''In One Ear'' was a late-night alternative comedy sketch show, broadcast between 1984 and 1986, on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, broadcast live from the BBC Paris Studio in London, with a (sometimes edited) repeat later in the week. The programme starred

Nick Wilton Nicholas Wilton is an English actor and scriptwriter. He has appeared as Mr Lister in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' as a recurring character; he has also appeared in ''Carrott's Lib'' and '' Jackanory''. Early life Wilton studied Engli ...

Helen Lederer Helen Margaret Lederer (born 24 September 1954) is an English comedian, writer and actress who emerged as part of the alternative comedy boom at the beginning of the 1980s. Among her television credits are the BBC2 sketch series ''Naked Video'' ...

Clive Mantle Clive Andrew Mantle (born 3 June 1957) is an English actor. He played general surgeon Mike Barratt in the BBC hospital drama series ''Casualty'' and '' Holby City'' in the 1990s, and Little John in the 1980s fantasy series ''Robin of Sherwood' ...

, and Steve Brown. Writers included the cast and

Jon Canter Jon Canter is an English television comedy writer for Lenny Henry and other leading comedians. Canter was born and brought up in the Jewish community of Golders Green, North London and studied law at the University of Cambridge, where he became P ...

Geoffrey Perkins Geoffrey Howard Perkins (22 February 1953 – 29 August 2008) was a British comedy producer, writer and performer. Best known as the BBC head of comedy (1995–2001), he produced the first two radio series of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galax ...

, Jack (then John) Docherty,

Terence Dackombe Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought T ...

, and

Moray Hunter Moray Hunter (born 6 October 1957, Hawick, Scotland) is a Scottish comedian, writer and performer. He starred in the Channel 4 sketch show, '' Absolutely''. Alongside Jack Docherty he played one half of the eccentric double-act, Don and George ...

. ''In One Ear'' won a

Sony Award The Radio Academy Awards, started in 1983, were the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. For most of their existence, they were run by ZAFER Associates, but in latter years were brought under the control of The Radio Academy ...

in 1985. The programme was subsequently transferred to television as the short-lived ''Hello Mum''.

BBC Radio 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British Digital radio in the United Kingdom, digital radio broadcasting, radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a ...

has repeated episodes and compilations of the series.

References

BBC Radio comedy programmes BBC Radio 4 programmes {{UK-radio-show-stub