Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»Comedy
    Comedy TV Shows - 1960s 2 Mins Read

    World In Ferment

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    1 9 6 9 (UK)
    6 x 30 minute episodes

    This short BBC2 comedy series was a send-up of news magazine programmes, produced by Ned Sherrin of That Was The Week That Was fame.

    The presenter, Nancy Chuff (Angela Thorne), was a sort of blonde Joan Bakewell; reporters Doug Searchbaker (Jack Shepherd) and Chris Champers (Dinsdale Landen) performed in the styles of Alan Whicker and Sheridan Morley respectively, and the resident expert Gerald Pikestaff (John Bird) looked like all the explainers on Man Alive rolled into one.

    These were all accurate enough portraits to be recognisable, but somehow too kind and too gentle to make them memorable as comic variations on the nightly news theme.

    Many of the jokes had a recurrent theme of identity confusion – civil servants imitating opera singers at the dole office, for example – and dogs who changed their breeds (bassets into poodles, old English sheepdogs into cats) but the humour never seemed to develop much beyond the basic premise.

    The highlight of the show each week was arguably Irene Handl as Madame Astoria, recalling her experiences as The First Lady of Woolworths. Unfortunately, Eleanor Bron’s everlasting folk singer, Nancy Chuff’s pretty pomposity and jokey, flashed-up subtitles didn’t really compare.

    Guests in the six episodes included Queenie Watts, Patsy Rowlands, Roy Kinnear, Dudley Moore, Wilfred Pickles, Gordon Rollings, Arthur Lowe, Dandy Nichols, Moyra Fraser and Margaret Nolan.

    Nancy Chuff
    Angela Thorne
    Chris Champers
    Dinsdale Landen
    Doug Searchbaker
    Jack Shepherd
    Gerald Pikestaff
    John Bird
    Hildegarde Schindelstein
    Eleanor Bron
    Madame Astoria
    Irene Handl

    Related Posts

    • Whicker's World
      Whicker's World
      1 9 5 9 (UK) 1 9 6 5 - 1 9 8 5 (UK) 1 9 9 0 -…
    • Alan Young Show, The
      Alan Young Show, The
      1 9 5 0 - 1 9 5 3 (USA) In 1950, when network television was still in its infancy in…
    • Good News Week
      Good News Week
      1 9 9 6 - 2 0 0 0 (Australia) 2 0 0 8 - 2 0 1 1 (Australia)…
    • Grubstreet
      Grubstreet
      1 9 7 2 - 1 9 7 3 (UK) 7 x 30 minute episodes Produced by Barry Took, the…
    • Alas Smith and Jones
      Alas Smith and Jones
      1 9 8 4 - 1 9 8 8 (UK) 43 x 30 minute episodes 1 x 60 minute special Debuting…
    • Tonight
      Tonight
      1 9 5 7 - 1 9 6 5 (UK) Tonight was broadcast every weekday, beginning in 1957 with an audience of…
    • According To Dora
      According To Dora
      1 9 6 8 - 1 9 6 9 (UK) 15 x 30 minute episodes A themed-sketch show for funny-lady Dora…
    • Thirty-Minute Theatre
      Thirty-Minute Theatre
      1 9 6 5 - 1 9 7 3 (UK) 285 x 30 minute episodes BBC2's Thirty-Minute Theatre was an attempt to…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleGalaxian
    Next Article Trinder Box

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Devil’s Playground, The (1976)
      The Devil’s Playground is set in 1953 in a seminary in […]
    • Teenage Tramp (1973)
      Kim (Alisha Fontaine) ran away from home when she was young and […]
    • Legend of Billie Jean, The (1985)
      The silly saga of an unjustly accused Texas teenager who becomes […]
    • Piglet Files, The
      1 9 9 0 – 1 9 9 2 (UK) 21 x 30 minute episodes This spy […]
    • Third Time Lucky
      1 9 8 2 (UK) 7 x 30 minute episodes This comedy series from […]
    • Saturday Superstore
      1 9 8 2 – 1 9 8 7 (UK) 142 x episodes Saturday Superstore, […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.