BBC3

1 9 6 5 – 1 9 6 6 (UK)
24 x 60 minute episodes

BBC3 was a mixture of humorous songs, sketches and newsy satire.

The son of That Was The Week That Was and a natural successor to Not So Much A Programme . . . More A Way Of Life, the series was produced and directed by Ned Sherrin.

The main presenters were Robert Robinson, Lynda Baron and John Bird, assisted by Denis Norden, Patrick Campbell, Alan Bennett, Malcolm Muggeridge, Leonard Rossiter, Bill Oddie, Roy Dotrice and John Fortune.

This late-night satire show is now chiefly remembered for allowing the first known use of the F-word on national television – An event which took place on 13 November 1965 during an interview with Kenneth Tynan about theatre censorship.

Such frank discussions mingled with sketches, filmed inserts and music in the programme plan, but the show never achieved the heights of TW3 despite employing writers like David Frost, Christopher Booker, John Mortimer and Keith Waterhouse.

A one-off special called My Father Knew Lloyd George was made by the same team and transmitted in December 1965 featuring an imaginary news scandal at the turn of the century.

Robert Robinson
John Bird
David Battley
John Fortune
Bill Oddie
Alan Bennett
Leonard Rossiter
Roy Dotrice
Harvey Orkin
Lynda Baron
Norman St John Sevas
Denis Norden
Patrick Campbell
Malcolm Muggeridge

Video