The News Huddlines
Encyclopedia
The News Huddlines was a long-running BBC Radio 2
topical comedy
sketch show starring Roy Hudd
that ran for fifty one series from 1975 until 2001
. Each episode lasted for half an hour and consisted of topical sketches, songs and one-liners.
, June Whitfield
, and Chris Emmett
. The announcer was Richard Clegg, and the music was directed and performed by Peter Moss and The Huddliners.
Hudd and Emmett were with the show since its inception while Whitfield joined the show in 1984, taking over from Alison Steadman
, who in her turn had replaced original cast member Janet Brown.
The show became British radio’s longest-running audience comedy in 1994 and became the second longest-running overall behind Week Ending
, which was terminated in 1998. Huddlines would have overtaken it in 2003 had it not been terminated with a Christmas special in 2001.
current affairs sketch show Week Ending
, albeit with a distinctive style, much of it based around the stage persona of lead performer Hudd.
Huddlines ended in 2001 with a Christmas special show. In January 2002, Hudd accepted the role of Archie Shuttleworth in the long-running ITV
soap opera Coronation Street
and felt he could not continue in both capacities.
style, usually aimed at an older audience, with every gag ending on a recognisable punchline.
Each show is loosely based around a series of ‘news items’ — usually convenient pegs on which to hang one-liners of greater or lesser topicality — and sketches about events in the week’s news.
The sketches are usually about public figures, many of whom reappear regularly and have distinctively exaggerated or fanciful characterisations. For instance, the ex-prime minister’s wife Norma Major
, as voiced by Whitfield, seemed to bear an uncanny resemblance to Eth, her character in The Glums, a widely-remembered segment in the 1950s series Take It From Here
. Certain members of the royal family (a Huddlines staple) are likewise not copied from life, such as The Queen Mother
, who was portrayed with a Cockney
accent.
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
topical comedy
Radio comedy
Radio comedy, or comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve sitcom elements, sketches and various types of comedy found on other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic elements, as these can be conveyed on a small budget with just a few sound effects or some...
sketch show starring Roy Hudd
Roy Hudd
Roy Hudd, OBE is an English comedian, actor, radio host and author, and an authority on the history of music hall entertainment.- Early life :...
that ran for fifty one series from 1975 until 2001
. Each episode lasted for half an hour and consisted of topical sketches, songs and one-liners.
Performers
The regular cast consisted of comedy performers Roy HuddRoy Hudd
Roy Hudd, OBE is an English comedian, actor, radio host and author, and an authority on the history of music hall entertainment.- Early life :...
, June Whitfield
June Whitfield
June Rosemary Whitfield, CBE is an English actress, well known in the United Kingdom since the 1950s for roles in radio and television comedy series....
, and Chris Emmett
Chris Emmett
Chris Emmett is a British actor and comedian best known for his work in the late 1970s on the BBC Radio 4 comedy The Burkiss Way. He was a regular on various series starring Roy Hudd, including The News Huddlines, The Newly Discovered Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, Huddwinks and Crowned Hudds...
. The announcer was Richard Clegg, and the music was directed and performed by Peter Moss and The Huddliners.
Hudd and Emmett were with the show since its inception while Whitfield joined the show in 1984, taking over from Alison Steadman
Alison Steadman
Alison Steadman OBE is an English actress. She established her career with roles such as Beverley in Abigail's Party and Candice Marie in Nuts in May for the director Mike Leigh, to whom she was once married. In addition to her stage and radio work, she has had lead roles in The Singing Detective,...
, who in her turn had replaced original cast member Janet Brown.
The show became British radio’s longest-running audience comedy in 1994 and became the second longest-running overall behind Week Ending
Week Ending
Week Ending... was a satirical radio current affairs sketch show, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4, usually on Friday evenings. It was devised by writer/producers Simon Brett and David Hatch, and was originally hosted by Nationwide presenter Michael Barratt.The show's title was always announced as...
, which was terminated in 1998. Huddlines would have overtaken it in 2003 had it not been terminated with a Christmas special in 2001.
Writers
Many and varied writers added to the success of the show over the years. Major contributors included:- Andy HamiltonAndy HamiltonAndrew Neil Hamilton is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter and radio dramatist.-Early life:...
- Terry Ravenscroft
- Laurie RowleyLaurie RowleyLaurence Peter Rowley, better known as Laurie Rowley was an English comedy writer from Leeds, Yorkshire. He is most famous for a sketch writer, working on shows such as The Two Ronnies and Not the Nine O'Clock News, for which he wrote the "Darts" sketch, which satirised the heavy drinking habits...
- David RenwickDavid RenwickDavid Peter Renwick is an English television writer, best known for creation of the sitcom One Foot in the Grave and the mystery series Jonathan Creek....
- Marc BlakewillBlakewill & HarrisBlakewill & Harris are a UK-based comedy writing partnership, with credits on television and radio.They have written on the popular CBBC sketch shows Horrible Histories and Sorry, I've Got No Head, as well as ITV1 topical animation shows Headcases and 2DTV, Comedy Cuts , The Charlotte Church Show...
- Terence Dackombe
- Paul Kerensa
- Terry NewmanTerry NewmanTerry Newman is an award-winning British playwright.Newman's works include What Do You Do The Night After You've Saved The Universe?, The Life and Times of a Wonder Woman, Dulcas's Women, Burke and Hare and Being Dennis Potter....
- Mark Griffiths
- Ged Parsons
- Alan Stafford
- Richard Quick
- Jeremy Browne
- D. A. BarhamDebbie BarhamDeborah Ann "Debbie" Barham was an English comedy writer who died at the age of 26 of heart failure caused by a long struggle with anorexia....
- Julian DuttonJulian DuttonJulian Dutton is an English comedy writer and performer, principally for television and radio, whose work has won a British Comedy Award and a BAFTA....
- Malcolm NeedsMalcolm NeedsMalcolm Richard Needs is an English writer and filmmaker.He is the owner of TheMovieWorks and is an avid Tottenham Hotspur supporter.-Early life:...
- Peter Hickey
- Colin GilbertColin GilbertColin Gilbert is a Glasgow-born television producer and outgoing senior creative director of The Comedy Unit.-Career:Gilbert began his career in comedy writing jokes for the radio shows Weekending and The News Huddlines. He joined BBC Scotland as an Assistant Floor Manager in 1975 and continued...
History
The News Huddlines was established in 1975 as Radio 2’s answer to the BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
current affairs sketch show Week Ending
Week Ending
Week Ending... was a satirical radio current affairs sketch show, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4, usually on Friday evenings. It was devised by writer/producers Simon Brett and David Hatch, and was originally hosted by Nationwide presenter Michael Barratt.The show's title was always announced as...
, albeit with a distinctive style, much of it based around the stage persona of lead performer Hudd.
Huddlines ended in 2001 with a Christmas special show. In January 2002, Hudd accepted the role of Archie Shuttleworth in the long-running 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...
soap opera Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
and felt he could not continue in both capacities.
Content and style
The material of Huddlines was in a traditional British comedyBritish comedy
British comedy, in film, radio and television, is known for its consistently quirky characters, plots and settings, and has produced some of the most famous and memorable comic actors and characters in the last fifty years.-Film comedy:...
style, usually aimed at an older audience, with every gag ending on a recognisable punchline.
Each show is loosely based around a series of ‘news items’ — usually convenient pegs on which to hang one-liners of greater or lesser topicality — and sketches about events in the week’s news.
The sketches are usually about public figures, many of whom reappear regularly and have distinctively exaggerated or fanciful characterisations. For instance, the ex-prime minister’s wife Norma Major
Norma Major
Dame Norma Christina Elizabeth Major, DBE , is the wife of Sir John Major, the former British Prime Minister.-Biography:...
, as voiced by Whitfield, seemed to bear an uncanny resemblance to Eth, her character in The Glums, a widely-remembered segment in the 1950s series Take It From Here
Take It From Here
Take It From Here was a British radio comedy programme broadcast by the BBC between 1948 and 1960. It was written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden, and starred Jimmy Edwards, Dick Bentley and Joy Nichols...
. Certain members of the royal family (a Huddlines staple) are likewise not copied from life, such as The Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
, who was portrayed with a Cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
accent.
See also
- Roy HuddRoy HuddRoy Hudd, OBE is an English comedian, actor, radio host and author, and an authority on the history of music hall entertainment.- Early life :...
- June WhitfieldJune WhitfieldJune Rosemary Whitfield, CBE is an English actress, well known in the United Kingdom since the 1950s for roles in radio and television comedy series....
- Radio comedyRadio comedyRadio comedy, or comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve sitcom elements, sketches and various types of comedy found on other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic elements, as these can be conveyed on a small budget with just a few sound effects or some...
- Week EndingWeek EndingWeek Ending... was a satirical radio current affairs sketch show, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4, usually on Friday evenings. It was devised by writer/producers Simon Brett and David Hatch, and was originally hosted by Nationwide presenter Michael Barratt.The show's title was always announced as...
- BBC Radio 2BBC Radio 2BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...