HORNERAMA

Derek Lamb celebrates Round the Horne, the radio comedy first broadcast 60 years ago

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BC Radio comedy made a significant contribution to public morale during World War Two. Post 1945 shows including The Goon Show, Take It from Here, and Educating Archie continued to attract listeners in their tens of millions. However, by the late 1950s, with the widespread ownership of television, the quantity and quality of radio comedy began to decline. Fortunately, the trend was bucked between 1958 and 1968 by two Kenneth Horne shows, Beyond Our Ken (1958-64) and Round the Horne (1965-68). Both were broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on Sunday afternoons, when radio listening remained a fixture in most households.

Round the Horne was the most popular of the two and its 60 episodes are regularly repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra. However, its success owes a considerable debt to Beyond Our Ken. The formats were similar: pacey, clever and slightly edgy. Kenneth Horne was essentially the straight man, orbited by a range of distinctive characters. After the first series, the cast remained as Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, and Bill Pertwee, with Douglas Smith as the announcer.

Most episodes were written by Eric Merriman and the script was heavy with puns, near puns and engaging character catchphrases. A regular feature was Hornerama (a parody of Panorama), with a panel discussion of a topical issue. The best-known panellist was Arthur Fallowfield, a Somerset farmer, who always began his response with: “Well, I think the answer lies in the soil.”

Inarticulate and gormless popstar Ricky Livid’s reply usually included: “Well, I like the backing,” confusing Hornerama with Juke Box Jury. Other regulars included Hankie Flowered and Fanny Haddock.