The Story of Light Entertainment

In the 1930s and 1940s the biggest names in entertainment were the stars of the radio and over 60 years later it is still home to some of the biggest names around. But why does radio still appeal to TV stars like Jonathan Ross, Chris Evans, Michael Parkinson, Ricky Gervais and Terry Wogan? Maybe it's because radio is the real hotbed of ideas that television feeds from. This episode shows why the old-fashioned wireless has survived and flourished in the face of competition from television. It looks at what radio entertainers have given to TV over the decades and at the talent from TV that has invigorated radio. We discover how radio can be as ruthless and unforgiving as anywhere else in the entertainment world and the truth about those who got burned along the way.

The great double acts have always been at the heart of light entertainment. They have endured through every twist and turn in the story of showbusiness, but behind the smiles, the dance routines, the jokes and the songs there is a whole other world of intense pressure and anxiety. This episode looks at all the double acts from Laurel and Hardy to Ant and Dec. Why do they work? Why do we love them? And why do they so often end up hating each other? It examines the comedy gold produced by legendary double acts like Morecambe and Wise and Reeves and Mortimer, as well the bitter feuds and fall-outs of Mike and Bernie Winters, Cannon and Ball and Newman and Baddiel.

Straight from the Victorian music halls with their traditional mix of song, dance and comic skit came the tradition of the all round entertainer - an artiste who could 'do it all'. But despite this incredible mix of skills and after ruling the world of light entertainment for years, their chief mode of employment was to become hosts of variety shows, game shows, quizzes and competitions. And whilst an obvious waste of their talents, it did provide huge fame and money, as game shows quickly became the biggest hits on TV. But the all round entertainers are the masters of reinvention - from Bruce Forsyth to Michael Barrymore and Bob Monkhouse to Cilla Black, they adapted their skills to keep their place at the top of the slippery showbiz ladder, even as reality TV took hold of the schedules and fame rather than talent became a passport to TV stardom. Becoming a jack of all trades brings its own problems however and unappreciated talents, fragile egos and a craving for attention have forever blighted the world of the all rounder.

In the 21st century, comedy is firmly at the very heart of light entertainment and, far from struggling for their art, comedians stand to make a fortune if they hit the nation's funny bone. Laughter is now a very big business, but it wasn't always like this - back in the early days of music hall, the comic was the lowest of the low in the showbiz world. This episode charts the comedian's meteoric rise to the top, examining the careers and lives of comedy legends past and present. From the music hall antics of Edwardian surrealist comic Little Titch to the modern-day surrealism of Little Britain, it presents a unique insight into the lives and minds of the finest comedians the UK has ever seen. It traces the enormous influence the northern working men's clubs had on British comedy, examines the alternative comedy movement which fought against sexism and racism, and uncovers the private sadness and inner torment of many of the greatest laughter-makers from Frankie Howerd to Tony Hancock.

Music had always been at the heart of variety, encompassing everything from operetta and balladeers to big bands and crooners, but in the 1950s rock 'n' roll and pop arrived on the scene, the concept of the teenager was born and things became more divided. Television didn't really know how to cope with pop - so the viewer in the 60s was fed a diet of Val Doonican and Engelbert Humperdinck, and Top of the Pops was predicted to be a flash in the pan. During the 70s bona fide pop stars such as Cilla and Cliff hosted their own Saturday night shows until punk reared its head and split the scene once again. The 80s and 90s saw pop in the clutches of the young and cool, and families didn't gather round to watch shows like The Tube and The White Room, but a new century saw the situation change yet again. Now, after years in the wilderness, pop has made a triumphant return to Saturday night TV screens. Popstars, Pop Idol and X Factor are light entertainment's success stories. This is the story of pop music's journey back to the heart of light entertainment.

Sixty years ago impressionists were the poor relations of comedy and relatively small players in radio and variety, but since the birth of the genre as we know it, impressionism has continually pushed boundaries in an attempt to make us laugh with its audacity. Those with the ability to imitate others' vocal patterns and physical mannerisms have long delighted audiences. Peter Cavanagh, billed as 'the voice of them all', was a huge 1940s star of stage and radio, but it was in the 1950s and 60s when their victims (showbiz celebrities, politicians and other public personalities) became well known enough through television that the impressionists enjoyed their greatest success. Whether it was the shockingly satirical impersonation of Harold Macmillan by the likes of Peter Cook and John Bird, the more benign interpretations of Mike Yarwood, the character-type impersonations of Dick Emery or the sharp satirical wit of Spitting Image, impressionists became increasingly popular. Even today, with the glory days of Yarwood long gone, impressionists like Jon Culshaw, Rory Bremner, Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona prove how powerful mimicry can be when used cleverly. In the ultra-competitive world of comedy, impressionists have fought against the inherent snobbery to become some of the coolest, cleverest and most shocking acts in the entertainment schedules.

The chat show is one of light entertainment's most successful and most enduring formats. This programme takes in everything from tearful celebs and transatlantic flights to fake guests and drunken brawls, from the Gestapo-like questioning on Face to Face to Jerry Springer's 'prostitutes v pimps', showing just how the chat show format has entertained and influenced the emotional make-up of the British public. It explores how the chat show often gives rise to some of the most controversial and stimulating TV ever and traces the evolution of the format from Steve Allen and Johnny Carson to Graham Norton and Paul O'Grady. Plus, there is a look at the explosion of 'confessional' TV and how, after the cynical celebrity plugging of the 80s, producers were forced to look to the revolutionary changes afoot in the US in a bid to save the format. The programme also shows how the chat show has evolved, why the public now look for something a little bit extra from their celebrity interviews, how the comedy chat shows like Mrs Merton became every bit as successful as the genre that provided their comedy, and asks what the next evolution of the chat show will bring.

Stephen Fry narrates a series tracing the roots of light entertainment, from variety to Strictly Come Dancing and all points in between. In this episode the focus is on variety shows. In the past, singers and comedians may have topped bills but it was the 'allied acts' - such as magicians, ventriloquists, tumblers, jugglers, acrobats, paper-tearers and dance acts - that made the shows so memorable. But by the mid 80s, almost all these skills were banished from our screens. Television talent shows are making a come back though due to the popularity of performers such as David Blaine and the Cirque du Soleil.