Four comedy classics that are still hilarious today

1. THE COMPLETE ROOK

The only time I saw Ronnie B unable to continue rehearsing a sketch for laughing was in this classic piece by David Nobbs. Corbett and his lady friend enter a deserted restaurant to be greeted by Barker’s gruff waiter. What follows is very simple: every item on the menu is composed of rook. Corbett: ‘I see there’s roast rook, grilled rook, steamed rook, braised rook – and what’s this? La corneille bouilli à la mode de Toulouse?’ Barker: ‘Boiled rook.’

2. MASTERMIND

Ronnie Corbett’s erudite-looking, pinstriped businessman is in the chair and Barker asks the questions, to which Corbett gives the answer to the one before, eg, ‘What would a jockey use a stirrup for?’ ‘An athletic support.’ ‘Arthur Scargill is well known for what?’ ‘He puts his foot in it.’ ‘Who was the clown who made millions laugh with his funny hair?’ ‘The leader of the mineworkers’ union.’ ‘What would a decorator use methylene chlorides to make?’ ‘Coco.’

3. FOUR CANDLES

Voted most popular Two Ronnies sketch of all time, Four Candles features Corbett as a hardware shop assistant whose patience is shredded by increasingly ambiguous requests from Barker. Was that four candles or fork handles? Garden ’ose or Os for the gate? The sketch was written by Barker, based on a real incident in a shop in Middlesex. A handwritten copy of it, fully verified by Corbett, turned up on an edition of Antiques Roadshow and was later sold for nearly £50,000.

4. THE SQUASH MATCH

The pair return to the changing room after a game of squash. Ronnie C beetroot-red, dripping with sweat, drained of all dignity in his McEnroe headband. His opponent is still fresh as a daisy, blissfully baffled by his success on the court. Barker asks: ‘How many goals did I get?’ and apologises for holding his ‘bat’ at the wrong end. ‘It’s not a bat,’ says Corbett. ‘THIS – is a RACKET!’ And in a violent rage smashes it against the bench. ‘Will it work, now you’ve done that?’ Barker asks.