Beyond Our Ken
Encyclopedia
Beyond Our Ken was a radio
comedy programme, the predecessor to Round the Horne
(1965–1968). Both programmes starred Kenneth Horne
, Kenneth Williams
, Hugh Paddick
, Betty Marsden
and Bill Pertwee
, with announcer Douglas Smith. Musical accompaniment was provided by the BBC Revue Orchestra. The name is a pun
on Kenneth Horne's name and the (now mainly Scots
/Scottish English
) word ken, meaning 'knowledge or perception'.
had previously written material for Kenneth Horne on Henry Hall
's Guest Night and Variety Playhouse and written some stand up comedy material for Barry Took
. In June 1957 the BBC
Radio Variety department asked Merriman to come up with an idea for a radio series starring Horne. Merriman devised a format for the show with the working title Don't Look Now. The original memo on the subject still exists in the BBC archives.
The proposal was for a solo comedy series based on a formula of a fictional week in the life of Kenneth Horne. Other memos from the BBC archive show how the proposed format evolved and the discussion of alternative titles (including Around the Horne).
The script for the pilot was written by Eric Merriman and Barry Took, and recorded on 2 October, 1957. The supporting cast included Pat Lancaster, Betty Marsden, Ron Moody
, Hugh Paddick and Kenneth Williams. It was very well received by the studio audience and the BBC agreed to proceed with a series.
The project was put on hold in February 1958 after Kenneth Horne suffered a stroke
which left him partially paralysed. However he made a rapid recovery and was left with only a slight limp.
Work on the series resumed within months but with a very tight budget of only £285 per episode.
Series 1
The first edition of Beyond Our Ken was broadcast on 1 July, 1958.
Series 1 ran for 21 episodes plus a Christmas special. The scripts were written by Eric Merriman and Barry Took. The cast was Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, Ron Moody, Stanley Unwin
(for the first episode only), announcer Douglas Smith with music by Patricia Lancaster, the Malcolm Mitchell Trio and the BBC Revue Orchestra. The Malcolm Mitchell Trio was replaced by the Fraser Hayes Four
from the 17th episode. The producer was Jacques Brown
, except for episodes 20 and 21 which were produced by Charles Maxwell.
Series 2
Series 2 ran for 20 episodes from 19 March, 1959 plus a Christmas special. The scripts were written by Eric Merriman and Barry Took. The cast was Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, Bill Pertwee, announcer Douglas Smith with music by Patricia Lancaster, the Fraser Hayes Four, Edwin Braden and the BBC Revue Orchestra. The producer was Jacques Brown.
Series 3
Series 3 ran for 14 episodes from 19 April, 1960. The scripts were written by Eric Merriman after Barry Took left over a disagreement. The cast was Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, Patricia Lancaster, Bill Pertwee, Janet Waters, announcer Douglas Smith with music by Patricia Lancaster, the Fraser Hayes Four, the Hornets, Edwin Braden and the BBC Revue Orchestra. The producer was Jacques Brown.
Series 4
Series 4 ran for 20 episodes from 20 October, 1960. The scripts were written by Eric Merriman. The cast was Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, Bill Pertwee, announcer Douglas Smith with music by Patricia Lancaster, Edwin Braden, the Fraser Hayes Four and the BBC Revue Orchestra. The producer was Jacques Brown.
Series 5
Series 5 ran for 20 episodes from 12 October, 1961. The scripts were written by Eric Merriman. The cast was Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, Bill Pertwee, announcer Douglas Smith with music by Jill Day
, Edwin Braden, the Fraser Hayes Four and the BBC Revue Orchestra. The producer was Jacques Brown.
Series 6
Series 6 ran for 13 episodes from 27 December, 1962. The scripts were written by Eric Merriman. The cast was Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, Bill Pertwee, announcer Douglas Smith with music by Eileen Gourlay, Edwin Braden, the Fraser Hayes Four and the BBC Revue Orchestra. The producer was John Simmonds.
Series 7
Series 7 ran for 13 episodes from 24 November, 1964. The scripts were written by Eric Merriman. The cast was Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, Bill Pertwee, announcer Douglas Smith with music by Eileen Gourlay, Edwin Braden, the Fraser Hayes Four and the BBC Revue Orchestra. The producer was John Simmonds.
, for instance Betty Marsden's Fanny Haddock (which parodied Fanny Cradock
). It was also notable for Pertwee's Frankie Howerd
impersonation, Hankie Flowered, and Hugh Paddick's working-class pop singer Ricky Livid - the name being a mickey-take on contemporary pop singers' stage names such as Marty Wilde
and Billy Fury
. Another favourite was Kenneth Williams' country character, Arthur Fallowfield, who was based on Dorset farmer Ralph Wightman, a regular contributor to the BBC radio programme "Any Questions?" Fallowfield's lines were full of innuendo
and double entendre
- on one occasion Horne introduced him as the man who put the sex in Sussex. Fallowfield's reply to any question began: "Well, I think the answer lies in the soil!" On one occasion, Paddick's character Stanley Birkenshaw, aka "Dentures", who would re-appear in Round the Horne, gave a noble and rather damp version of Hamlet
's soliloquy: 'To be or not to be, that issssssssssh the quesssssssssshtion...'
Williams and Paddick also played a couple of camp men-about-town, Rodney and Charles, in many ways (although not as extreme), a precursor of Julian and Sandy in Round The Horne.
, to write a new series with the same cast which became Round the Horne and was one of the most popular and influential shows of its day, despite having a shorter run. Without Beyond Our Ken, Round the Horne would not have existed.
in box sets, one per season.
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
comedy programme, the predecessor to Round the Horne
Round the Horne
Round the Horne was a BBC Radio comedy programme, transmitted in four series of weekly episodes from 1965 until 1968. The series was created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman - with others contributing to later series after Feldman returned to performing — and starred Kenneth Horne, with Kenneth...
(1965–1968). Both programmes starred Kenneth Horne
Kenneth Horne
Kenneth Horne was an English comedian and businessman. The son of a clergyman and politician, he combined a successful business career with regular broadcasting for the BBC. His first hit series Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh written with his co-star Richard Murdoch arose out of his wartime service as...
, Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
, Hugh Paddick
Hugh Paddick
Hugh William Paddick was an English actor, whose most notable role was in the 1960s BBC radio show Round the Horne in sketches such as Charles and Fiona and Julian and Sandy...
, Betty Marsden
Betty Marsden
Betty Marsden was an English comedy actress.Originally from Liverpool, she attended the Italia Conti Stage School and ENSA.In the radio series Beyond Our Ken, she played Fanny Haddock, a takeoff of Fanny Cradock...
and Bill Pertwee
Bill Pertwee
William Desmond Anthony Pertwee MBE is a British comedy actor. He is best known for playing the part of antagonist ARP Warden Hodges in the popular sitcom Dad's Army.-Early and personal life:...
, with announcer Douglas Smith. Musical accompaniment was provided by the BBC Revue Orchestra. The name is a pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
on Kenneth Horne's name and the (now mainly Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
/Scottish English
Scottish English
Scottish English refers to the varieties of English spoken in Scotland. It may or may not be considered distinct from the Scots language. It is always considered distinct from Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic language....
) word ken, meaning 'knowledge or perception'.
Background
Eric MerrimanEric Merriman
Eric Hugh Peter Merriman was a prolific British radio and television writer, who provided material for comedians including Frankie Howerd, Terry Scott and Morecambe and Wise....
had previously written material for Kenneth Horne on Henry Hall
Henry Hall (bandleader)
Henry Hall was a British bandleader. He played from the 1920s to the 1950s.-Biography:Henry Hall was born in Peckham, South London and served in both the Salvation Army and the British Army...
's Guest Night and Variety Playhouse and written some stand up comedy material for Barry Took
Barry Took
Barry Took was an English comedian, writer and television presenter. He is best remembered in the UK for his weekly role as presenter of Points of View, a BBC TV programme in which viewers' letters criticising or praising the BBC were broadcast...
. In June 1957 the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Radio Variety department asked Merriman to come up with an idea for a radio series starring Horne. Merriman devised a format for the show with the working title Don't Look Now. The original memo on the subject still exists in the BBC archives.
The proposal was for a solo comedy series based on a formula of a fictional week in the life of Kenneth Horne. Other memos from the BBC archive show how the proposed format evolved and the discussion of alternative titles (including Around the Horne).
Production history
PilotThe script for the pilot was written by Eric Merriman and Barry Took, and recorded on 2 October, 1957. The supporting cast included Pat Lancaster, Betty Marsden, Ron Moody
Ron Moody
Ron Moody is an English actor.- Personal life :Moody was born in Tottenham, North London, England, the son of Kate and Bernard Moodnick, a studio executive. His father was of Russian Jewish descent and his mother was a Lithuanian Jew. He is a cousin of director Laurence Moody and actress Clare...
, Hugh Paddick and Kenneth Williams. It was very well received by the studio audience and the BBC agreed to proceed with a series.
The project was put on hold in February 1958 after Kenneth Horne suffered a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
which left him partially paralysed. However he made a rapid recovery and was left with only a slight limp.
Work on the series resumed within months but with a very tight budget of only £285 per episode.
Series 1
The first edition of Beyond Our Ken was broadcast on 1 July, 1958.
Series 1 ran for 21 episodes plus a Christmas special. The scripts were written by Eric Merriman and Barry Took. The cast was Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, Ron Moody, Stanley Unwin
Stanley Unwin (comedian)
Stanley Unwin , sometimes billed as Professor Stanley Unwin, was a British comedian and comic writer, and the inventor of his own language, "Unwinese", referred to in the film Carry On Regardless as "gobbledegook".Unwinese was a mangled form of English in which many of the...
(for the first episode only), announcer Douglas Smith with music by Patricia Lancaster, the Malcolm Mitchell Trio and the BBC Revue Orchestra. The Malcolm Mitchell Trio was replaced by the Fraser Hayes Four
Fraser Hayes Four
Fraser Hayes Four is an English close harmony vocal group formed by musicians Jimmy Fraser, real name Frazer Potts, and Tony Hayes in the 1950s. While those two remained constant for the life of the group, the girl lead and the 4th voice changed periodically...
from the 17th episode. The producer was Jacques Brown
Jacques Brown
Jacques Brown was a British television producer. He produced The Goon Show, Beyond Our Ken, Much Binding in the Marsh and others for the BBC....
, except for episodes 20 and 21 which were produced by Charles Maxwell.
Series 2
Series 2 ran for 20 episodes from 19 March, 1959 plus a Christmas special. The scripts were written by Eric Merriman and Barry Took. The cast was Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, Bill Pertwee, announcer Douglas Smith with music by Patricia Lancaster, the Fraser Hayes Four, Edwin Braden and the BBC Revue Orchestra. The producer was Jacques Brown.
Series 3
Series 3 ran for 14 episodes from 19 April, 1960. The scripts were written by Eric Merriman after Barry Took left over a disagreement. The cast was Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, Patricia Lancaster, Bill Pertwee, Janet Waters, announcer Douglas Smith with music by Patricia Lancaster, the Fraser Hayes Four, the Hornets, Edwin Braden and the BBC Revue Orchestra. The producer was Jacques Brown.
Series 4
Series 4 ran for 20 episodes from 20 October, 1960. The scripts were written by Eric Merriman. The cast was Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, Bill Pertwee, announcer Douglas Smith with music by Patricia Lancaster, Edwin Braden, the Fraser Hayes Four and the BBC Revue Orchestra. The producer was Jacques Brown.
Series 5
Series 5 ran for 20 episodes from 12 October, 1961. The scripts were written by Eric Merriman. The cast was Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, Bill Pertwee, announcer Douglas Smith with music by Jill Day
Jill Day
Jill Day was a successful pop singer and actress in Britain in the 1950s and early 60s.-Career:...
, Edwin Braden, the Fraser Hayes Four and the BBC Revue Orchestra. The producer was Jacques Brown.
Series 6
Series 6 ran for 13 episodes from 27 December, 1962. The scripts were written by Eric Merriman. The cast was Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, Bill Pertwee, announcer Douglas Smith with music by Eileen Gourlay, Edwin Braden, the Fraser Hayes Four and the BBC Revue Orchestra. The producer was John Simmonds.
Series 7
Series 7 ran for 13 episodes from 24 November, 1964. The scripts were written by Eric Merriman. The cast was Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, Bill Pertwee, announcer Douglas Smith with music by Eileen Gourlay, Edwin Braden, the Fraser Hayes Four and the BBC Revue Orchestra. The producer was John Simmonds.
Characters
Beyond Our Ken featured characters similar to those later featured in Round the HorneRound the Horne
Round the Horne was a BBC Radio comedy programme, transmitted in four series of weekly episodes from 1965 until 1968. The series was created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman - with others contributing to later series after Feldman returned to performing — and starred Kenneth Horne, with Kenneth...
, for instance Betty Marsden's Fanny Haddock (which parodied Fanny Cradock
Fanny Cradock
Phyllis Nan Sortain Pechey , better known as Fanny Cradock, was an English restaurant critic, television cook and writer who mostly worked with her then common-law husband Johnnie Cradock, adopting his surname long before they married. She was the daughter of the novelist and lyricist Archibald...
). It was also notable for Pertwee's Frankie Howerd
Frankie Howerd
Francis Alick "Frankie" Howerd OBE was an English comedian and comic actor whose career, described by fellow comedian Barry Cryer as "a series of comebacks", spanned six decades.-Early career:...
impersonation, Hankie Flowered, and Hugh Paddick's working-class pop singer Ricky Livid - the name being a mickey-take on contemporary pop singers' stage names such as Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singers Ricky Wilde, Kim Wilde and Roxanne Wilde.-Career:Wilde was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in...
and Billy Fury
Billy Fury
Billy Fury, born Ronald William Wycherley , was an internationally successful English singer from the late-1950s to the mid-1960s, and remained an active songwriter until the 1980s. Rheumatic fever, which he first contracted as a child, damaged his heart and ultimately contributed to his death...
. Another favourite was Kenneth Williams' country character, Arthur Fallowfield, who was based on Dorset farmer Ralph Wightman, a regular contributor to the BBC radio programme "Any Questions?" Fallowfield's lines were full of innuendo
Innuendo
An innuendo is a baseless invention of thoughts or ideas. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging , that works obliquely by allusion...
and double entendre
Double entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
- on one occasion Horne introduced him as the man who put the sex in Sussex. Fallowfield's reply to any question began: "Well, I think the answer lies in the soil!" On one occasion, Paddick's character Stanley Birkenshaw, aka "Dentures", who would re-appear in Round the Horne, gave a noble and rather damp version of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
's soliloquy: 'To be or not to be, that issssssssssh the quesssssssssshtion...'
Williams and Paddick also played a couple of camp men-about-town, Rodney and Charles, in many ways (although not as extreme), a precursor of Julian and Sandy in Round The Horne.
Transformation
By 1964, Eric Merriman was very much in demand for television work and decided to end writing Beyond Our Ken. Because of the show's huge success, the BBC were determined that the comedy series continue. The show's name had to be changed because Merriman had given Beyond Our Ken its original title. Barry Took returned together with Marty FeldmanMarty Feldman
Martin Alan "Marty" Feldman was an English comedy writer, comedian and actor who starred in a series of British television comedy shows, including At Last the 1948 Show, and Marty, which won two BAFTA awards and was the first Saturn Award winner for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Young...
, to write a new series with the same cast which became Round the Horne and was one of the most popular and influential shows of its day, despite having a shorter run. Without Beyond Our Ken, Round the Horne would not have existed.
Adaptations
In 2004 the BBC began releasing the series on CDCompact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
in box sets, one per season.
External links
- Beyond our Ken at BBC Comedy
- Beyond our Ken at BBC Radio 7