Absolutely (sketch show)

Not to be confused with Absolutely Fabulous.
Absolutely
Also known as The Absolutely Radio Show
Starring Peter Baikie
Morwenna Banks
Jack Docherty
Moray Hunter
Gordon Kennedy
John Sparkes
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of episodes 28 (television series)
4 + 1 special (radio series) (list of episodes)
Production
Running time 45 minutes (seasons 1 & 2)
35 minutes (seasons 3 & 4)
Production company(s) Absolutely Productions
Distributor Channel 4
Release
Original network Channel 4
Original release 23 May 1989 – present

Absolutely is a British comedy sketch show.

The cast and crew are mainly Scottish; the principal writers and performers are Moray Hunter, Jack Docherty, Peter Baikie, Gordon Kennedy (all of whom had performed together as The Bodgers for many years), Morwenna Banks (English) and John Sparkes (Welsh).

The original television series, produced by Absolutely Productions, aired on Channel 4 for four series between May 1989 and February 1993. Following an award-winning reunion special for BBC Radio 4, the show returned for a new four-part radio series in September 2015.[1]

Recurring characters

History

Television

The original television run of Absolutely ran for four series, with a total of 28 episodes:

The series ended in 1993, shortly after Gordon Kennedy had been appointed as the host of the brand new National Lottery show, and it was decided that the time was right for the remainder of the team to pursue individual projects and mutually agreeing that the show had probably run its course.. In the same year, the characters of Don and George featured in their own spin-off series Mr. Don and Mr. George, which ran for six episodes.

In 1995, a pilot was shown on BBC2 for a series called Mac, a sitcom based around MacGlashan and his long-suffering brother Finley (played by Gordon Kennedy). Finley ran a small shop selling the sort of stereotypical Scottish kitsch for tourists that inflamed Mac's senses, his assistant Aileen (played by Elaine Collins of City Lights) acted as Mac's love interest, while Nick Hancock played his Londoner love rival Van Webster.

All four series of Absolutely were released as a boxset entitled Absolutely Everything on 5 May 2008.[2]

Radio

In 2013, Absolutely Productions Ltd confirmed a one-off reunion show featuring all of the original performers except for Jack Docherty.[3] The reunion show was aired as part of BBC Radio 4's Sketchorama series, first broadcast on 20 May 2013. An extended version of the show was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2013.[4] A year later, the special won a BBC Audio Drama award for best live scripted comedy.

In July 2015, it was announced that Absolutely would return as a four-part radio series for BBC Radio 4 in September 2015, again featuring the original cast sans Jack Docherty. The new series, a co-production between Absolutely Productions Ltd and The Comedy Unit, was recorded on two evenings in August and September 2015 at The Oran Mor in Glasgow.[5] The first episode was broadcast on Sunday 6 September 2015.

See also

References

  1. Brand new Absolutely series confirmed for BBC Radio 4, Absolutely Productions, 17 July 2015
  2. "Absolutely Everything on DVD". Retrieved 2011-02-12.
  3. "Absolutely reunion confirmed for series 2 of Radio 4's Sketchorama!". Absolutely Productions Ltd. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  4. "Want to hear more? Absolutely!". Absolutely Productions Ltd. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  5. Absolutely back for a full series - sketch team's comeback gathers pace, chortle.co.uk, 15 July 2015

External links

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