Sorry, I haven’t a clue why golden age is forgotten

THE alternative panel game I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue has been named the greatest radio comedy programme of all time by experts who chose from a list made by Radio Times listeners.

There can be few arguments to the contrary for a series that has been running since 1972, gave us Mornington Crescent and had brilliant

Humphrey Lyttelton as chairman. I was happy to see Hancock’s Half Hour was next, followed by Round The Horne, with The Goon Show also in the top 10. A lot of the rest left me wondering what I had missed: On The Hour (1990s), Mark Steel’s In Town (still running), Blue Jam (1990s) and John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme.

It made me realise radio comedy has become elitist. My golden age of the wireless was between the 1940s and 1960s, with brilliant comedy from the likes of Al Read and with Jon Pertwee, Peter Sellers and Kenneth Williams turning up in the background doing silly voices.

Life With The Lyons, Ray’s A

Laugh and Take It From Here hogged Sunday lunchtime broadcasts so effectively, I still associate Bisto gravy with laughter.

Arthur Askey can be said to have invented the radio comedy format in 1938 with Bandwagon, which became the first comedy show to have regular scheduling with the same time slot on the same day of the week. The pint-sized comic pretended to live in a flat on the roof of Broadcasting House in London.

ITMA was a national institution during the war. The acronym stood for It’s That Man Again, which referred to both the star of the show, Tommy Handley, and how newspapers alluded to Adolf Hitler. Handley, and a motley collection of characters, mocked the Fuhrer and the German war effort.

I have no problem with the Radio Times choice of best radio comedy shows but, in a list that reflects greatest of all time, it would be nice to give honourable mentions to those that set standards all those years ago.