The 1980's
The maestro of the comedy sketch Paul Whitehouse continues his celebration of the genre in all its glory down the decades. This time, we're into the 1980s, when the turbulence of the new decade was reflected by a new wave of alternative comedians bursting onto our screens.
Oxbridge loomed large over many of the decade's big hitters, not least in the biting satire of Not The Nine O'Clock News – though for every savage slice of ultra-topical wit, like the racist copper sketch with Griff Rhys-Jones and Rowan Atkinson, there was always room for daftness in a poor quality gorilla suit….
The Footlights also gave us the genius of Fry & Laurie, whose early sketch comedy still stands up among the best work of their glittering careers. But elsewhere, newer, regional voices were also emerging, with the razor-sharp northern humour of Victoria Wood, the distinctly Scottish flavour of Naked Video (which gave us Gregor Fisher's iconic Rab C Nesbitt character) – and the long overdue arrival of more black talent on our screens, most notably courtesy of the young, trailblazing Lenny Henry.
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