Laughter Show, The

1 9 8 4 – 1 9 9 1 (UK)
51 x 30 minute episodes

Dustin Gee and Les Dennis first met on Who Do You Do? in 1975 and formed a comedy double act.

In 1984, BBC 1 gave the pair their own show, The Laughter Show, where they were joined by comedians Roy “spook” Jay and Caroline Dennis.

The show relied heavily on quick-fire comedy sketches, musical numbers, and celebrity impressions, including Dennis and Gee’s drag impersonation of Coronation Street housewives, with Dustin Gee as a loud, brassy Vera Duckworth alongside Les Dennis’s timid, over-anxious Mavis Riley.

Dustin Gee died suddenly of a heart attack on 3 January 1986, shortly before transmission of the third series, which had already been recorded.

The series continued with Dennis, retitled from 1987 onwards as The Les Dennis Laughter Show.

Guests who appeared on the show included David Copperfield, David Essex, Hale & Pace, Lorraine Chase, Brian Conley, Su Pollard, Shakin’ Stevens, Nik Kershaw, The Black Abbotts, Larry Grayson, Bella Emberg, Roy Walker, Graeme Garden, Joe Longthorne, Lisa Maxwell, Mark Heap, Mark Saban, Brian Glover, George Layton, Burt Kwouk, Roy Hudd, Ed Bishop, Eamonn Walker, Gorden Kaye, Shane Richie, Mike Reid, John Junkin, and Sherrie Hewson.

Video