COMEDY
CUNK ON BRITAIN BBC2, 10pm
Philomena Cunk (aka Diane Morgan) is one of the best characters on TV. Almost admirably stupid, she ploughs through her history of Britain with great indifference and a never-ending barrage of ridiculous questions.
Quite how Diane manages to “interview” strait-laced professors in character without so much as smirking is a mystery.
In tonight’s episode, she examines the first half of the 20th century, which featured two world wars but no World Cup.
Among other observations, she notes that the new monarch, King Edward, was not a potato – despite his name.
She then asks a First World War expert why all the soldiers were called Tommy – was it a coincidence? And there’s a baffled look from the poor interviewee as he explains that, no, the shells fired were not sea shells.
A lateral look at our history from the point of view of a quizzical child – and very funny.