The Story Of Light Entertainment
- TV documentary
- BBC Two
- 2006
- 8 episodes (1 series)
Stephen Fry narrates a series tracing the roots of light entertainment,
from variety to Strictly Come Dancing and all points in between. Features Stephen Fry.
Episode menu
Series 1, Episode 1 - The Double Acts
Further details
This edition looks at double acts ranging from Laurel and Hardy to Morecambe and Wise, from Reeves and Mortimer to Ant and Dec.
It asks why they work, why viewers love them so much, and why they so often end up hating each other.
Broadcast details
- Date
- Saturday 22nd July 2006
- Time
- 9:05pm
- Channel
- BBC Two
- Length
- 90 minutes
Cast & crew
| Stephen Fry | Narrator |
| Roy Hudd | Self |
| Chris Costello | Self |
| William Cook | Self |
| Doreen Wise | Self |
| Joan Morecambe | Self |
| Graham McCann | Self |
| John Ammonds (as John Ammonds MBE) | Self |
| Barry Cryer | Self |
| Lionel Blair | Self |
| Mike Winters | Self |
| Siggy Winters | Self |
| Royston Mayoh | Self |
| Joe McGrath | Self |
| Tim Brooke-Taylor | Self |
| David Baddiel | Self |
| Steve Punt | Self |
| Michael Grade | Self |
| Bill Cotton (as Sir Bill Cotton) | Self |
| David Frost (as Sir David Frost) | Self |
| Neil Shand | Self |
| Beatrice Ballard (as Bea Ballard) | Self |
| Myfanwy Moore | Self |
| Eddie Braben | Self |
| Ernest Maxin | Self |
| Wendy Cook | Self |
| Clive James | Self |
| Geoffrey Perkins | Self |
| Rena Fruchter | Self |
| David Quantick | Self |
| Dinah May | Self |
| Gary Morecambe | Self |
| Eddie Large | Self |
| Syd Little | Self |
| Bobby Ball | Self |
| Tommy Cannon | Self |
| Peter Fincham | Self |
| Rowland Rivron | Self |
| Stephen Frost | Self |
| Mark Arden | Self |
| Jon Plowman | Self |
| Paul Morley | Self |
| Vic Reeves | Self |
| Charlie Higson | Self |
| Alan Marke | Self |
| Stuart Murphy | Self |
| Jeremy Beadle | Self |
| Joe Pasquale | Self |
| Peter Cook | Self (Archive Material) |
| Andy Humphries | Director |
| Andy Humphries | Producer |
| Steven D. Wright (as Steven D Wright) | Executive Producer |
| Anna Gien | Editor |
| Rob Sylvester | Editor |
| Steven Devlin | Editor |
| Joanna Crickmay | Editor |
Press
The first episode of The Story of Light Entertainment (BBC Two, Saturday) - this week, focusing on double-acts - and the narrative felt at times like an Old Testament of primetime. As the clips rushed by in pedestrian chronology, Flanagan & Allen begat Abbott & Costello, begat Morecambe & Wise, begat Cook & Moore, begat Reeves & Mortimer, begat Little Britain. It was a Mock Family Tree. A guide to Britain's one-liner-eage.
Caitlin Moran, The Times, 24th July 2006