That Mitchell & Webb Sound. Image shows from L to R: Robert Webb, David Mitchell. Image credit: British Broadcasting Corporation.

That Mitchell & Webb Sound
That Mitchell & Webb Sound. Image shows from L to R: Robert Webb, David Mitchell. Image credit: British Broadcasting Corporation.

That Mitchell & Webb Sound

Radio sketch series starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb which laid the foundations for their TV sketch show, That Mitchell and Webb Look

AKA:
That Mitchell And Webb Sound
Genre:
Sketch Show
Broadcast:
2003 - 2009  (BBC Radio 4)
Episodes:
24 (4 series)
Starring:
David Mitchell, Robert Webb, Olivia Colman, James Bachman, Sarah Hadland
Writers:
David Mitchell, Robert Webb, James Bachman, Mark Evans, Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Chris Reddy, John Finnemore, Jonathan Dryden-Taylor, David Quantick, Simon Kane
Production:
British Broadcasting Corporation

Before That Mitchell And Webb Look, David Mitchell and Robert Webb starred in this BBC Radio 4 series. It featured many sketches that TV viewers will now be familar with.

That Mitchell & Webb Sound is the birthplace of Numberwang, the Party Planners, the Lazy Film Writers, Big Talk, Ted and Peter the snooker commentators, and The Surprising Adventures of Sir Digby Chicken-Ceaser (originally called Sir Digby Ceaser-Salad). It is also home to several sketches yet to transfer to television, such as arts programme Imagine That and the late-night DJ, Adrian Locket.

New sketches in the fourth series include The Old Lady Hearings, in which everyone has to explain what they do to a panel of old ladies who then decide if it's a proper job or not; Brown's Orthopedic Supplies, a very ordinary office that just happens to have among its office equipment a portal to another universe - if only the staff would use it responsibly and not just nip through it for a crafty fag; and a show on under-5s' TV channel CBeebies hosted by Christopher Hitchins.

Our Review: For fans of That Mitchell And Webb Look, this Sony award-winning radio show is more than worthy of note: many of the duo's most famous creations (for example, the self-questioning Nazis) began life in this series.

A fairly prevalent view amongst fans is that many sketches, such as the snooker commentators, actually work better on the radio - so if you're a fan of That Mitchell And Webb Look, definitely seek out these radio episodes too.