The Stanley Baxter Story

Stanley Baxter began his career during the war on the BBC Scottish Home Service, after making a name for himself doing impressions in Glasgow church halls. After a spell of National Service in the army, Stanley joined the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre, where he learnt his craft under the highly respected director Tyrone Guthrie. Another member of the Citizens' was BBC television prodcuer Jimmy Gilbert, who moved to London and invited Stanley to take part in a television revue series he was putting together in 1959. On The Bright Side was a success and Stanley was on his way.

He did several sketch series for the BBC in the years that followed but, by the mid Seventies, he was down to one minutely crafted Christmas show a year, working with the same writer, Ken Hoare, and the same director, David Bell, every time. His most recent outing was an archive Christmas special last year on ITV with one or two new sketches.

Interviewees for this documentary include Barry Cryer, Jim Moir and Stanley Baxter himself, along with many of his character creations.