| The Comedians | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Directed by | Walter Butler Dave Warwick |
| Starring | Russ Abbot Lennie Bennett Stan Boardman Jim Bowen Frank Carson Johnnie Casson Les Dennis Jimmy Jones Bernard Manning Tom O'Connor Mike Reid George Roper Paul Shane Roy Walker Don Adams Duggie Brown Colin Crompton Vince Earl Stu Francis Ken Goodwin Jackie Hamilton Bobby Knutt Paul Melba Mick Miller Charlie Williams Lee Wilson |
| Composer | Derek Hilton |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 11 |
| No. of episodes | 81 [1] |
| Production | |
| Producers | Ian Hamilton Johnnie Hamp |
| Production locations | Granada Studios, Manchester |
| Editors | D .L. Hayes Ron Swayne |
| Running time | 30 minutes (including adverts) |
| Production company | Granada Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 12 June 1971 – 28 December 1993 |
The Comedians is a British television show of the 1970s, later reprised in the mid-1980s, and early 1990s (1972-1993)[2] produced by Johnnie Hamp of Granada Television.[3] The show gave TV exposure to nightclub and working men's club comedians of the era, including Russ Abbot, Jim Bowen and Bernard Manning, many of whom went on to enjoy mainstream success in the 1980s. Filmed before a live audience in Manchester, comics each performed 20-minute sets, which were then edited together into half-hour shows featuring up to thirteen stand-up comics, and lasted a total of 81 episodes.[1]
Working men's clubs were numerous in Britain, especially in the North of England and have been a useful training ground for artists, especially comedians.[1] Most of these clubs are affiliated to the CIU (Working Men's Club and Institute Union) founded in 1862 by the Rev. Henry Solly. There are also political clubs, as well as Servicemen's Clubs affiliated to the Royal British Legion.[1]
The Comedians began as an experiment for Granada TV on Saturday 12th June 1971 at 7pm on ITV1, [4] and the last was a Christmas Special (60 mins) The Comedians Christmas Cracker shown on 28 December 1993, Tuesday at 10.45pm.[1]
Comedians appearing on the show included Russ Abbot (initially as Russ Roberts, later as Russ Abbott), Lennie Bennett, Stan Boardman, Jim Bowen, Jimmy Bright, Duggie Brown, Mike Burton, Dave Butler, Brian Carroll, Frank Carson, Johnnie Casson, Eddie Colinton, Mike Coyne, Colin Crompton, Bob Curtiss, Pauline Daniels, Charlie Daze, Les Dennis, Vince Earl, Steve Faye, Ray Fell, Eddie Flanagan, Stu Francis, Mike Goddard (known as Mike Goodwin in the early years of the show), Ken Goodwin, Jackie Hamilton, Jerry Harris, Jimmy Jones, Mike Kelly, George King, Bobby Knutt, Bernard Manning, Jimmy Marshall, Mike McCabe, Paul Melba, Mick Miller, Pat Mooney, Hal Nolan, Tom O'Connor, Tom Pepper, Bryn Phillips, Al Robbins, Don Reid, Mike Reid, George Roper, Harry Scott, Paul Shane, Pat Tansey, Sammy Thomas, Johnny Wager, Roy Walker, Jos White, Charlie Williams, Lee Wilson and Lenny Windsor.[5][6][1][2][3]
Also featured on the series were Shep's Banjo Boys, a seven-piece band comprising (for the first five series) Charlie Bentley (tenor banjo), John Drury (sousaphone), Andy Holdorf (trombone), John Orchard (piano), John Rollings (drums), Graham Shepherd (banjo) and Howard Shepherd (lead banjo). In 1973, the line-up was Mike Dexter (banjo), Tony "Tosh" Kennedy (sousaphone), Ged Martin (drums), Tony Pritchard (trombone), Graham Shepherd (banjo) and Howard "Shep" Shepherd (lead banjo).[6]
The first seven series including a DVD set (containing the first seven series broadcast 1971–74) have been released on DVD by Network.
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 June 1971[1] | 24 July 1971[1] | 7[1] |
| 2 | 18 September 1971[1] | 30 October 1971[1] | 7[1] |
| 3 | 18 February 1972[1] | 1 April 1972[1] | 7[1] |
| 4 | 14 July 1972[1] | 2 September 1972[1] | 7[1] |
| 5 | 17 November 1972[1] | 29 December 1972[1] | 7[1] |
| 6 | 7 April 1973[1] | 2 June 1973[1] | 8[1] |
| 7 | 26 January 1974[1] | 16 March 1974[1] | 7[1] |
| 8 | 22 July 1979[1] | 5 August 1979[1] | 13[1] |
| 23 November 1979[1] | 15 February 1980[1] | ||
| 9 | 2 June 1984[1] | 16 June 1984[1] | 3[1] |
| 10 | 1 June 1985[1] | 13 July 1985[1] | 7[1] |
| 11 | 9 July 1992[1] | 23 July 1992[1] | 5[1] |
| Date | Entitle |
|---|---|
| 24 December 1971[1] | The Comedians' Christmas Party[1] |
| 22 December 1973[1] | Christmas Comedians' Music Hall[1] |
| 28 December 1993[1] | The Comedians' Christmas Cracker[1] |
