Stop Messing About
Encyclopedia
Stop Messing About was a BBC
radio
series broadcast in 1969 and 1970. Forced by circumstance into being a follow-up to Round the Horne
, a number of key talents from the previous show were retained and recast, with Kenneth Williams
as the new show's main star.
It was rewritten for the stage in 2009.
at the end of series four prompted a rewrite of the material intended for series five which then found its way into Stop Messing About alongside new sketches; Round the Horne writers Johnnie Mortimer
and Brian Cooke
are therefore credited with series one of Stop Messing About, while series two, which was entirely original, was written by Myles Rudge
.
Stop Messing About was recast as a vehicle for Kenneth Williams
, who on the day of the first transmission wrote in his diary that "It was mediocre and played to a half empty house ... Joan said 'Let's face it dear, our careers are in the ash can...'" Of a later edition, however, he wrote that "It went like a bomb. I was very pleased with the marvellous reception ... and it's a triumph in the face of the terrible adversity of KH's death."
The title was a catchphrase coined for Williams by Galton and Simpson back in the days of Hancock's Half Hour
. Hugh Paddick
and announcer Douglas Smith were retained from Round the Horne, starring alongside Joan Sims
, who had already signed on for the fifth series of Round the Horne in place of Betty Marsden
and therefore made a smooth transition to Stop Messing About.
The first episode was recorded at the BBC's Paris Theatre on Lower Regent Street (former home of Round the Horne) on Monday 17 March 1969, and the final show was transmitted on 27 August 1970. Of the show's cancellation, Williams noted in his diary (1 September 1970) that "there'd been complaints about how dirty the script was etc" and described it as "a sad end to about 12 years of radio comedy."
Barry Took
, co-writer of Round the Horne, pointed out that the show was proof of the fact that Williams, though second to none as a grotesque support actor of undoubted comic genius, didn't have the requisite weight to anchor a show in the way Horne had done so effortlessly: "It was written by a sort of miscellaneous gang of writers who didn't really understand what they were doing. It didn't work. He [Williams] wasn't a leading man, it has to be said. I mean, he was a wonderful support. He was Montgomery to Kenneth Horne's Alexander."
During the summer of 2006 the digital radio station BBC 7
gave Stop Messing About a regular slot, as a break from Round the Horne. It was repeated during spring 2008.
The producer was John Simmonds.
in January 2009. The production was restaged in the West End
at the Leicester Square Theatre in April, running for six weeks.
The stage show, penned by Brian Cooke
and directed by Michael Kingsbury, was based on selected material from the original radio show alongside a majority of material written by Mortimer and Cooke for other shows. It starred Robin Sebastian
as Kenneth Williams
, Nigel Harrison as Hugh Paddick
, Charles Armstrong as Douglas Smith and Emma Atkins
as Joan Sims
.
The show came from the same team that had previously mounted the hugely successful Round the Horne ... Revisited, using three of the same actors and even the same theatre. But it was welcomed by critics with less enthusiasm.
In the Independent, Michael Coveney headed his review "Carry-on that's short on laughs" and wrote: "'Infamy, infamy... they've all got it in for me!' It's typical of this so-called 'Kenneth Williams Extravaganza' ... that the funniest line actually comes from a Carry On movie." Kevin Quarmby of the British Theatre Guide called it "an evening of loud whistles and bangs, cringingly dated, sexist and, ultimately, sadly pseudo-homocentric banter." And in the Daily Telegraph - under the title 'Williams Misses His Horne' - Charles Spencer concluded that "Too many of the sketches here simply aren’t funny enough."
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
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...
series broadcast in 1969 and 1970. Forced by circumstance into being a follow-up 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...
, a number of key talents from the previous show were retained and recast, with 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...
as the new show's main star.
It was rewritten for the stage in 2009.
Radio series
The sudden death of Round the Horne star Kenneth HorneKenneth 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...
at the end of series four prompted a rewrite of the material intended for series five which then found its way into Stop Messing About alongside new sketches; Round the Horne writers Johnnie Mortimer
Johnnie Mortimer
Johnnie Mortimer was a British scriptwriter for television.He started out as a cartoonist, which brought him into contact with his writing partner Brian Cooke...
and Brian Cooke
Brian Cooke
Brian Cooke is a British comedy writer who, along with co-writer Johnnie Mortimer wrote scripts for and devised many of the top TV sitcoms of the 1970s, including Man About the House, George and Mildred and Robin's Nest...
are therefore credited with series one of Stop Messing About, while series two, which was entirely original, was written by Myles Rudge
Myles Rudge
Myles Peter Carpenter Rudge was an English songwriter famous for writing the lyrics for novelty songs. His songs "Hole in the Ground" and "Right Said Fred" were both Top 10 chart hits in the UK in 1962, both recorded by Bernard Cribbins to music by Ted Dicks and produced by George Martin for...
.
Stop Messing About was recast as a vehicle for 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...
, who on the day of the first transmission wrote in his diary that "It was mediocre and played to a half empty house ... Joan said 'Let's face it dear, our careers are in the ash can...'" Of a later edition, however, he wrote that "It went like a bomb. I was very pleased with the marvellous reception ... and it's a triumph in the face of the terrible adversity of KH's death."
The title was a catchphrase coined for Williams by Galton and Simpson back in the days of Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy, series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr...
. 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...
and announcer Douglas Smith were retained from Round the Horne, starring alongside Joan Sims
Joan Sims
Joan Sims was an English actress best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, and latterly for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By.-Early life:...
, who had already signed on for the fifth series of Round the Horne in place of 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 therefore made a smooth transition to Stop Messing About.
The first episode was recorded at the BBC's Paris Theatre on Lower Regent Street (former home of Round the Horne) on Monday 17 March 1969, and the final show was transmitted on 27 August 1970. Of the show's cancellation, Williams noted in his diary (1 September 1970) that "there'd been complaints about how dirty the script was etc" and described it as "a sad end to about 12 years of radio comedy."
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...
, co-writer of Round the Horne, pointed out that the show was proof of the fact that Williams, though second to none as a grotesque support actor of undoubted comic genius, didn't have the requisite weight to anchor a show in the way Horne had done so effortlessly: "It was written by a sort of miscellaneous gang of writers who didn't really understand what they were doing. It didn't work. He [Williams] wasn't a leading man, it has to be said. I mean, he was a wonderful support. He was Montgomery to Kenneth Horne's Alexander."
During the summer of 2006 the digital radio station BBC 7
BBC 7
BBC Radio 4 Extra, formerly known as BBC 7 and BBC Radio 7, is a British digital radio station broadcasting comedy, drama, and children's programming nationally 24 hours a day. It is the principal broadcasting outlet for the BBC's archive of spoken-word entertainment...
gave Stop Messing About a regular slot, as a break from Round the Horne. It was repeated during spring 2008.
Performers
- Douglas Smith was a BBC announcer who slowly began to work his way up to speaking parts in Round the HorneRound the HorneRound 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...
, and soon took on several parts in Stop Messing About.
- Hugh PaddickHugh PaddickHugh 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...
, who also appeared in Round the HorneRound the HorneRound 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...
and Beyond Our KenBeyond Our KenBeyond Our Ken was a radio comedy programme, the predecessor to Round the Horne . 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...
, was a perfect foil to Kenneth WilliamsKenneth WilliamsKenneth 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...
. The Julian and SandyJulian and SandyJulian and Sandy were characters on the BBC radio comedy programme Round the Horne from 1965 to 1968 and were played by Hugh Paddick and Kenneth Williams respectively, with scripts written by Barry Took and Marty Feldman...
routines in Round the HorneRound the HorneRound 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...
were the ultimate examples of this. Paddick also appeared in Here and Now, Winning Widows, Pardon My GeniePardon My GeniePardon My Genie was a children's comedy series produced by British ITV contractor Thames Television, and written by Bob Block who later created Rentaghost....
, and BlackadderBlackadderBlackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...
.
- Joan SimsJoan SimsJoan Sims was an English actress best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, and latterly for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By.-Early life:...
is best known for her numerous performances in the Carry On filmsCarry On filmsThe Carry On films are a series of low-budget British comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. They are an energetic mix of parody, farce, slapstick and double entendres....
. She previously appeared in A Tribute To Greatness, also with Kenneth Williams.
- Kenneth WilliamsKenneth WilliamsKenneth 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...
livened up Round the HorneRound the HorneRound 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...
and Stop Messing About with often unscripted interjections.
- Music was provided by the Max HarrisMax Harris (composer)Max Harris was a British film and television composer and arranger. He played the piano and piano accordion....
Group
Writers
- Johnnie MortimerJohnnie MortimerJohnnie Mortimer was a British scriptwriter for television.He started out as a cartoonist, which brought him into contact with his writing partner Brian Cooke...
- Brian CookeBrian CookeBrian Cooke is a British comedy writer who, along with co-writer Johnnie Mortimer wrote scripts for and devised many of the top TV sitcoms of the 1970s, including Man About the House, George and Mildred and Robin's Nest...
, both of them latter-day contributors to Round the HorneRound the HorneRound 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...
. (Cooke was also the writer, over 30 years later, of the hit stage show Round the Horne ... Revisited).
- Myles RudgeMyles RudgeMyles Peter Carpenter Rudge was an English songwriter famous for writing the lyrics for novelty songs. His songs "Hole in the Ground" and "Right Said Fred" were both Top 10 chart hits in the UK in 1962, both recorded by Bernard Cribbins to music by Ted Dicks and produced by George Martin for...
The producer was John Simmonds.
Regular features
- Crack-a-Jackanory with Mother Time was a parody of the children's programme JackanoryJackanoryJackanory is a long-running BBC children's television series that was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. The show was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, the first story being the fairy-tale Cap o' Rushes read by Lee Montague. Jackanory continued to be broadcast until 24 March 1996,...
. Joan SimsJoan SimsJoan Sims was an English actress best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, and latterly for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By.-Early life:...
would read a story, which slowly developed more adult topics.
Stage production
Forty years after the original broadcasts, Stop Messing About was rewritten for the stage, making an initial appearance at the Rose Theatre, KingstonRose Theatre, Kingston
The Rose Theatre, Kingston is a theatre on Kingston High Street in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. The theatre seats 899 around a wide, lozenge shaped stage....
in January 2009. The production was restaged in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
at the Leicester Square Theatre in April, running for six weeks.
The stage show, penned by Brian Cooke
Brian Cooke
Brian Cooke is a British comedy writer who, along with co-writer Johnnie Mortimer wrote scripts for and devised many of the top TV sitcoms of the 1970s, including Man About the House, George and Mildred and Robin's Nest...
and directed by Michael Kingsbury, was based on selected material from the original radio show alongside a majority of material written by Mortimer and Cooke for other shows. It starred Robin Sebastian
Robin Sebastian
Robin Sebastian is a British actor, best known for his portrayals of actor Kenneth Williams. A native of London, he recently played the role of Kenneth Williams in the production of Stop Messing About at the Leicester Square Theatre and on a number one tour of the UK.-Personal life:Raised in...
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...
, Nigel Harrison as 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...
, Charles Armstrong as Douglas Smith and Emma Atkins
Emma Atkins
Emma Atkins is an English actress best known for the role of Charity Tate in the ITV1 Soap Opera Emmerdale from 2000 to 2005 and from 2009 to the present, which was her first role on British Television.-Television:...
as Joan Sims
Joan Sims
Joan Sims was an English actress best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, and latterly for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By.-Early life:...
.
The show came from the same team that had previously mounted the hugely successful Round the Horne ... Revisited, using three of the same actors and even the same theatre. But it was welcomed by critics with less enthusiasm.
In the Independent, Michael Coveney headed his review "Carry-on that's short on laughs" and wrote: "'Infamy, infamy... they've all got it in for me!' It's typical of this so-called 'Kenneth Williams Extravaganza' ... that the funniest line actually comes from a Carry On movie." Kevin Quarmby of the British Theatre Guide called it "an evening of loud whistles and bangs, cringingly dated, sexist and, ultimately, sadly pseudo-homocentric banter." And in the Daily Telegraph - under the title 'Williams Misses His Horne' - Charles Spencer concluded that "Too many of the sketches here simply aren’t funny enough."