Bonkers! was an ATV

Associated TeleVision

Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...

 variety show from 1979, distributed by ITC Entertainment

ITC Entertainment

The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...

.

Starring Bob Monkhouse

Bob Monkhouse

Robert Alan "Bob" Monkhouse, OBE was an English entertainer. He was a successful comedy writer, comedian and actor and was also well known on British television as a presenter and game show host...

 and the Hudson Brothers

Hudson Brothers

The Hudson Brothers are an American music group formed in Portland, Oregon in the 1970s and consisting of Bill Hudson, Brett Hudson and Mark Hudson...

 - Bill, Brett

Brett Hudson

Brett Hudson musician, singer/songwriter, possibly best known as the youngest of the 1970s group the Hudson Brothers, is now a TV producer and writer living in Malibu, California. Hudson formed the production company Frozen Pictures with Burt Kearns...

 and Mark - the show featured sketches, guest stars and musical numbers. Whilst not a big hit for ATV, it gained a cult audience in the United States where it was compared to Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...

.

After four episodes the show was curtailed in the UK by the 13-week long ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 strike of 1979 and did not reappear when the network restarted broadcasts; however, production for syndication continued and 24 episodes in total were made.

External links

• Comedy Guide - Bonkers! at bbc.co.uk
  Bbc.co.uk
  BBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...