Image: Steve Pemberton as Tubbs.
The League of Gentlemen made its television debut on 11 January 1999. After winning the Perrier Award at the 1997 Edinburgh Festival it was snapped up by Radio 4. Television gave the cast the chance to fully realise their blackly comic vision of life in the strange northern town of Royston Vasey.
The League of Gentlemen are Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, who play all of the bizarre characters in their world. They wrote the series along with fourth Gentleman, Jeremy Dyson. The tone was set by the town sign seen at the start: "Welcome to Royston Vasey. You'll Never Leave".
In the first episode Benjamin arrives from out of town to stay with relatives Val and Harvey, whose house has very strict rules. His friend runs into trouble in the Local Shop, run by Edward and Tubbs – Pemberton and Shearsmith with piggy noses inspired by Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera. At the Job Centre Pauline humiliates her jobseeker charges, including the innocent Mickey. Over The league of Gentlemen's three series many memorable characters appear, including the terrifying Papa Lazarou.
The popularity of The League of Gentlemen has seen it become a feature film and a live show and,in 2017, return to television for two specials. The cast are in constant demand as character actors and have continued to write and perform. Pemberton and Shearsmith make award winning comedy Inside No. 9 and Gatiss is behind hit drama Sherlock.
January anniversaries
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The Six Wives of Henry VIII
1 January 1970 -
The Brains Trust
1 January 1941 -
The Archers
1 January 1951 -
Z Cars
2 January 1962 -
Trumpton
3 January 1967 -
Open University
3 January 1971 -
Camberwick Green
3 January 1966 -
Final edition of The Listener published
3 January 1991 -
Gardeners' World
5 January 1968 -
A Question of Sport
5 January 1970 -
Forces Programme
7 January 1940 -
Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit
10 January 1990 -
First in-vision television weather forecaster
11 January 1954 -
The League of Gentlemen
11 January 1999 -
Goodness Gracious Me
12 January 1998 -
Listen with Mother
16 January 1950 -
Life On Earth
16 January 1979 -
First episode of BBC Breakfast Time
17 January 1983 -
Blankety Blank
18 January 1979 -
The Week's Good Cause
24 January 1926 -
Under Milk Wood
25 January 1954 -
Television Dancing Club
27 January 1948 -
Desert Island Discs
29 January 1942 -
Newsnight
30 January 1980 -
The State Funeral of Sir Winston Churchill
30 January 1965 -
Alas Smith and Jones
31 January 1984
