''A Kick Up the Eighties'' was a 1981–1984

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

comedy

sketch show Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

starring

Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor and comedian. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He ...

(Series 2),

Tracey Ullman Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman, 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, writer, producer, and director. Her earliest mainstream appearances were on British television sketch comedy shows ''A Kick Up the Eighties'' (wi ...

Richard Stilgoe Sir Richard Henry Simpson Stilgoe (born 28 March 1943) is a British songwriter, lyricist and musician, and broadcaster who is best known for his humorous songs and frequent television appearances. His output includes collaborations with Andrew ...

(Series 1),

Miriam Margolyes Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The Tora ...

Rik Mayall Richard Michael Mayall (7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was an English actor, stand-up comedian and writer. He formed a close partnership with Ade Edmondson while they were students at Manchester University and was a pioneer of alternative ...

Ron Bain Ron Bain is a Scottish television actor, director, producer, comedian and former stage actor who now focuses primarily on directing. He is known for his work with comedian Rikki Fulton, with whom he first worked while performing Molière's ' ...

and

Roger Sloman Roger Sloman (born 19 May 1946) is an English actor known for his work in theatre, film, and television. Early life and education He grew up and was educated in South East London. He trained to be a teacher and then went to East 15 acting sch ...

. The show was created by

Tom Gutteridge Thomas Michael Gillan Gutteridge (born 2 February 1952) is a British television director, producer and executive. He was formerly Chief Executive of FremantleMedia NA, having previously been founder and Chief Executive of Mentorn, from 1985 to ...

(producer/director) and Sean Hardie (executive producer).

Colin Gilbert Colin Gilbert, born 1954, is a Glasgow-born television producer and former senior creative director of The Comedy Unit. Career Gilbert began his career in comedy writing jokes for the radio shows ''Week Ending'' and ''The News Huddlines''. He j ...

was script editor. Series One, comprising six shows, was broadcast on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

from 21 September 1981 to 26 October 1981. Series Two, comprising four shows, was broadcast on BBC2 between 3 January 1984 and 24 January 1984. A contemporary sketch show with a nod to the then emerging wave of

alternative comedy Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe ...

, a strong team combined to perform short sketches and various musical parodies. The show was the first break into television for

, who played an over-excited, anorak-wearing investigative reporter

Kevin Turvey Kevin Turvey was a British television comedy character, created by actor and comedian Rik Mayall, who featured in the BBC sketch show ''A Kick Up the Eighties'' in 1981. ''A Kick Up the Eighties'' Turvey, an awkward and socially inept character wh ...

. To maintain the illusion that his character was real, Mayall's name did not appear in the closing credits whereas Kevin Turvey's did. The show was also the start of

's television comedy career.

Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...

, a trained graphic artist from Scotland, contributed to designing the show's opening sequence prior to launching his own career as an actor. The first series won a Scottish BAFTA for Best Entertainment Programme in 1982. For the second series, Colin Gilbert was brought in as producer, his debut TV production with the newly formed BBC Scotland Comedy Unit. Richard Stilgoe had left the show and Robbie Coltrane took his place. This second series was more slick and competent than the first, and Coltrane was praised for his vocal range, powerful delivery and natural acting technique. A compilation episode was broadcast on 31 December 1987, entitled "A Kick Up The Bells". On 31 December 1998 BBC2 screened "A Kick Up The Archive", a further highlights compilation.

References

External links

* * 1980s Scottish television series 1981 Scottish television series debuts 1984 Scottish television series endings BBC Scotland television sketch shows 1980s British television sketch shows {{BBC-tv-prog-stub