''The Russ Abbot Show'' is a British television

sketch comedy 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 ...

series which stars

Russ Abbot Russ Abbot (born Russell Allan Roberts; 18 September 1947) is an English musician, comedian and actor. Born in Chester, he first came to public notice during the 1970s as the singer and drummer with British comedy showband the Black Abbots, la ...

and ran for 16 years on television before moving over to Radio 2 for a further five years.

History

The series originated as ''The

Freddie Starr Freddie Starr (born Frederick Leslie Fowell; 9 January 1943 – 9 May 2019) was an English stand up comedian, impressionist, singer and actor. Starr was the lead singer of Merseybeat rock and roll group the Midniters during the early 1960s, and ...

Variety Madhouse''; with Russ Abbot, Mike Newman, Toni Palmer, Norman Collier and

Bella Emberg Bella Emberg (born Sybil Dyke; 16 September 1937 – 12 January 2018) was an English comedy actress whose television career spanned 60 years. Early life and career Emberg was born in Brighton and grew up wanting to be an entertainer. Her profes ...

. After one series in 1979, Freddie Starr left and the show was repackaged as "Russ Abbot's Madhouse" premiering on 12 April 1980, with Liz Smith,

Dustin Gee Gerald Harrison (24 June 1942 – 3 January 1986), who performed under the name Dustin Gee, was a British impressionist and comedian, best known for his double act with Les Dennis. Early life and career Born Gerald Harrison in York, on Wednes ...

, Nicky Croydon and Billy Hartman joining the cast. From the 1981 series there was a major cast upheaval, with many of the cast being replaced, with the new lineup being Dustin Gee, Bella Emberg,

Susie Blake Susie Blake (born 19 April 1950) is an English television, radio and stage actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the snobbish TV announcer in '' Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV'' and Bev Unwin in ''Coronation Street'', which she played ...

Sherrie Hewson Sherrie Lynn Hutchinson (born 17 September 1950) is an English actress, television personality and novelist. She is known for her roles as Maureen Holdsworth in ''Coronation Street'' (1993–1997, 2006), Virginia Raven in ''Crossroads'' (2001– ...

Jeffrey Holland Jeffrey Holland may refer to: *Jeffrey Holland (actor) (born 1946), English television actor *Jeffrey R. Holland (born 1940), American educator and leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints *Jeffrey Scott Holland (born 1966), Americ ...

, Patti Gold, and

Michael Barrymore Michael Ciaran Parker (born 4 May 1952), known by his stage name Michael Barrymore, is an English actor, comedian and television presenter of game shows and light entertainment programmes on British television in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Th ...

Les Dennis Leslie Dennis Heseltine (born 12 October 1953) is an English television presenter, actor, and comedian. He presented ''Family Fortunes'' from 1987 until 2002. Early life Dennis was born Leslie Dennis Heseltine on 12 October 1953 in the Liverpoo ...

joined in Series 3 and Michael Barrymore left in Series 4. In 1986 the series was transferred over to the BBC, where it was renamed ''The Russ Abbot Show'', and featured Dennis, Emberg, Hewson, Holland, Suzi Aitchison, Tom Bright,

Maggie Moone Maggie Moone (Sandra Lippitt) is a British singer, best remembered for her role on the UK version of ''Name That Tune''. Sandra Lippitt was born in Birmingham, on 5 July 1953 to a fireman father. In 1978, Moone released "I'll Put You Together ...

, Paul Shearer, and Lisa Maxwell. In 1991 allegedly the BBC was heard to announce at the Montreux Television Festival that Abbot no longer represented what the audience wanted to see on their screens and the series transferred to ITV. After the final television series in 1996, the series moved to

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

for 50 episodes from November 1997 to February 2002.

Format

The series showcased Abbot's talents as an all round entertainer and included characters such as Basildon Bond, a

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

parody; 'Cooperman', a cross between

Tommy Cooper Thomas Frederick Cooper (19 March 1921 – 15 April 1984) was a Welsh prop comedian and magician. As an entertainer, his appearance was large and lumbering at , and he habitually wore a red fez when performing. He served in the British Army f ...

and

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

; and C.U. Jimmy, a virtually unintelligible, red-headed, kilt-wearing Scotsman. The programme attracted millions of viewers weekly. The show was popular amongst younger viewers, prompting two annuals to be published in 1982 and 1983. The annuals featured

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

s based on popular characters Abbot had created in the various series of the show. It was also notable for its "Tears of laughter" theme song, which played at the start and end of the show. The stop-motion animated titles were produced by 3 Peach Animation.

Russ Abbot's Madhouse

* Series 1: 12 April – 31 May 1980. 7 Episodes * Series 2: 13 June – 1 August 1981. 8 Episodes * Series 3: 17 July – 21 August 1982. 6 Episodes * Series 4: 23 April – 28 May 1983. 6 Episodes * Series 5: 22 October – 26 November 1983. 6 Episodes * Series 6: 30 June – 4 August 1984. 6 Episodes * Series 7: 31 August – 5 October 1985. 6 Episodes

Specials

* 1. Russ Abbot and a Show of his Very Own: 2 Jan 81 * 2. Russ Abbot's Christmas Madhouse: 26 Dec 1981 * 3. Russ Abbot's Madhouse Annual: 7 Nov 1982 * 4. Russ Abbot's Hogmanay Lighthouse: 31 Dec 1982 * 5. Russ Abbot's Christmas Madhouse: 22 Dec 1984 * 6. Russ Abbot's Summer Madhouse: 29 June 1985

The Russ Abbot Show

Eight series were made of The Russ Abbot Show, between 1986 and 1996.

BBC Series

* Spring special: 26 May 1986 * Series 1: 13 September – 25 October 1986: 8 Episodes * Christmas special: 25 December 1986 * Series 2: 12 September – 31 October 1987: 8 Episodes * Christmas special: 25 December 1987 * Series 3: 3 September – 28 October 1988: 8 Episodes * Christmas special: 25 December 1988 * Series 4: 2 September – 18 November 1989: 12 Episodes * Christmas special: 25 December 1989 * Series 5: 1 September – 17 November 1990: 12 Episodes * Christmas special: 26 December 1990 * Series 6: 6 September – 29 November 1991: 12 Episodes

ITV Series

* Series 7: 5 September – 17 October 1994: 7 Episodes * Series 8: 10 July – 21 August 1995: 7 Episodes * Christmas Special – 26 December 1996

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Russ Abbot Show, The 1980 British television series debuts 1996 British television series endings 1980s British television sketch shows 1990s British television sketch shows BBC Radio comedy programmes BBC television sketch shows English-language television shows ITV sketch shows Television shows produced by Granada Television Television series by ITV Studios