Round the Horne

Round The Horne featured a parody a week, several catchphrases, and many memorable characters. The show often opened with a deadpan delivery by Horne of "the answers to last week's questions"; questions which listeners had neither heard nor knew about, and which were laced with (what were for BBC Radio at that time) incredible double entendres and sexual innuendo. After a disagreement with the BBC, Eric Merriman decided not to continue writing Beyond Our Ken and so Barry Took (who originally collaborated with Merriman) and Marty Feldman were commisioned to write a new series. Originally to be titled, It's Ken Again, it was thankfully renamed Round the Horne. Once again the show starred Kenneth Horne, with Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, and Bill Pertwee, and Douglas Smith, as announcer, became a more integral part of the performance (providing many sound effects and all the advertising for Dobbiroids!). The show ran for four seasons with one a year from 1965 - 1968. Plans were afoot for further seasons, although by this time Betty Marsden was ready to move on, and would have probably been replaced by Joan Sims, however, the untimely death of Kenneth Horne from a heart attack changed these dramatically (what finally appeared was Stop Messing About!). Horne's legacy was 66 episodes of some of the best comedy around, and it is not surprising that out of all the comedy shows on radio, the three that are regarded as the creme de la creme are The Goon Show, Hancock's Half Hour, and Round The Horne.

"First, the "Where Do You Find It?" question. Well, the answer came in several parts, as follows: wound round a sailor's leg; on top of the wardrobe; floating in the bath; under a prize bull; and in a lay-by on the Watford Bypass. At least, I found one there - couldn't use it - it was covered in verdigris. I gave it to the Scouts, actually, and they exhibit it proudly next to a daguerreotype of Baden-Powell's woggle."

The first 50 or so scripts were jointly written by Barry Took and Marty Feldman, with the last season seeing the departure of Feldman (so that he could persue his own performing career) and the involvement of Johnnie Mortimer, Brian Cooke, and Donald Webster, however, Feldman was still consulted on the Julian and Sandy sketches for the season. Musical diversion was provided by The Fraser Hayes Four (a close harmony quartet), and at various times Edwin Braden, Paul Fenoulhet and the Hornblowers, and the Max Harris Group. The entire run was produced by John Simmonds, and all shows were originally broadcast on the Light Programme (later to convert to Radio 2), with recording sessions taking place at the Paris Studios, Lower Regent Street of a Monday lunchtime.

Many thanks to Roger P and Golux for contributions to this page. 

Series 1

01. The Clissold Saga - Part 1, The Millionaire          
02. The Clissold Saga - Part 2, The Aviator 
03. The Clissold Saga - Part 3, The Pantomime Horse
04. The Clissold Saga - Part 4, The Archaeologist
05. The Clissold Saga - Part 5, The Early Films
06. The Case Of The Tap-Dancing Monk
07. Edwin Braden Is Missing 
08. Who Killed The Amazing Proudbasket
09. The Spy Who Came In With A Cold     
10. Famous People Are Turning Into Animals
11. From Russia, With Love                   
12. The Man With The Golden Thunderball
13. The Eiffel Tower Is Stolen  
14. Pirate Radio        
15. The Rocket Site In Haiti 
16. Traffic Wardens In Outer Space

Series 2

01. Big Ben is Missing 
02. Big Ben Is Still Missing
03. The Escaped War Criminal 
04. The World Cup Is Stolen
05. The Nuclear Banana
06. The Joke Thief
07. Dr McKinlay's Scrapbook
08. The Giant Mouse
09. The Curse Of The Blackstumps
10. The Portrait of Florian Thrust 
11. The Gaylords 
12. Dr Fu Man Chou En Ginsberg
13. Moby Duck 
14. The Man With The Golden Thunderball - Transcription Service Episode
15. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame

Series 3

01. The Plastic Max
02. The Three Musketeers - Part 1 
03. The Three Musketeers - Part 2 
04. Lipharvest Of The River
05. How The Bullet Proof Vest Was Won 
06. Trilby
07. The Admirable Loombucket - The Sea Cruise
08. The Admirable Loombucket - Lost Island Of Gonga 
09. The Gruntfuttock Saga
10. Gaslight Son Of Flicker
11. The Phantom Of Bogmouth Hip 
12. A Man Is Two Foot Tall
13. Young Horne With A Man
14. The Maltese Brass Monkey
15. The Big Top
16. The Muffplaster Saga - Part 1, The Discovery Of America
17. The Muffplaster Saga - Part 2, The Boxer  
18. The Muffplaster Saga - Part 3, The Bullfighter
19. The Palone Ranger  
21. The Head Of The BBC Who Came In From The Cold
22. Cinderella

Series 4
01.Dr Doosweet BA

02. Thoroughly Modern Willy

03. Frankenstein's Monster

04. The Knights Of Camelot

05. Relatively Grand Prix

06. Big Broads Don't Squeal

07. The Celluloid Jungle

08. Around The World In Ten Minutes

09. Journey To Uranus

10. Apache Story

11. Escape From Stalag Limpwrist

12. I Showed Them In Fleet Street

13. Continuum Medicum Romanum

14. Beau

15. Bona Prince Charlie

16. He, Son Of She