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One of Britain's most popular radio, film and stage comedians, Arthur Askey
transferred with equal success to television for this long-running series, which
took its title from one of his many catchphrases. (Others included "Ay thang
yew!", "Hello, playmates!" and "Doesn't it make you want to spit!") The first
three series were broadcast on BBC between 1952 and 1955, after which the show
transferred to ITV for three more and a special at the invitation of impresario
Jack Hylton, who had been enlisted by ITV to supervise its variety output.
In his autobiography, Askey complained that the ITV shows failed to match the
standard set by the first three series, but they closely follow the same format
and have the same deliberately unrehearsed atmosphere. Each show begins with a
straight-to-camera routine featuring Askey as himself, followed by a short
sketch, a commercial break and then a single long sketch (usually some sort of
film or TV parody) taking up the entirety of part two. Askey later claimed that
the show pioneered the now standard television techniques of addressing the home
audience, fluffing lines, corpsing and stepping out of character to acknowledge
the presence of cameras and walk off the edge of the set. Like Eric Morecambe,
Askey relies hugely on asides to camera and intertextual comment for his laughs.
Mention should be made of his supporting cast. Jerry Desmonde was a splendid
comic foil and one of the best straight men in the business, best remembered for
his work with Sid Field and Norman Wisdom - appearing in most of the latter's
films. Sabrina, real name Norma Sykes, was a protégée of Askey's who had
transferred with the format from the final BBC series. Endearingly
unprofessional and, according to Askey, deliberately chosen because "she had a
lovely face and figure but could not act, sing, dance or even walk properly",
she does little more than giggle at the endless jokes about her physique. But
the show made her a celebrity, and she developed a successful cabaret act before
marrying and retiring to America. Other episodes featured June Whitfield and
Askey's daughter Anthea.
Matthew Coniam
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1. Selling a washing machine (4:38)
