Latest / The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#073 Comedy on Air: Hysterical History from The Co-Optimists to Bottom
Episode 73: Comedy tonight! And comedy back then, particularly 26 April 1923...
It's a royal wedding so the BBC celebrate in style, with a gala concert, sponsored by Harrods (yes, sponsorship on the BBC!), given by The Co-Optimists, the legendary interwar comedy troupe. The cast includes Stanley Holloway (later of My Fair Lady) and, weirdly, the ex of the prince getting married. Whoops.
We also explore a landmark pre-BBC broadcast by The Co-Optimists, in the summer of 1921. It's London's first broadcast, and pretty much the only legal broadcast of 1921. We'll explain why, and you'll hear them…
The skinny
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