke to, was just how much he was loved by those who knew him. It was a word that kept recurring, and I'm hoping this programme reflects not just his life and career, but how people felt about him. We don't call him a comedy superstar for nothing!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the series, and find plenty of laughs along the way... matron!
Phil Collinge is Producer of Carry On Forever, Tommy Cooper - Just Like This!, Being Here - The Peters Sellers Story and All Round Bob Monkhouse at .
Comment number 1.
At 28th Jul 2010, cme1967 wrote:This sounds really stupid....I've been listening to the recent programmes and the recent trailer for the Dave Allen programme. Anyone know what is the music in the background?
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