Monday, 5th April 2021 at 8:00 am
It was a world of Fork Handles and Raspberry Blowers, one that rejoiced in witty wordplay and made a mockery of social norms, and its floodgates of fun opened on 10th April 1971.
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Following The Saturday Western and before A Man Called Ironside, The Two Ronnies brought together the immense individual talents of Ronnies Barker and Corbett on the suggestion of BBC head of light entertainment Bill Cotton.
Their packed programme of colourful comedy came to be synonymous with Saturday nights on BBC One (though it did flirt with Thursdays and BBC Two for a few series). When I hear the big-band, “you’re in for a good time” theme tune by Ronnie Hazlehurst now, it brings back a flood of happy memories: two suited gentlemen sitting behind a desk to open the show; a few snappy two-handers founded on a quickly established theme; Barker punching out a monologue with breathtaking precision; the occasional “Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Barbara Dickson”; an arm-chaired Corbett with his Olympian digressions; an all-singing, sometimes-dancing finale; and of course a few late items of news.