Round the Horne

Four series and 67 episodes, from 1965 to 1968, that still sound outrageous. Kenneth Horne plays the unflappable straight man while Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick and Betty Marsden throw every character and innuendo the BBC would allow at him, in scripts created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman. The best-loved sketches feature Julian and Sandy, played by Paddick and Williams, whose camp double act introduced the gay slang Polari to BBC listeners. Some of the period parodies have faded, but the wordplay and the sheer cheek have not, which makes this the best single starting point for older radio comedy.