''The Comedians'' is a British television show of the 1970s (later reprised in the mid-1980s and early 1990s) produced by

Johnnie Hamp Johnnie Hamp (sometimes referred to as John Hamp, or Johnny Hamp) is a British television producer, now retired. He is responsible for the early British television appearances of such acts as the Beatles, Burt Bacharach, Cannon and Ball, Paul Dan ...

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

. The show gave a stage to nightclub and

working men's club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class me ...

comedians of the era, including

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 ...

Jim Bowen James Brown Whittaker (born Peter Williams; 20 August 1937 – 14 March 2018), known professionally as Jim Bowen, was an English stand-up comedian, actor and television personality. He was the long-time host of the ITV game show ''Bullseye'', ...

and

Bernard Manning Bernard John Manning (13 August 1930 – 18 June 2007) was an English comedian and nightclub owner. Manning gained a high profile on British television during the 1970s, appearing on shows such as '' The Comedians'' and ''The Wheeltappers and ...

. Filmed before a live audience in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, comics each performed 20-minute sets, which were then edited together into half-hour shows featuring up to ten stand-up comics.

Working men's club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class me ...

s were numerous in Britain, especially in the North of England and have been a useful training ground for artists, especially comedians. Most of these clubs are affiliated to the CIU (

Working Men's Club and Institute Union The Working Men's Club and Institute Union (CIU or C&IU) is a voluntary association of private members' clubs in Great Britain & Northern Ireland, with about 1,800 associate clubs. One club in the Republic of Ireland, the City of Dublin Working ...

) founded in 1862 by the Rev. Henry Solly. There are also political clubs, as well as Servicemen's Clubs affiliated to the

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ne ...

. ''The Comedians'' began as an experiment for Granada TV and was popular during the earlier series, with an LP recording of the show reaching the best-seller charts, and several sell-out national tours following, including a season at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 an ...

. The programme won the Critics' Circle Award. The comedy frequently took the form of anecdotes or jokes and often involved

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

or sexist stereotypes. Like other British comedy successes of the day, notably, ''

Love Thy Neighbour Love Thy Neighbor or Love Thy Neighbour refers to the Biblical phrase "thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" from the Book of Leviticus 19:18 in the Old Testament about the ethic of reciprocity known as the Golden Rule or the Great Commandment. ...

'', this kind of entertainment was acceptable on British television during this period but would not be so today. Viewing the series in retrospect it stands as a major social document of the times. The original series was first broadcast on 12 June 1971, a Saturday and live on-air, unusually at lunchtime on

. It was repeated on the now-defunct British satellite television channel

Plus Plus may refer to: Mathematics * Addition * +, the mathematical sign Music * ''+'' (Ed Sheeran album), (pronounced "plus"), 2011 * ''Plus'' (Cannonball Adderley Quintet album), 1961 * ''Plus'' (Matt Nathanson EP), 2003 * ''Plus'' (Martin Ga ...

Cast

Comedians appearing on the show included

(as Russ Roberts),

Lennie Bennett Michael Berry (26 September 1938 – 8 April 2009), known professionally as Lennie Bennett, was an English comedian and game show host. After attending the Palatine Secondary School in Blackpool, Bennett became a journalist for the '' West Lanc ...

, Stan Boardman,

, Jimmy Bright,

Duggie Brown Duggie Brown (born Barry Douglas Dudley; 7 August 1940 – 16 August 2022) was an English comedian and actor. He was the younger brother of actress and singer Lynne Perrie. Stage work During the early 1960s, Brown was a guitarist/vocalist in ...

, Mike Burton, Dave Butler, Brian Carroll,

Frank Carson Hugh Francis Carson KSG (6 November 1926 – 22 February 2012) was a Northern Irish comedian and actor from Belfast. He was best known for being a regular face on television for many years from the 1970s onwards, appearing in series su ...

Johnnie Casson Johnnie Casson (born 29 April 1943) is an English comedian who has appeared on numerous occasions on British television, notably on ITV's '' The Comedians'' and many guest spots on ''Des O'Connor Tonight''. Early career Casson was born 29th ...

, Eddie Colinton, Mike Coyne,

Jimmy Cricket James Mulgrew (born 17 October 1945), known professionally as Jimmy Cricket, is an Irish comedian. He first came to prominence as a comedian in the 1970s and has had his own shows on television and radio. Early life and career Cricket was bor ...

Colin Crompton George Colin Crompton (22 June 1931 – 24 August 1985) was an English stand-up comedian. Biography Crompton, born in Manchester, Lancashire, found fame on the Granada Television programme '' The Comedians'' in the early 1970s. Before his big ...

, Bob Curtiss, Pauline Daniels, Charlie Daze,

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 ...

Vince Earl Vincent Earl (born 11 June 1944) is an English singer, comedian and actor most famous for his portrayal of the character Ron Dixon in the soap opera ''Brookside'', a role which he played from 1990 until the show's demise in 2003. He was invol ...

, Steve Faye, Ray Fell, Eddie Flanagan,

Stu Francis Stuart G. G. Francis (born 30 January 1948 in Bolton, Lancashire, England) is a British comedian with a camp style of delivery who achieved celebrity as lead presenter on the children's television programme '' Crackerjack'' (1980–1984). His pr ...

, Mike Goddard (known as Mike Goodwin in the early years of the show), Ken Goodwin, Jackie Hamilton, Jerry Harris, Jimmy Jones, Mike Kelly, George King,

Bobby Knutt Robert Andrew Wass (25 November 1945 – 25 September 2017), known professionally as Bobby Knutt, was an English actor and comedian. He was known throughout his acting career for appearing as Albert Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale' ...

, Jimmy Marshall, Mike McCabe, Paul Melba, Mick Miller,

Pat Mooney Pat Roy Mooney, for more than thirty years, has worked with civil society organizations on international trade and development issues related to agriculture, biodiversity and emerging technologies. He was born and lived on the Canadian prairies f ...

, Hal Nolan, Tom O'Connor, Tom Pepper, Bryn Phillips, Don Reid, Mike Reid,

George Roper George Roper (15 May 1934 – 1 July 2003) was an English comedian, best known for his appearances in the long-running UK television series '' The Comedians''. Early history He was born George Francis Furnival in Liverpool to a working-cla ...

, Harry Scott,

Paul Shane Paul Shane (born George Frederick Speight; 19 June 1940 – 16 May 2013) was a British actor and comedian. He was known for his television work, in particular playing Ted Bovis in ''Hi-de-Hi!'', a 1980s BBC sitcom. Early life Shane was born o ...

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly sixty years. Silvers achieved major popu ...

, Pat Tansey, Sammy Thomas, Johnny Wager, Roy Walker, Jos White, Charlie Williams, Lee Wilson and Lenny Windsor. Also featured on the series were Shep's Banjo Boys, a seven-piece band comprising (for the first five series) Charlie Bentley (tenor banjo), John Drury (sousaphone), Andy Holdorf (trombone), John Orchard (piano), John Rollings (drums), Graham Shepherd (banjo) and Howard Shepherd (lead banjo). In 1973, the line-up was Mike Dexter (banjo), Tony "Tosh" Kennedy (sousaphone), Ged Martin (drums), Tony Pritchard (trombone), Graham Shepherd (banjo) and Howard "Shep" Shepherd (lead banjo).

DVD releases

The first seven series including a DVD set (containing the first seven series broadcast 1971–74) have been released on DVD by Network.

Transmissions

Specials

References

External links