Description

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Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Betty Marsden and Hugh Paddick star in 17 episodes of the anarchic 1960s radio comedy, including the 1967 Christmas special.

Round the Horne arrived on BBC radio in 1965, bringing laughter to Sunday lunchtimes throughout the land. Over the course of sixteen weekly episodes it carved a niche in the history of broadcast comedy, a sketch show which prodded the boundaries of propriety and innuendo. At its heart was the suave and upstanding Kenneth Horne, around which revolved the multiple naughty personas of Kenneth Williams, Betty Marsden, Hugh Paddick and Bill Pertwee.

Among the parade of regular characters were Julian and Sandy, the camp couple of resting thespians happy to turn their hands to anything, Rambling Syd Rumbo the musical cordwangler, Fiona and Charles the passionate duo, and J. Peasemold Gruntfuttock - the world's dirtiest man. Meanwhile regular film parodies, spoof sagas and musical interludes peppered the mix.

In addition to the 16 episodes of Series Four, this edition also includes the 1967 Christmas special episode Cinderfella and The Bona History of Julian and Sandy, in which Maureen Lipman takes a vada at Round the Horne's most flamboyant omipalonies. Duration: 9 hours approx

About the Author

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Barry Took had an early career as a stand-up comedian and sketch writer, which led to his first radio script credit, for Beyond Our Ken. He then created Round the Horne with Marty Feldman, while on television he wrote for series including Bootsie and Snudge and The Army Game. Among a variety of later jobs in front of and behind the camera, Took wrote and presented Points of View on BBC1 and also chaired BBC radio's The News Quiz. He wrote a number of books, including The Complete and Utter History of Round the Horne and his autobiography A Point of View. He died in 2002. Marty Feldman left school at 15 to become a jazz trumpeter, but fell into show business with a Marx Brothers-style stage act. His meeting with Barry Took in 1954 led to a prolific writing partnership on radio shows including Round the Horne and The Army Game. A move into television saw Feldman writing for The Frost Report and At Last! The 1948 Show. An on-screen appearance in the latter led to his becoming an overnight star; a sketch show for British TV was followed by success in America and numerous film appearances, including Young Frankenstein. He died in 1982.