The Green Book (BBC)
Encyclopedia
The Green Book is the common name of the BBC Variety Programmes Policy Guide For Writers and Producers, a booklet of guidelines issued by the British Broadcasting Corporation to its producers and writers of comedy
programmes in 1949. It detailed what was then permissible as comedy material. Its bureaucratic tone and strictures caused great amusement in the comedy world and most of these are now completely out of date. It was a confidential document and it was kept under lock and key. Many of the instructions caused much hilarity even at the time and have continued to do so.
The full text was published in the book Laughter in the Air by Barry Took with the BBC’s permission in 1976. It has since been put on sale by the BBC itself.
Among things banned were jokes about lavatories, effeminacy in men, immorality of any kind, suggestive references to honeymoon
couples, chambermaid
s, fig
leaves, ladies underwear (e.g. ‘winter draws on’), lodger
s and commercial travellers and the vulgar use of words such as ‘basket’.
Caution had to be taken with jokes about drink with not too many in any programme. Also to be avoided were derogatory references to solicitors, commercial travellers, miner
s and ‘the working class’. Banned too was any reference to The McGillycuddy of the Reeks
, or jokes about his name.
While the word ‘niggers’ was banned, the phrase ‘Nigger Minstrels
’ was still tolerated.
It has been observed that if these rules were still followed a great many of the BBC's many successful comedy shows since such as Beyond our Ken, Till Death Us Do Part or Steptoe and Son would never have been aired.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
programmes in 1949. It detailed what was then permissible as comedy material. Its bureaucratic tone and strictures caused great amusement in the comedy world and most of these are now completely out of date. It was a confidential document and it was kept under lock and key. Many of the instructions caused much hilarity even at the time and have continued to do so.
The full text was published in the book Laughter in the Air by Barry Took with the BBC’s permission in 1976. It has since been put on sale by the BBC itself.
Among things banned were jokes about lavatories, effeminacy in men, immorality of any kind, suggestive references to honeymoon
Honeymoon
-History:One early reference to a honeymoon is in Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him...
couples, chambermaid
Maid
A maidservant or in current usage housemaid or maid is a female employed in domestic service.-Description:Once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, today a single maid may be the only domestic worker that upper and even middle-income households can afford, as was historically the case...
s, fig
Ficus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
leaves, ladies underwear (e.g. ‘winter draws on’), lodger
Lodger
Lodger may refer to:* Lodger , a 1979 art rock album by David Bowie* Lodger , a Finnish indie rock band* Lodger , a short-lived supergroup comprising members of Powder, Supergrass, and Delicatessen...
s and commercial travellers and the vulgar use of words such as ‘basket’.
Caution had to be taken with jokes about drink with not too many in any programme. Also to be avoided were derogatory references to solicitors, commercial travellers, miner
Miner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....
s and ‘the working class’. Banned too was any reference to The McGillycuddy of the Reeks
McGillycuddy of the Reeks
The McGillycuddy of the Reeks is one of the hereditary chiefs of the name of Ireland. The current family head is Donough McGillycuddy, who lives in Himeville, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.-Mythology:...
, or jokes about his name.
While the word ‘niggers’ was banned, the phrase ‘Nigger Minstrels
Minstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
’ was still tolerated.
It has been observed that if these rules were still followed a great many of the BBC's many successful comedy shows since such as Beyond our Ken, Till Death Us Do Part or Steptoe and Son would never have been aired.