MAKING IT UP: Improvised comedy

As the Jane Austen-themed improvised comedy troupe Austentatious present a version of their stage show (7.15pm, Radio 4), here’s a history of ‘improv’ on the radio…

Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1988) Before it arrived on TV, the madcap series had a six-part run on Radio 4 in January 1988, before moving to Ch4 in September to start an 11-year run. It has since played in the West End.

The Masterson Inheritance (1993) Radio 4’s history-hopping family saga used talent familiar from Whose Line Is It Anyway?, such as Josie Lawrence (left) and Paul Merton (right), as well as Caroline Quentin, who went on to appear on Whose Line in 1995.

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical (2010) The masterly team of singers, musicians and comics made their Edinburgh debut in 2008, bringing their slick, improvised comedy musicals to Radio 4 for a pilot in 2010 and then a series in 2011. In 2015, the Showstoppers embarked on a ten-week run in the West End, and picked up an Olivier Award the following year.

Austentatious (2017) This whip-smart group of rising stars (including Rachel Parris, right) made their Edinburgh debut in 2012. In each performance, to musical accompaniment, they re-create a ‘lost’ Jane Austen novel inspired by a title suggested by the audience. So far, they’ve made up more than 370 of these frothy tales.