2. The Fast Show

Available for over a year

In the next episode of What’s Funny About… Peter and Jon hear the inside story of how Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson created one of the most influential sketch shows of its era : The Fast Show They tell the story of the Fast Show’s unlikely beginnings, and how the idea grew out of a short tape that had been made for the press launch of a new Harry Enfield series – turns out just making a compilation of all the funniest bits isn’t such a bad starting point for a whole sketch show! They discuss the fantastic Fast Show team, and the diverse range of writing and performing styles they brought to the series. And they pay tribute to the late great Caroline Aherne , and reveal that, while it was sometimes a challenge to get her to hand her sketches in before the very very last minute, they were always worth the wait! And they open up about where some of the most famous Fast Show characters came from, and how important it was to have sad, serious, and poignant moments in the show – perhaps most famously with Ted and Ralph – alongside the laughs. The Fast Show is a BBC production. Producer: Owen Braben. An Expectation production for Radio 4