Hello Cheeky
1976 - United KingdomRadio Nonsense Reimagined for the Small Screen
Transferring the irreverent spirit of a beloved radio comedy to television is always a tricky endeavour, but in 1976 Hello Cheeky gave it a game go – with gloriously chaotic results. Born out of BBC Radio 2’s long-running 1970s comedy show of the same name, Hello Cheeky brought together a stellar trio of performers: Tim Brooke-Taylor (of The Goodies fame), the ever-witty Barry Cryer, and comedy writer and actor John Junkin. With musical support – and frequent mockery – from composer Denis King, the show delivered a heady mix of absurdity, parody, and unashamedly awful jokes.
Pre-recorded before a live studio audience, each half-hour episode was an anarchic montage of preposterous sketches, comedic non-sequiturs, and delightful daftness. The performers revelled in their own lack of polish – blunders were embraced rather than edited out – and spontaneity was the order of the day. Cryer famously summed up the show’s tone as “Laugh-In without the gloss, only desperation and rot,” and that knowing self-deprecation proved key to the show’s peculiar charm.
In terms of content, no subject was too bizarre or too trivial to escape treatment. One episode might offer deadpan advice on how to care for an armadillo or build a space rocket out of lint; another might feature an emergency operation on a false moustache or host a surreal banquet with the officers of the ill-fated Nancie Celeste. No effort was made to follow a logical structure – instead, sketches tumbled out with a breathless, scattergun energy that mirrored the show’s radio roots.
Though Hello Cheeky didn’t enjoy the same longevity on television as it did on the airwaves, its short run – eight episodes between January and March 1976, followed by a further five between May and June of the same year – left a vivid impression on fans of offbeat British humour. The show’s gleeful embrace of the ridiculous and its refusal to take itself even remotely seriously made it a curiously refreshing watch amid more polished contemporaries.
In many ways, Hello Cheeky was never trying to be television’s next big thing. It was, instead, an unapologetically silly sideshow – a celebration of radio-style anarchy in visual form, held together by the warmth and wit of its performers. For viewers with a fondness for groan-worthy gags, surreal sketches, and the kind of comedy that’s more endearing than slick, it remains an underrated gem of 1970s British television.
Seen this show? How do you rate it?
Seen this show? How do you rate it?
Published on December 21st, 2018. Marc Saul.
