''Knocker'' is a British

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

situational comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

broadcast on

digital radio Digital radio is the use of digital technology to transmit or receive across the radio spectrum. Digital transmission by radio waves includes digital broadcasting, and especially digital audio radio services. Types In digital broadcasting syst ...

station

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, recorded before a live audience. It is written by and stars

Neil Edmond Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. A ...

as Ian Dunn, a long suffering

market research Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets and customers: know about them, starting with who they are. It is an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining competitiveness. Mark ...

er. The series also co-stars

Paula Wilcox Paula Wilcox (born 13 December 1949) is an English actress. With a career spanning over 50 years, she is best known for her role as Chrissy in the popular ITV sitcom ''Man About The House'' from 1973 to 1976. She has also had roles in TV shows ...

as Ian's boss, Mary. The programme, produced by

Tilusha Ghelani Tilusha Ghelani is a British radio and TV comedy producer. She joined the BBC in 2002 as a producer in Radio Light Entertainment. She produced the TV series ''Nurse'' starring Paul Whitehouse, and now works on the BBC Comedy commissioning team. G ...

, was first broadcast between 19 November and 24 December 2007.

Plot

''Knocker'' revolves around the unfortunate tale of Ian Dunn, who works as the sole surviving market researcher for International Query Board UK. His position as the only member of the Board who actually goes out of the office to canvas the opinions of the public is not surprising, considering what has to put up with on a day-to-day basis. Ian has to put up with all kinds of bad weather, while trying to ask complete strangers about personal details on the street or at their homes. As a result, most people are hostile to him and he hardly ever gets any work done. The only people Ian ever manages to interview successfully tend to be those who are in it only to gain something from him, or because they are on the verge of

insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

. Ian also has to manage his problems with his boss, Mary. While Ian believes he is trying to be kind to her, she just wants him to get as many responses to his surveys as he possibly can. She even suggests to Ian that he should break the rules, but Ian considers breaking the Market Research Code of Conduct unacceptable, even if it would make his job easier. While not sorting out Ian's problems, Mary usually tries to solve those of Andre, a character who never appears, but is constantly referred to as someone who is accident prone.

Reception

''Knocker'' has had some positive reviews. Phil Daoust from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' chose the series as his "Pick of the Day" saying, "Elsewhere, ''Knocker'' (11.15pm, BBC7) is having a few laughs at the expense of market researchers. Ian Dunn (Neil Edmond) is the International Query Board UK's longest-serving door-to-door interviewer, spreading a little irritation everywhere he goes with his broken clipboard and inappropriate footwear. Some people, it seems, would rather hide in their bins than answer questions about flannels ..."

Episodes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knocker (Radio Series) BBC Radio comedy programmes 2007 radio programme debuts Knocker