Paul Whitehouse's Sketch Show Years: Season 1, Episode 1

1 - 1: The 1970's:

Paul Whitehouse begins his celebration of sketch shows with its roots in music hall and post-war radio, including live radio performances from Tommy Handley and his gang, gloriously baffling to us now, but they paved the way for short-form comedy's growth in years to come – and clearly influenced Paul's own Arthur Atkinson character.

And influences loom large across the whole series, not least the Monty Python troupe, whose surrealist sketches truly pushed the boundaries of TV comedy. They arrived as the 60s were ending – but in the years that followed truly became the rock & roll comedy for Paul and his generation – something mums and dads couldn't possibly understand… This episode features freshly remastered Python material shown for the very first time.

Elsewhere, across primetime TV, a whole new legion of household names rose up - Dick Emery, Benny Hill, The Two Ronnies and The Goodies. The 70s were rightly hailed as the start of TV comedy's golden era.