THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG

1973

STEVE RACE, the eminent musician and critic, hosted these series which explored the true stories and often bizarre origins behind some of the most popular songs of two centuries. With the use of rare recordings, personal anecdotes and illustrations on the piano, this was an exceptional Radio 2 offering.

MILES OF LONDON

1974

Two series of investigation into the shady, seedy, surprising and sometimes downright dirty parts of “unknown” London through the ages, conducted by LORD BERNARD MILES with musical illustrations by The Barrow Poets.

WIT’S END

1975-1980

Pure, unalloyed joy - a ridiculous excuse for a panel game hosted by LANCE PERCIVAL which gave club comedians from all over the country the chance to shine and tell as many gags as they could within half an hour. Taking part were such comic legends as: JIMMY MARSHALL, GEORGE ROPER, KENNY SMILES, DAVE ISMAY, DON MACLEAN, TONY PEERS, MIKE NEWMAN... and early appearances from JIM DAVIDSON and LENNY HENRY.

THE NEWS QUIZ

1977-?

Now a BBC institution having survived thirty years on air, The News Quiz began its life with BARRY NORMAN in the chair.

It was invented by john lloyd and myself and the only argument we ever had was about the title. I wanted to call the show “Keep Taking The Tabloids”. John’s more prosaic “The News Quiz” won the day. How the world turns.

Subsequent hosts were BARRY TOOK and SIMON HOGGART before the present incumbent SANDI TOKSVIG took the helm.

Over these many, many years and many, many stories and many, many cuttings from the newspapers, the show has had an unrivalled collection of journalists and newsmakers, all of whom have contributed their own style: ALAN COREN, RICHARD INGRAMS, JOHN WELLS, PETER COOK, MICHAEL BYWATER, STAN Mcmurtry (‘Mac’ of the Daily Mail), CLIVE ANDERSON, BORIS JOHNSON, CHARLES KENNEDY, MOIRA STUART, JOAN BAKEWELL... and the list goes on.

The current regulars are ANDY HAMILTON, JEREMY HARDY and FRANCIS WHEEN.

THE LAW GAME

1975-1978

SHAW TAYLOR (ex of Police 5) presided over this confection in which a troupe of seasoned BBC Repertory Company performers acted out a series of sketches, all of which led to a point of law which a celebrity panel had to uncover. Panellists included GABRIELLE DRAKE, PATRICK MOWER, WILLIE RUSHTON, TIM BROOKE-TAYLOR, JOHNNY MORRIS and many more.

JUMP!

1978-1982

The wonderful JOHN JUNKIN was the inventor and host for this brain-taxing game on Radio 2. The teams taking part were offered a sound clue and then the fourth of four questions, all of which linked logically back to the clue. They were asked to come up with the answer and justify it. Brilliant, improvised invention was the result from such luminaries as WILLIE RUSHTON, BILL TIDY, JULIA McKENZIE and ‘the lovely AIMI MACDONALD.’

PUNCH - NOW A MAJOR RADIO SHOW

1980

From the writings of Punch Magazine over the years, ALAN COREN adapted his own offbeat collection of musings that were given life by a brilliant team of actors and guests who played themselves.

JEREMY BEADLE’S NIGHTCAP

1981-1982

A late-night blend of guests, chat, games, features, music and silliness conducted by JEREMY BEADLE for Radio 2. Live from 11:00pm till 1:00am the following morning.

MEDIUM DRY SHERRIN

1979-1980

Two series of brilliant chat and music from the master of it all, broadcast live from the old Quaglino’s restaurant in London. Guests over the two series included DIANA RIGG, JOAN COLLINS, REGINALD BOSANQUET, BERNARD LEVIN, GERARD KENNY, DENNIS WATERMAN, ANDREW SACHS and so many more...