''Danger - Men at Work!'' was a British radio comedy programme, broadcast by the BBC over seven series between 1939 and 1947. The show was written and produced, at first, by Max Kester and Anthony Hall, with later series by Kester alone. It was the first British radio comedy in the "crazy" style of the Marx Brothers, and centred on the attempts of wealthy widowed hotel owner Mrs Ponsonby (played by Doris Nichols) to have work done by men who would invariably try to trick her out of her money. The workmen were played in the first series by American

double act A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases f ...

Van and Allen; in the second series by Jack Train and George Moon; and in later series by

Haver and Lee Haver and Lee were a British comedy duo who were active between the late 1920s and early 1940s. Haver was Clay Keyes (born Henry James Newbold; 9 December 1892 – 19 June 1970). Lee was Frank Tully (born Frank Mendoza Jr.; 14 December 1888 & ...

(Clay Keyes and Frank Tully), as the characters Eggblow and Duckweed. A recurring character was Nikolas Ridikoulos, played by

Jacques Brown Jacques Brown (first name pronounced "Jakes") (23 August 1900 – 3 April 1975) was a British radio producer. He produced ''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh'', ''The Goon Show'', ''Beyond Our Ken'' and others for BBC Radio. He was born Solomon Jacob Brow ...

. Denis Gifford, ''The Golden Age of Radio'', B.T. Batsford Ltd, London, 1985, , p.65 The show was later described as "...relentlessly fast-paced (on one occasion a live transmission ended ten minutes early)... surreal, innovative and inspired... groundbreaking in its use of sound effects and insult comedy."Andy Foster and Steve Furst, ''Radio Comedy 1938-1968: A Guide to 30 Years of Wonderful Wireless'', Virgin, 1996, , pp.24-27 After five series totalling 29 episodes in 1939-40, the show was revived for 1946-47, with Tully replaced by Charlie Irwin. "Danger - Men at Work!", ''BBC Genome''
Retrieved 5 April 2021

References

BBC Radio comedy programmes 1939 radio programme debuts 1947 radio programme endings {{BBC-radio-stub