Jake Godfrey

2 weeks ago | comedy.co.uk | Jake Godfrey

There are few figures in comedy more beloved than Rik Mayall. Mayall and double act partner Adrian Edmondson exploded onto what became known as the alternative comedy scene in the early 1980s with Twentieth Century Coyote. Evolving at the original iteration of the Comedy Store before quickly graduating to The Comic Strip, the act involved Mayall and Edmondson bickering and belittling each other.

2 weeks ago | comedy.co.uk | Jake Godfrey

Judi Dench is unquestionably a national treasure, though in interviews she often scoffs at the idea. Her status is the result of countless performances on the stage, working her way up through rep, the National Theatre, Shakespeare and bit parts on television shows like Z Cars and ITV's Play Of The Week. In 1981, Dench and her husband Michael Williams, also a noted Shakesperean actor, teamed up onscreen to take the lead roles in A Fine Romance, written by Bob Larbey.

1 month ago | comedy.co.uk | Jake Godfrey

Out of the thousands of 20th Century comedy shows, there is a notable paucity of female comics fronting their own series. Notable outliers include Joyce Grenfell in the likes of Joyce Grenfell Requests The Pleasure; Millicent Martin in Mainly Millicent; Dora Bryan's According To Dora; and Beryl Reid's Beryl Reid Says Good Evening, all of which aired in the 1950s and 60s. There was also Marti Caine, who had several series throughout the 1970s and 80s.

2 months ago | comedy.co.uk | Jake Godfrey

Love British Comedy Guide? Support our work by making a donation. Find out more Long before the birth of what became known as alternative comedy the same ethos was booming on the folk club circuit, with the likes of John Dowie, Victoria Wood and Billy Connolly fine purveyors of between-song-bonhomie.

Mar 1, 2025 | comedy.co.uk | Alan Cumming |Forbes Masson |Jake Godfrey

Please donate to help support British comedy at all levels. Thank you. Find out more In the 1980s, Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson were working in Scotland with their double act Victor & Barry. A mixture of camp comedy, cabaret, song and dance, Masson and Cumming were able to utilise the full range of their skills; singing, dancing, improv, pantomime and everything in between.