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The iconic Carry On franchise is being rebooted with Carry On Beside The Sea, here are the details.

The Carry On franchise is a uniquely British institution. Essentially its own sub-genre, the series began in 1958 with William Hartnell and Bob Monkhouse in Carry On Sergeant.

Gradually, the films evolved into innuendo-laden broad farces, which is a stereotype that might be unfair but isn’t entirely untrue. That said, Carry On Camping was the most popular film at the UK box office in 1969, and Carry On Screaming is a brilliant horror parody. The films reached a rather limp conclusion in 1992 with Carry On Columbus, which despite including contemporary comic talent of the time like Rik Mayall and Julian Clary, bombed at the box office.

There have been various unmade Carry On film ideas mooted over the years, as we examined here. The most recent attempt was a script called Carry On Doctors,...

"Doctor Who" has long been regarded as one of the pillars of science fiction television. Unfortunately, back in the 1960s and 1970s, the BBC regarded previously broadcast "Doctor Who" episodes as junk that was just taking up space, so the episodes were destroyed to make room for new programming. Some lost "Doctor Who" stories have since been recovered from collectors, overseas broadcasters, and -- in the case of two episodes of the serial "The Daleks' Master Plan" -- in the basement of a Mormon church. However, despite decades of searching, 97 episodes remain lost.

That number could be whittled down to 95, according to a new report by The Observer, but there's a problem. Film collector John Franklin, who knows the locations of the two missing episodes, says their guardians are afraid that if they come forward their precious mementos could be confiscated, and that they might even face criminal prosecution. The...

British publicist and marketing consultant Freddie Ross Hancock, whose clients included Sophia Loren, Julie Andrews and Benny Hill, and helped bring the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to New York, has died in the city at the age of 92.

Born Freda Ross in 1930 in North London, she learned the public relations business working for the Holland America cruise line for two years, after which she joined the Universal Film Corporation of America as assistant head of publicity in the U.K.

In the early 1950s she set up her own publicity firm, Freda Ross Associates, representing performers such as Benny Hill, Dick Emery, Bob Monkhouse, Terry Scott and Hugh Lloyd. She met comedian and actor Tony Hancock in 1954 when she was 24, and persuaded him to take her on as his publicist.

In 1959 Ross and Hancock began an affair, although he was married, but they lived together openly from...

Bing Crosby, David Hockney and Dame Margot Fonteyn are among the interviewees to have been discovered within old Desert Island Disc tapes.

As the interviews predated the BBC recording archives, the recordings had previously been lost, but now an audio collector has found them.

Richard Harrison from Lowestoft in Suffolk discovered the 90 lost tapes, telling the BBC that finding the missing archives was a “great feeling”.

Desert Island Discs is a BBC Radio 4 programme broadcast which is also now released in a podcast format. It has been airing since January 1942 when it was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme.

The 90 recordings feature interviews from the 1960s and 1970s and include a host of stars from actor Dirk Bogarde to actor and dancer Sophie Tucker.

Harrison is a member of the Radio Circle, a group who take a keen interest in discovering lost radio. Harrison collects old tapes from car...

British veteran comedy actress Josephine Tewson, who found her biggest success in her sixties starring in one of the 1990s’ biggest TV sitcoms, has died aged 91.

Tewson was best known for playing Elizabeth, the living-on-her-nerves neighbour of Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances, from 1990 to 1995.

But she appeared in a string of other shows too, such as Shelley with Hywel Bennet and No Appointment Necessary with Roy Kinnear. Following the success of Keeping Up Appearances, the show’s writer Roy Clarke gave Tewson the role of Miss Davenport in Last of the Summer Wine, which she played from 2003 to 2010.

In a statement, her agent Jean Diamond said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Josephine Tewson.”

The actress died on Thursday at Denville Hall, a care home for actors and other members of the entertainment industry in north London.

Several decades before she enjoyed sitcom stardom,...

ITV has confirmed that it is dusting off Family Fortunes after the entertainment show was last on British television in 2015.

Deadline first revealed in April that ITV was piloting the format in a lockdown environment with Fremantle label Thames, and now the game show, which is based on America’s Family Feud, will return for a 10-part series.

UK chef Gino D’Acampo will host, presiding over two families competing to win cash prizes by second-guessing the responses to a survey of the British public.

Vernon Kay hosted the UK show’s most recent iteration, All Star Family Fortunes, between 2006 and 2015, while Les Dennis and Bob Monkhouse were among the presenters of previous series.

Filming will take place on the new series later this summer. Family Fortunes was commissioned by Katie Rawcliffe, ITV’s head of entertainment, and entertainment commissioner Joe Mace. Ash Whitehouse is the executive producer.

Exclusive: ITV is reinventing Family Fortunes for the coronavirus age, breathing new life into an entertainment show that was last on British television in 2015.

Deadline can reveal that Fremantle-owned Britain’s Got Talent co-producer Thames is working with ITV to pilot a lockdown version of the much-loved format, which is based on the American game show Family Feud.

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Thames will do away with the shiny-floor studio and instead send cameras into the homes of two families, who will compete to win cash prizes by second-guessing the responses to a survey of the British public.

Observing the UK’s strict social distancing rules, a presenter will be stationed at a third location to preside over the two teams.

Tony Sokol Oct 8, 2019

With the arrival of Joker, we examine one of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro's most underrated movies, The King of Comedy.

Joker pays homage to the classics. Tributes are often a polite word for artistic theft and at least one trailer has the heroic villain stealing a timeless line from the British comedian Bob Monkhouse. “Everyone laughed when I said I was going to be a comedian, but nobody’s laughing now.” Such is the dichotomy of dark comedy, some of the best laughter gets caught in the throat. It looks like Joker might have stolen more than a joke though from Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy. He may have made off with the conclusion, which was up for grabs anyway.

Todd Phillips’ upcoming Batman-adjacent origin movie provides a twisted alternative universe to Scorsese's celebrity nightmare classic. The new film features Robert De...

Above: Danish poster for Maid for Murder a.k.a. She’ll Have to Go (Robert Asher, UK, 1962).Next week is a red letter week for New York cinephiles because Anna Karina is coming to town. Nouvelle vague icon, muse of Jean-Luc Godard, and one of the most alluring presences in cinema, Anna Karina, now aged 75 and still gorgeous, is gracing us with her presence at three of New York’s temples of cinema: at Bam on Tuesday, May 3, where she will talk to Melissa Anderson following a screening of A Woman is a Woman; at MoMI on Wednesday, May 4, where she will have a conversation with Molly Haskell following a screening of Pierrot le fou; and at Film Forum on Friday, May 6, where she will kick off a week long run of Band of Outsiders and the accompanying series Anna & Jean-Luc. It would be easy to fill this post...

There is something very likable about Matt Berry, and it’s not just his awesome voice. The fact that we see him in many British comedies shows just how talented he is, and with Toast of London: Series Three we see him at his best.

It would be easy to believe that Steven Toast is Matt Berry, the character feels like the ones we’ve seen him play before. In Toast of London though we see him sending up the stereotypical “Luvvies” acting community that we usually see haunting the streets of London looking for their next job.

Each episode of the show typically sees Toast being given a job by his “old school” agent Jane Plough (Doon Mackichan) and given some bad advice by his housemate Ed Howzer-Black (Robert Bathurst). What makes Toast of London interesting though is not only the outlandish characters that we meet, but also...

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Dara O Briain chats to us about tough gigs, writing books, touring, and comedy...

Dara O Briain's latest stand-up show, Crowd Tickler, makes it onto DVD this week, having already enjoyed a digital release. It's an excellent show, and a week or two back - just as the UK leg of his tour was drawing to a close - we got the chance to speak with the man himself about it. Here's how it went...

I caught a really good Ed Byrne gig the other week. And what impressed me about it most is that it's a long time since I've seen a comedian have to battle uphill for a good hour and a half against as dead a crowd as I've seen in a long time.

Really?

Yeah. A Tuesday night in a place you have to drive to. Not a very giving crowd.

Do...

While many of today's teenagers lust over the likes of One Direction and Justin Bieber, Jessica Hynes had a much more surprising teenage crush.

In an appearance on ITV's Celebrity Squares, the comedienne and actress revealed that she once had a childhood crush on Vic Reeves.

Celebrity Squares is back: Warwick Davis's 9 things to know

Sunday's (April 26) edition of Celebrity Squares features Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, Jessica Hynes, Carl Fogarty, Chris Ramsey, Rachel Yankey, Marek Larwood and Sherrie Hewson.

Warwick Davis hosts the brand new series of Celebrity Squares, and is joined by comedians Tim Vine and Joe Wilkinson.

Davis follows in the footsteps of the late Bob Monkhouse to front the celebrity game of noughts and crosses.

Celebrity Squares airs on Sunday at 7.15pm on ITV.

Matt Berry chats to us about his voice work in the new Spongebob Squarepants movie, House Of Fools, music, and Toast Of London...

We like comedian and musician Matt Berry, and it's a good time to be a fan of him and his buttery-smooth baritone. He's currently strutting his stuff in the surreal Vic & Bob's House Of Fools, and his Rose D'Or winning comedy Toast Of London returns for a third series later this year.

Now he's in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water, voicing a magic space dolphin called Bubbles. Now there's a sentence you rarely find yourself typing. So naturally we had to talk to him to find out all about it...

I've followed your work ever since Snuff Box, and The SpongeBob Movie might be the craziest role you've played, would you agree?

I don't know, I get involved in some fairly far-out things, namely in...

Matt Berry has spoken about the upcoming third series of his sitcom Toast of London.

The actor revealed that the series will see protagonist Steven Toast meet Bob Monkhouse and 'create trouble at the Globe Theatre'.

"I've got a couple of ideas - he's going to meet Bob Monkhouse, that's one I can tell you," he told the Radio Times.

"Apart from that, there's more of the same. He creates some trouble at the Globe Theatre - the art department will build a model of it, and then we can do with it what we want. Properly smash it up!"

When asked if he's ever run out of crazy situations for Toast to get involved in, he said: "Every actor's got some horror stories - it's quite a big world of anguish and upset.

"There's a lot more stories of horrible things that happen in this profession than nice things,...

Marry Berry has spoken about the upcoming third series of his sitcom Toast of London.

The actor revealed that the series will see protagonist Steven Toast meet Bob Monkhouse and 'create trouble at the Globe Theatre'.

"I've got a couple of ideas - he's going to meet Bob Monkhouse, that's one I can tell you," he told the Radio Times.

"Apart from that, there's more of the same. He creates some trouble at the Globe Theatre - the art department will build a model of it, and then we can do with it what we want. Properly smash it up!"

When asked if he's ever run out of crazy situations for Toast to get involved in, he said: "Every actor's got some horror stories - it's quite a big world of anguish and upset.

"There's a lot more stories of horrible things that happen in this profession than nice things,...

Celebrity Squares has been recommissioned for a second series.

The ITV entertainment show will return for eight 45-minute episodes, following the first series of six episodes that aired earlier this year, reports Broadcast.

Warwick Davis will also be returning to the show as host, and will be joined by a selection of guest celebrities each week.

Guests in the first series included Tim Vine, James Corden and Dame Edna Everage.

Celebrity Squares was first broadcast in 1975 and was hosted by Bob Monkhouse, who returned for a second run between 1993 and 1996.

ITV took the decision to revamp the show in 2013. Watch a clip from the first series below:...

A Bob Monkhouse tribute has been commissioned by Gold.

The Million Joke Man, presented by Paul O'Grady, will run for three hour-long episodes.

It promises to take a "retrospective look at Monkhouse's extraordinary career" through an array of unseen footage.

A popular game show host, stand-up comedian and joke writer, Monkhouse documented 12 volumes of jokes spanning across his 50 years in the industry.

"These books are an extraordinary legacy and a compelling insight into one of the finest comedians this country has ever produced," said UKTV's commissioning editor Simon Lupton. "The Gold audience is in for a rare, enthralling and hilarious treat."

O'Grady will be joined by a host of famous faces across the series.

"Bob Monkhouse is a true great of British comedy," added Gold general manager Steve North. "He was often seen as just a presenter and host, but really he was a great stand-up first and foremost.

"It...

We asked Den Of Geek’s writers to recommend brilliant comedy shows that deserve to have more of a fuss made about them. Here they are...

Banging a drum about stuff we love is more or less our remit on Den Of Geek - hence what many readers have started referring to as the ‘inexplicably regular' appearance of Statham, squirrels and Harold Bishop from Neighbours on these pages.

To that end then, we asked our writers which comedy shows (past and present, UK or otherwise, on TV, radio, or online…) deserved more praise, and here are the ones they chose. You might already like them too, or you might discover something new to dig out and enjoy. That’s the fun of it.

Please note that this list isn’t ranked in any order, nor is it exhaustive. It’s compiled from the opinions of a group of different people,...

Celebrity Squares is one of those classic game shows - so we were very excited to hear it was coming back with Warwick Davis as the host! The show starts tonight (September 10), but we couldn't wait that long, so we snuck into the studios in London for a little look at the (very fancy) set. While we were down there, we grabbed Warwick in between filming two episodes and he told us what we need to know about the return of Celebrity Squares...

1. It's not just as simple as noughts and crosses.

"It's quite an exciting and fun game with the blocking... It does get quite intense. There's a lot of money to play for, mystery squares with prizes in. Our final game involves listing things associated with something that celebrity is associated with, so we just had a round with Lucy Pargeter, and the contestant had to name contestants...

Warwick Davis has spoken of his delight at hosting ITV's revival of classic gameshow Celebrity Squares.

The Harry Potter actor, who follows in the footsteps of the late Bob Monkhouse, fronts the celebrity game of noughts and crosses, which kicks off on Wednesday, September 10.

"I grew up watching Celebrity Squares," Davis told The Mirror. "I was delighted and flattered that ITV would have the conviction to ask me to host this iconic show. I think I'm probably the first little person to present a mainstream quiz show, which is nice. I want to put my own stamp on it. I'm slightly cheeky and enjoy improvising banter with the celebrities and contestants."

Ahead of his presenting debut, the 44-year-old confessed that his new role made "learning a script for a big Hollywood film seem easy".

He explained: "The gameplay can be complicated and I can't afford to make any mistakes when...

Warwick Davis has confirmed that he will host a new series of Celebrity Squares on ITV.

The actor's screen and stage credits include Star Wars, Harry Potter and the Monty Python musical Spamalot, but the project will be the 44-year-old's first presenting role.

Fifteen to One, Catchphrase: Which other game shows should be revived?

Davis took to Twitter to officially announce the news earlier today (April 11).

Celebrity Squares was first broadcast in 1975 and ran for four years with the late Bob Monkhouse as host.

Monkhouse also returned for the show's second run between 1993 and 1996.

The decision to revive Celebrity Squares follows the success of various other rebooted classic shows, including Surprise Surprise, Catchphrase and Through the Keyhole.

Watch an opening from the original Celebrity Squares below:...

Feature Alex Westthorp 28 Mar 2014 - 07:00

In a new series, Alex talks us through the film roles of the actors who've played the Doctor. First up, William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee...

We know them best as the twelve very different incarnations of the Doctor. But all the actors who've been the star of Doctor Who, being such good all-rounders in the first place, have also had film careers. Admittedly, some CVs are more impressive than others, but this retrospective attempts to pick out some of the many worthwhile films which have starred, featured or seen a fleeting cameo by the actors who would become (or had been) the Doctor.

William Hartnell was, above all else, a film star. He is by far the most prolific film actor of the main twelve to play the Time Lord. With over 70 films to his name, summarising Hartnell's film career is difficult at best.

Les Dennis isn't exactly in our day-to-day thoughts, truth be told, but the news yesterday (January 23) that the light entertainment legend would be joining Coronation Street still managed to put a massive smile on our face. Les on the cobbles! Amazing!

To celebrate Les's biggest gig in quite some time, we look back at the celebrity good egg's life and career in order, and come up with eight reasons why we absolutely love him...

He's a talent show king!

Way back before Britain's Got Talent, The X Factor et al, there was New Faces, a notoriously tough competition where a panel of judges - including a youthful Noel Edmonds - marked variety acts on their "star quality", usually without chucking water over each other or trying to get into the papers with a particularly daring dress, as all that palaver is a modern talent show invention.

After doing the rounds...

Warwick Davis has been lined up to host 'Celebrity Squares'. The dwarf actor will mark his first presenting role in a reboot of the classic game show - which has spent more than 15 years off-air - despite having no previous experience of presenting. Warwick is thought to have beaten off competition from the likes of well-known hosts Christine Bleakley and Chris Moyles to the role, which was previously held by the late Bob Monkhouse. A source told The Sun newspaper: ''Warwick is obviously a leftfield choice as he's not a tried and tested TV host. But he is an extremely...

Warwick Davis has reportedly signed up to host a new edition of Celebrity Squares.

The Life's Too Short actor is said to have agreed a deal to host a revamped version of the classic game show on ITV, according to The Sun.

If he were to join the project, it will be Davis's first ever presenting role, and will see the return of the series after over 15 years.

Celebrity Squares is based on the American comedy game show Hollywood Squares, and originally ran from 1975 to 1979 with Bob Monkhouse as host.

Monkhouse returned to front a new series from 1993 to 1996.

The game features nine celebrities sitting in boxes around a giant board, and is based around the game of noughts and crosses.

A pilot will reportedly be recorded later this month, with a full series arriving on ITV next year if it proves successful.

ITV has recently brought back revamped versions...

Martial arts star revived through CGI 40 years after his death for Chinese ad campaign

Bruce Lee has been resurrected, 40 years after he died, in CGI form to appear in a Johnnie Walker whisky ad.

The campaign, created by ad agency Bbh in China, uses computer graphics to recreate Lee in a modern day setting.

In the ad, Lee is seen walking on a Hong Kong balcony uttering various elliptical phrases such as "Water, it's like instincts. Shapeless, formless, fluid. You cannot grasp hold of it. But let it flow and it has the power to change the world. I believe in instincts."

The final shot of the ad showcases the Johnnie Walker Blue Label whisky bottle.

Johnnie Walker is launching the ad in China, but there are also plans to launch it globally.

The resurrection of Lee in the ad campaign has divided fans, who have taken to social media to air their feelings,...

Jeff 'Swampy' Marsh on 'the rantings of two middle-aged men who believed kids didn't get out and do things any more'

Us cartoon Phineas and Ferb made its debut on Disney Channel in early 2008, and has since gone on to be one of the channel's most popular series, attracting more than 289m viewers worldwide since that first broadcast.

One of its co-creators, Jeff 'Swampy' Marsh, gave a keynote at the Children's Media Conference in Sheffield today, explaining the creative workflow behind the show, and how it has evolved over time.

Marsh got into animation "pretty late in life" at the age of 28, with his first professional job drawing backgrounds for The Simpsons. Four seasons later, he moved on to the show Rocko's Modern Life, where he got his first chance to write and direct, and also met his Phineas and Ferb co-creator Dan Povenmire.

He went on to work on...

Comedian and variety performer Max Bygraves has died at the age of 89, his agent has told BBC News. Bygraves, known for his catchphrase "I wanna tell you a story" and his novelty songs including 'Pink Toothbrush', had a successful career in showbusiness that spanned over 60 years. Having previously worked as a carpenter, Bygraves's first break came in the form of a BBC radio broadcast alongside Frankie Howerd. The show, during which he performed his impersonations of Charles Chaplin and Max Miller, led to a job in a touring revue 'For the Fun of It' lasting 61 weeks. In 1950, he made his first appearance at the Royal Variety Show before performing at the London Palladium 14 times in ten years alongside stars such as Judy Garland. Bygraves was awarded an OBE in 1982 and a year later, took over from Bob Monkhouse as the presenter of Family (more)...

Ahhhh animations, where would we be without them?? Traditionally a large part of our youthful TV diet, now we’ve grown up what is there left for those of us that need a visual flight of fancy?? There comes an age when a squeaky sea sponge frying cheeseburgers and chasing jellyfish just simply isn’t enough (although admittedly has its own merits) so fortunately for us there has been an explosion, in the last 15 years, of animations aimed at a more mature audience.

The immediate stand-out examples here are The Simpsons (and Futurama), South Park and Family Guy (with all related spin-offs), all of which have opened up the genre in their own particular ways- whether it be cultural, political, religious or simply unpredictable. Still, these shows are not to everyone’s taste, so what else is there out there for those who think Family Guy’s lost its edge,...

"I saw Frank on an escalator," Bob Monkhouse once said. "He was going up, I was going down. I said 'Hello'. He told me eight jokes." The death of Frank Carson yesterday at the age of 85 prompted tributes to flow in from across the world of entertainment. To celebrate his wonderful life, we've collected six of our favourite Carson one-liners that have been shared far and wide since the sad news broke. 1. A man goes into Boots and says: "Have you got Viagra?" "Do you have a prescription?" asks the chemist. "No," he replies, "But I've got a photograph of the wife..." 2. I rang British Telecom. I said: "I want to report a nuisance caller." He said: "Not you again." 3. My wife said to me: "If you won the lottery, would you still love (more)...

You don't often see movie dentists who are regular guys. When they're not psychos, they're played for laughs

There's a gag in Jackass 3D called "Lamborghini tooth pull" and I think we all know what that means. For all the scatological tomfoolery and "Ow, my balls!" genital mistreatment on view, I bet this is the stunt that will make us wince the most, particularly as the film opens the same week the Daily Mail has reported that increasing numbers of people are trying to avoid exorbitant dental fees by pulling their own teeth out.

If you don't have a Lamborghini, you could always try the ice-skate option, like Tom Hanks in Cast Away. Or you could splice your genes with those of a housefly, like Jeff Goldblum in The Fly, who subsequently finds it easy to extract a tooth using just his fingers. Or, if you were really desperate, you...

Steven Moffat's Sherlock bowed out to 7m viewers on Sunday evening, according to overnight audience data. 'The Great Game', the final episode of the detective mini-series, was watched by 7.01m (29.9%) on BBC One between 9pm and 10.30pm, up 570k week-on-week. An additional 325k (1.4%) watched the programme on BBC HD. Earlier on BBC One, The Antiques Roadshow appealed to 3.82m (22.8%) between 6.30pm and 7.30pm, before Last of the Summer Wine pulled in 3.91m (20.2%). Countryfile was seen by 4.25m (18.8%) on BBC One between 7.30pm and 8.30pm, with an additional 101k (0.4%) watching on BBC HD. Over on ITV1, Countrywise At War secured 2.99m (16.2%) in the 7pm hour, and it was followed by Heartbeat, which took 4.59m (20.3%) and 165k (0.7%) on ITV1 HD. The Unforgettable Bob Monkhouse brought in 3.27m (13.5%) for the channel (more)...

BBC One's Sherlock attracted a total audience of 7.34m (31.3%) for its Moriarty cliffhanger last night, according to overnight data. 'The Great Game', written by Mark Gatiss, pulled in 7.01m (29.9%) on BBC One, alongside a further 325k on HD. Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes has been popular with both viewers and critics, with the first three-part series averaging a strong 7.2m. Meanwhile, The Unforgettable Bob Monkhouse was a long way off in second place in the 9pm hour, with 3.27m (13.5%) for ITV1. Coast put in 2.64m (10.9%) for BBC Two, and Big Brother mustered 1.99m (8.2%) for Channel 4. Earlier in the evening, Last of the Summer Wine was seen by 3.91m (20.2%) on BBC One.Countryfile followed with 4.25m (18.8%), beaten by Heartbeat, which logged a solid (more)...

Just how good are the pick ‘n’ mix sweets in your local multiplex? We taste test every single piece of candy we could find at our nearest cinema, so you don’t have to...

What happens when two people attempt to carry out a taste test on every single sweet in a cinema’s pick ‘n’ mix section? Read on to find out - and expect scenes of a high calorie, high cholesterol, slightly nauseating nature. Don’t try this at home, kids...

Wriggly Worms

First up in the Den Of Geek pick ‘n’ mix taste test, we have Wriggly Worms - just under three inches of colourful jelly shaped like a psychedelic earthworm.

Sarah: It looks too nice to eat.

Ryan: It won’t soon. It’s quite chewy, and sticks to your teeth.

S: It is quite chewy. I don’t like this one.

R: We need some kind of palate-cleanser between courses.

Peter Rogers, the producer and creator of the much-loved Carry On… series of films, has died. He was 95.Rogers, who died at his home in Buckinghamshire on Tuesday, following a short illness, was the brains behind all 31 instalments of the hugely popular British comedy franchise, from Carry On Sergeant in 1958, right through to the final Carry On, 1992’s Carry On Columbus, which he executive produced.Rogers, who was born on February 20, 1914, started his career as a journalist, before becoming a screenwriter for J. Arthur Rank. From there, he quickly moved into producing, turning a serious script called The Bull Boys into a jolly comedy called Carry On Sergeant, which starred a young Bob Monkhouse and Carry On regulars Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor and Charles Hawtrey.Critically derided, the film was nonetheless a success, and so Rogers started work on Carry On Nurse almost immediately. From there, an increasingly risqué and ribald formula was created,...

When you ask somebody to name their favourite quiz show host, most will go for the obvious and predictable choices of Bob Monkhouse or Bruce Forsyth. Digital Spy, however, would always pick Robert Wentworth John Holness. Aside from giving us the classic "Can I have 'P' please Bob" gag, Holness's gentle demeanor and ability to deal with nerdy students on Blockbusters alone earn him the status of a DS Icon. Beyond Blockbusters, the grey-haired gent also worked (more)...

LONDON -- Legendary British comedian and television presenter Bob Monkhouse, who wrote jokes for Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra during a show business career spanning 50 years, has died at 75, his manager said Monday. Monkhouse died at home in Bedfordshire with his wife, Jackie, at his bedside after a long battle against prostate cancer. "He was one of the great English comedians," said Peter Prichard, his manager of 38 years. "He was a total professional who loathed going on holiday. He knew for 2 1/2 years that this was a terminal illness, but he chose to carry on as if nothing had happened." Monkhouse, a regular on television screens, was one of Britain's most prolific entertainers, working as a stand-up comic on radio and as the host of an endless string of TV game shows.