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 ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

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 ...

Lee and Herring Lee and Herring were a British standup comedy double act consisting of the comedians Stewart Lee and Richard Herring. They were most famous for their work on television, most notably ''Fist of Fun'' and '' This Morning with Richard Not Judy'' ...

Fist of Fun ''Fist of Fun'' was a British comedy show, initially a BBC Radio 1 series in 1993 and then a BBC2 television series in 1995. It was written by and starred Lee and Herring (the comedians Stewart Lee and Richard Herring). Each episode of ''Fist o ...

Armando Iannucci Armando Giovanni Iannucci (; born 28 November 1963) is a Scottish satirist, writer, director, producer, performer, and panellist. Born in Glasgow to Italian parents, Iannucci studied at the University of Glasgow followed by the University of ...

Chris Neill Chris Neill (born 1968) is a British comedian, producer, and writer who features regularly on BBC Radio 4Sarah Smith and Kathy Smith. The series served as a testing ground for new ideas, and many of the characters and items introduced in the series were adapted for later television projects. Lee and Herring were keen to pursue a fourth series, but Radio 1 ceased its comedy output at the beginning of 1997.

Presenters

Ostensibly the straight-man of the pair, Lee's character was that of a passive, sarcastic and often pretentious curmudgeon. He also provided a great deal of the music for the programmes (as the show was made by the Light Entertainment department, and the duo had to bring in their own records), and his rather idiosyncratic tastes made for some interesting musical interludes. In contrast to his comic partner, Herring's persona was that of a cheerful, optimistic and naive character. He apparently contributed less music to the show, but occasionally poured scorn over Lee's odder musical selections.

Regular contributors

Peter Baynham Peter Baynham is a Welsh screenwriter and performer. He is best known for appearing in a series of comedic Pot Noodle television adverts in the 1990s. His work largely represents collaborations with comedy figures such as Armando Iannucci, Steve C ...

reprised his tragic comic persona, first heard in ''Fist of Fun'', for the new series. Portrayed as a lonely, 30-year-old unemployable virgin living in a bedsit in Balham, he was an unlikely choice for 'lifestyle guru', and was continually bullied by Herring. In the later series, the character was renamed from 'Peter Baynham' to simply 'Peter'. A longstanding Lee and Herring contributor,

Kevin Eldon Kevin Eldon (born 2 October 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He featured in British comedy television shows of the 1990s including ''Fist of Fun'', '' This Morning with Richard Not Judy'', '' Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge' ...

read out the Listings as well as playing numerous characters in sketches. At the end of the first series he was unmasked as a hair-obsessed alien and was killed by some Immac hair remover. He returned in the second series with little explanation and resumed his role. In the third series, he took on the persona of an apparently angry but mediocre anti-establishment comic, often denouncing the government as 'fascists', to the mockery of Lee and Herring.

Other Contributors

*

Rebecca Front Rebecca Louise Front (born 16 May 1964) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She won the 2010 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for ''The Thick of It'' (2009–2012).Jennifer Lipma"Bafta for Jewish actress Rebecca Front" ...

provided character voices for recorded segments and also made some live appearances. *

Ronni Ancona Veronica "Ronni" Jane Ancona (born 4 July 1966)''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' is a British actress, comedian, impressionist and writer best known for ''The Big Impression'', which she co-wrote and starred in and ...

usually appeared live, and provided voices for some regular characters, and contributed to the Listings. *

Sally Phillips Sally Elizabeth Phillips (born 10 May 1970) is an English actress, television presenter, and comedian. She co-created and was one of the writers of the sketch comedy show ''Smack the Pony''. She is also known for her roles in '' Miranda'' as Ti ...

made numerous live appearances throughout the third series, contributing to the Listings and playing some characters. *

Alistair McGowan Alistair Charles McGowan (born 24 November 1964) is an English impressionist, comic, actor, singer and writer best known to British audiences for ''The Big Impression'' (formerly ''Alistair McGowan's Big Impression''), which was, for four years ...

appeared in various sketches, notably impersonating such diverse figures as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

s (sic) and

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. *

Peter Serafinowicz Peter Szymon Serafinowicz ( ; born 10 July 1972) is an English actor, comedian, director and screenwriter, best known for his roles as the title character in the 2016 live-action series of ''The Tick'', Pete in ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004) and ...

appeared in numerous recorded segments throughout the third series as various characters. *

Mel Giedroyc Melanie Clare Sophie Giedroyc (; , born 5 June 1968) is a British actress, comedian and television presenter. With Sue Perkins, she has co-hosted series including ''Light Lunch'' for Channel 4, ''The Great British Bake Off'' for the BBC and cha ...

,

Sue Perkins Susan Elizabeth Perkins (born 22 September 1969) is an English actress, broadcaster, comedian, presenter and writer. Originally coming to prominence through her comedy partnership with Mel Giedroyc in ''Mel and Sue'', she has since become best ...

, Ben Moor and

Tom Binns Christopher Thomas Binns (born 1970) is a British comedian, best known for his character Hospital Radio DJ Ivan Brackenbury. Career Binns was nominated at the Edinburgh Festival for the Edinburgh Comedy Award 2007 for his hospital radio DJ ch ...

made occasional appearances in sketches during the first series. Binns' hospital radio DJ character, Ivan Brackenbury, made an early appearance on one of the shows. *

Roger Mann Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...

appeared in his own segment entitled ''Roger Mann: Europe's Scariest Man''. * Danny O'Brien made a few appearances in the first series with a semi-regular feature about the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

. *

Annabel Giles Annabel Claire Giles (born 20 May 1959) is a British former television and radio presenter. She currently works as a counsellor and psychotherapist, and has also worked as a model, actress and novelist. Early life and career Giles was born in ...

was the duo's 'celebrity friend', who occasionally appeared as a special guest.

Regular Features

* The Listings were traditionally read out by Kevin Eldon, sometimes with the assistance of one of the other regulars. They contained details of fictional events around the country that were so ridiculous as to be of interest to virtually nobody. The concept was first used in Lee and Herring's contributions to ''

On The Hour ''On the Hour'' was a British radio programme that parodied current affairs broadcasting, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992. Written by Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring an ...

'', and would resurface in the ''

Fist of Fun ''Fist of Fun'' was a British comedy show, initially a BBC Radio 1 series in 1993 and then a BBC2 television series in 1995. It was written by and starred Lee and Herring (the comedians Stewart Lee and Richard Herring). Each episode of ''Fist o ...

'' TV series and ''

TMWRNJ ''This Morning With Richard Not Judy'' or ''TMWRNJ'' Richard Herring would routinely pronounce the acronym as if the 'M' and 'W' had changed places (TWMRNJ) rather than pronouncing it as is a BBC comedy television programme, written by and starr ...

''. * Peter's Lifestyle Hints was a feature carried over from the radio version of ''

Fist of Fun ''Fist of Fun'' was a British comedy show, initially a BBC Radio 1 series in 1993 and then a BBC2 television series in 1995. It was written by and starred Lee and Herring (the comedians Stewart Lee and Richard Herring). Each episode of ''Fist o ...

'', and one that would continue into the TV version. Peter would contribute lifestyle hints that only served to underline the loneliness and tragedy of his life. * Simon Quinlank's Hobby Slot was a feature presented by the unstable character, Simon Quinlank, in which he detailed one of his many unusual hobbies. (See also 'Characters' below) * A Celebration of Mediocrity appeared throughout the first series, and was based around the rationale that, while great performers are lauded, and bad ones are mocked, mediocre performers were thus deserving of some vague, half-hearted appreciation. The feature gave suggestions on how to celebrate the mediocre output of such figures as

Steve Guttenberg Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for his lead roles in Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s, including '' Cocoon'', ''Police Academy'', ''Three Men a ...

,

William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel '' Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...

,

Level 42 Level 42 is an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s. Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on the ...

and, of course, Lee and Herring themselves. * Histor's Eye was a spoof children's educational TV series, "produced by Sky TV". The series featured two pirate crows, Histor and his dim sidekick Pliny, who each week travelled through time to a historical event. Pliny routinely peppered the dialogue with awful bird-related puns, going to increasingly extreme lengths to find an avian pun in each and every sentence uttered by Histor and the other characters. The other running joke of the segment was that Histor's commentary frequently had a

xenophobic Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

or

right wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authori ...

bias, with the rather sinister implication that the show was being used to influence the opinions of children. The segment appeared occasionally throughout the second and third series, and eventually transferred to television as part of ''

TMWRNJ ''This Morning With Richard Not Judy'' or ''TMWRNJ'' Richard Herring would routinely pronounce the acronym as if the 'M' and 'W' had changed places (TWMRNJ) rather than pronouncing it as is a BBC comedy television programme, written by and starr ...

''. Histor was played by Richard Herring, and Pliny was played by Stewart Lee. * Ian News, also known as I am Called Ian, I am, was a news bulletin aimed specifically at people called Ian. Supposedly this was part of a Radio 1 initiative called ''The News for Your Name'', in which each listener would somehow hear a separate broadcast specific to their name. The presenters were the competent Ian Lewis (Herring) and the inept but opinionated Ian Ketterman (Lee). Composed mainly of minor stories about celebrities called Ian, the broadcasts also revealed a conflict in the world of people called Ian: that people with the spelling 'Iain' were hated and discriminated against by the 'Ian' majority. The Ian News made a brief appearance on television, in two short segments in the second series of ''

Fist of Fun ''Fist of Fun'' was a British comedy show, initially a BBC Radio 1 series in 1993 and then a BBC2 television series in 1995. It was written by and starred Lee and Herring (the comedians Stewart Lee and Richard Herring). Each episode of ''Fist o ...

''. * Roger Mann: Europe's Scariest Man featured Roger Mann reciting a ludicrous tale of the paranormal. Mann later featured in the first series of ''

TMWRNJ ''This Morning With Richard Not Judy'' or ''TMWRNJ'' Richard Herring would routinely pronounce the acronym as if the 'M' and 'W' had changed places (TWMRNJ) rather than pronouncing it as is a BBC comedy television programme, written by and starr ...

'' as Roger Crowley. * An Internet Feature, hosted by Danny O'Brien, appeared irregularly throughout the first series. O'Brien described unusual articles he had found on the internet, and listeners were asked to send in examples that they had discovered. * Parables: the series featured a handful of spoof parables, most memorably a retelling of the

Prodigal Son The Parable of the Prodigal Son (also known as the parable of the Two Brothers, Lost Son, Loving Father, or of the Forgiving Father) is one of the parables of Jesus Christ in the Bible, appearing in Luke 15:11–32. Jesus shares the parable with ...

, which also transferred to television with ''

Fist of Fun ''Fist of Fun'' was a British comedy show, initially a BBC Radio 1 series in 1993 and then a BBC2 television series in 1995. It was written by and starred Lee and Herring (the comedians Stewart Lee and Richard Herring). Each episode of ''Fist o ...

''. * The Nation's Favourite Chew Bar was a typically odd feature during the second series. Listeners were invited to vote on their favourite and least favourite chew bars. * Hearts of Paper was a spoof of the ''

Hearts of Gold ''Hearts of Gold'' was a BBC television programme devised and presented by Esther Rantzen, with Michael Groth and Carol Smillie as co-presenters. Running for six years in the 1980s and 1990s, the programme commended members of the public for the ...

'' awards and continued the theme of celebrating mediocre achievements. During the third series, listeners were invited to nominate their friends for doing vaguely admirable things, and the action judged most mediocre would be awarded a Heart of Paper.

Characters

Numerous fictional characters were introduced during the series, many of whom later transferred to television. * Simon Quinlank (Kevin Eldon): One of the most celebrated Lee and Herring characters was introduced in the very first show of the series. Quinlank was obsessed with doing hobbies, and each week he presented a short piece in which he described how to do one of them. However, he was clearly a very disturbed individual, and the hobbies described often involved criminal activities including vandalism, harassment, assault and arguably even murder. Quinlank despised 'nerds' - he made a point of belittling

trainspotters A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter (Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rail ...

and autograph hunters - but seemed oblivious to the fact that his dangerous obsessions placed him far further outside social norms than the subjects of his mockery. Indeed, as time went on, Quinlank became increasingly convinced of his own superiority, eventually proclaiming himself a God. The final radio installment revealed that Quinlank's personality was, in part, due to his overbearing, unloving and emotionless parents. The character transferred to television on ''

Fist of Fun ''Fist of Fun'' was a British comedy show, initially a BBC Radio 1 series in 1993 and then a BBC2 television series in 1995. It was written by and starred Lee and Herring (the comedians Stewart Lee and Richard Herring). Each episode of ''Fist o ...

'' and the second series of ''

TMWRNJ ''This Morning With Richard Not Judy'' or ''TMWRNJ'' Richard Herring would routinely pronounce the acronym as if the 'M' and 'W' had changed places (TWMRNJ) rather than pronouncing it as is a BBC comedy television programme, written by and starr ...

''. *

Rod Hull Rod, Ror, Ród, Rőd, Rød, Röd, ROD, or R.O.D. may refer to: Devices * Birch rod, made out of twigs from birch or other trees for corporal punishment * Ceremonial rod, used to indicate a position of authority * Connecting rod, main, coupling ...

(Kevin Eldon): Based extremely loosely upon the children's entertainer of the same name, Rod Hull first appeared in series three, during a comically feeble anti-drugs campaign featuring minor celebrities who were totally unsuited to Radio 1's demographic. Kevin Eldon apparently had a cold that particular week, and instead of an accurate Rod Hull impersonation, he produced a shrill, shrieking caricature that bore virtually no relation to the real Rod Hull. The absurdity of the character caught on, and he returned in subsequent weeks as one of Richard Herring's 'celebrity friends'. During this time, questions were continually raised as to whether the character was the real Rod Hull, or just a deranged impostor. This evolved into the incarnation of the character seen in the second series of ''

Fist of Fun ''Fist of Fun'' was a British comedy show, initially a BBC Radio 1 series in 1993 and then a BBC2 television series in 1995. It was written by and starred Lee and Herring (the comedians Stewart Lee and Richard Herring). Each episode of ''Fist o ...

'', where The False Rod Hull is an insane impersonator claiming to be the man himself. The character also made a cameo appearance in the first series of ''

TMWRNJ ''This Morning With Richard Not Judy'' or ''TMWRNJ'' Richard Herring would routinely pronounce the acronym as if the 'M' and 'W' had changed places (TWMRNJ) rather than pronouncing it as is a BBC comedy television programme, written by and starr ...

'', and was to have become a regular in the second series, but this idea was dropped after the real Rod Hull died shortly before the series began. * Mr Kennedy (Stewart Lee) and Mr Harris (Richard Herring): Two very different but equally bad teachers. Mr Harris is dedicated and hard-working, but completely unable to control or win the respect of his pupils. Mr Kennedy, on the other hand, prides himself on winning their respect, but achieves very little else: his overtly anti-establishment method of teaching only results in his students failing their exams. The characters later appeared in ''

Fist of Fun ''Fist of Fun'' was a British comedy show, initially a BBC Radio 1 series in 1993 and then a BBC2 television series in 1995. It was written by and starred Lee and Herring (the comedians Stewart Lee and Richard Herring). Each episode of ''Fist o ...

'' and ''

TMWRNJ ''This Morning With Richard Not Judy'' or ''TMWRNJ'' Richard Herring would routinely pronounce the acronym as if the 'M' and 'W' had changed places (TWMRNJ) rather than pronouncing it as is a BBC comedy television programme, written by and starr ...

''. * The Small Boy From the McCain's Oven Chip Ad (Ronni Ancona): Or, to give him his full title, The small boy from the McCain's Oven Chip ad who says "Most excellent" in a posh voice, when obviously it's only a cool thing to say if you're American and in the Bill and Ted films. This rather self explanatory character was inspired by a child actor who delivered the incongruous line in a contemporary advertisement, and was indicative of Lee and Herring's habit of seizing upon something utterly obscure and exaggerating it to absurdity. Like Rod Hull, the character appeared in Richard Herring's anti-drugs campaign, and was later shown to be one of his 'celebrity friends'. * Other characters based on real people and played by Kevin Eldon during the third series were Hunter from

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

's

Gladiators A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

(portrayed as slightly effeminate and obsessed with fairy cakes) and weatherman

Fred Talbot Frederick Wilson Talbot (born 17 December 1949) is a Scottish former television presenter. He spent much of his career in North West England. In February 2015, and again in May 2017, he was found guilty of a string of indecent sexual assaults ...

(who discovered

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...

after trying to sail his floating rubber weather map around the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

). He also played Peter's occasional - and incoherent - companion, The Old Man Who Drinks Medicine Outside Balham Tube Station.

Running gags

* The teen soap opera ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...

'', which had recently started on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

, was a constant target of ridicule. One show was introduced as ''The All New Lee and Herringoaks'', in which the presenters were replaced with poorly acted teenage versions of themselves. The most-referenced character from the series was known simply as "The blonde girl from Hollyoaks who can't act very well, but looks quite attractive from certain angles". * The animosity between the duo and 'respected playwright

Patrick Marber Patrick Albert Crispin Marber (born 19 September 1964) is an English comedian, playwright, director, actor, and screenwriter. Early life Marber was born and raised in a middle-class Jewish family in Wimbledon, London, the son of Angela (Benjam ...

' led to some digs at Marber's expense. * The duo's dislike of

political satire Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where Political discourse analysis, political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing ...

was often expressed. Lee and Herring had worked on the

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' ...

satirical sketch show ''

Week Ending ''Week Ending'' was a satirical radio current affairs sketch show broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1970 and 1998. It was devised by writer-producers Simon Brett and David Hatch and was originally hosted by '' Nationwide'' presenter Michael Ba ...

'', and harboured disdain for lazy satirists.

Rory Bremner Roderick Keith Ogilvy "Rory" Bremner,"Rory Bremner". '' Who Do You Think You Are?''. Wall to Wall for BBC One. 2 February 2009. No. 1, series 6. (born 6 April 1961) is a Scottish impressionist and comedian, noted for his work in political sati ...

was often a subject for mockery. On the rare occasions that politics was mentioned, it was always done in a deliberately inept manner:

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

was consistently referred to as John Majors.

Transmission Dates

* Series One (seven episodes): ''19 July 1994 – 29 August 1994'' * Series Two (six episodes): ''9 January 1995 – 13 February 1995'' * Series Three (six episodes): ''15 November 1995 – 20 December 1995''

External links

Stewart Lee's official website

Richard Herring's official website

{{Lee and Herring BBC Radio comedy programmes 1994 radio programme debuts