This superb Enid Blyton “Famous Five” parody from The Comic Strip Presents… was broadcast on the opening night of Britain’s Channel 4 (2 November 1982) with “lashings of ginger beer”.
Set in the 1950s, four children – Anne (Jennifer Saunders), described as a “proper little housewife”, rather butch George (Dawn French) who has an unhealthy relationship with her dog Timmy (who is “so licky”), and their brothers Dick (Adrian Edmondson) and Julian (Peter Richardson), whose relationship seems to be more than fraternal – go on a cycling holiday in Dorset during their Summer Hols.
Discovering that their Uncle Quentin (Ronald Allen), a famous scientist, has been kidnapped again, their flair for detection, plus their snobbery, racism, prejudice and xenophobia, leads to a whole string of suspicious characters being arrested.
Along the way, the four encounter spoilt rich kid Toby (Daniel Peacock), who grates on the gang with his manners and absurd wealth.
It eventually transpires that Uncle Quentin’s “kidnapping” was staged to escape Aunt Fanny and live freely as a “screaming homosexual”.
The show attracted 3.4 million viewers but drew complaints over its provocative humour, especially its jabs at the upper-middle-class values that Enid Blyton’s work embraced.
Surprisingly, Blyton’s estate approved the production, showing a surprising tolerance for the subversion of her work’s earnestness.
The Comic Strip series would go on to become a touchstone of British TV comedy, influencing everything from The Young Ones to Absolutely Fabulous and giving birth to stars who shaped the comedy landscape for decades.
Julian
Peter Richardson Dick
Adrian Edmondson George
Dawn French Anne
Jennifer Saunders Uncle Quentin
Ronald Allen Aunt Fanny
Sandra Dorne Toby Thurlow
Daniel Peacock Dirty Dick
Ron Tarr Fingers
Nosher Powell Gypsy
Robbie Coltrane Police Inspector
Raymond Francis Timmy
Bimbo
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Set in the 1950s, four children – Anne (Jennifer Saunders), described as a “proper little housewife”, rather butch George (Dawn French) who has an unhealthy relationship with her dog Timmy (who is “so licky”), and their brothers Dick (Adrian Edmondson) and Julian (Peter Richardson), whose relationship seems to be more than fraternal – go on a cycling holiday in Dorset during their Summer Hols.
It eventually transpires that Uncle Quentin’s “kidnapping” was staged to escape Aunt Fanny and live freely as a “screaming homosexual”.
