Ghosts star Ben Willbond on future for BBC comedy radiotimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from radiotimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Monday, 5th April 2021 at 8:00 am
It was a world of Fork Handles and Raspberry Blowers, one that rejoiced in witty wordplay and made a mockery of social norms, and its floodgates of fun opened on 10th April 1971.
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Following The Saturday Western and before A Man Called Ironside, The Two Ronnies brought together the immense individual talents of Ronnies Barker and Corbett on the suggestion of BBC head of light entertainment Bill Cotton.
Their packed programme of colourful comedy came to be synonymous with Saturday nights on BBC One (though it did flirt with Thursdays and BBC Two for a few series). When I hear the big-band, “you’re in for a good time” theme tune by Ronnie Hazlehurst now, it brings back a flood of happy memories: two suited gentlemen sitting behind a desk to open the show; a few snappy two-handers founded on a quickly established theme; Barker punching out a monologue with breathtaking precision; the occasional “Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Barbar
Win a DVD of Mr Benn at 50! radiotimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from radiotimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Thursday, 25th February 2021 at 11:19 am
Who doesn’t love Mr Benn? The sharp suit, a kind word and a smile for everyone he meets, the hyperactive legs, and more diplomacy than a UN negotiator.
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When he first opened the front door of his home at 52 Festive Road a whole half-century ago, a delivery by the postman led to a world of colourful adventures.
Today his fame is undiminished: Mr Benn is the best-performing animation on streaming platform BritBox, and its third most-popular classic kids show – after Grange Hill and Worzel Gummidge. There’s also a new edition of the DVD and imminent book reissues to tie in with the programme’s 50th anniversary.