BBC Radio 2 airs new British Comedy Series

A Manchester indie has produced a new four part History of British Comedy Series for Radio 2, presented by comedian David Mitchell.

In the first edition of the Made in Manchester production, to be broadcast next Tuesday, David takes listeners from 1913 to 1938 -learning about the cutting edge innovation that was the Music Hall ‘comedy turn’.

Producer Phil Collinge says: “We’re covering a hundred years in four hours, so there’s something for everybody in there – lots of laughs and more than a little social history too. Look out for how much today’s comedy can be traced back to the days of music hall too. It’s almost like a ‘six degrees of separation’ of comedy!”

The second part in the series looks at how comedy evolved between 1939 and the early 60s. The heyday of British TV comedy in the 60s and 70s is celebrated in Part 3 while the final episode brings things up to date by looking at how comedy has changed in more recent times.

Executive Producer and MIM Creative Director Ashley Byrne says: “From Dick Emery and Tommy Cooper to Hattie Jacques, Benny Hill and the Carry Ons, Made in Manchester has a strong track record producing docs in this area.

“And we’re delighted to make this special series for Radio 2 having produced so many of the network’s previous comedy icon documentaries.”