The Comedians (1971 TV series)

The Comedians is a British television show of the 1970s (later reprised in the mid-1980s and early 1990s) produced by Johnnie Hamp of Granada Television. The show gave TV exposure to nightclub and working men's club comedians of the era, including Russ Abbot, Jim Bowen and Bernard Manning, many of whom went on to enjoy mainstream success in the 1980s. Filmed before a live audience in Manchester, comics each performed 20-minute sets, which were then edited together into half-hour shows featuring up to thirteen stand-up comics.

The Comedians
Genre	Comedy
Directed by	Walter Butler Dave Warwick
Starring	Russ Abbot Don Adams Lennie Bennett Stan Boardman Jim Bowen Jimmy Bright Duggie Brown Mike Burton Dave Butler Brian Carroll Frank Carson Johnnie Casson Eddie Colinton Mike Coyne Colin Crompton Bob Curtiss Pauline Daniels Charlie Daze Les Dennis Vince Earl Steve Faye Ray Fell Eddie Flanagan Stu Francis Mike Goddard Ken Goodwin Jackie Hamilton Jerry Harris Jimmy Jones Mike Kelly George King Bobby Knutt Bernard Manning Jimmy Marshall Mike McCabe Paul Melba Mick Miller Pat Mooney Hal Nolan Tom O'Connor Tom Pepper Bryn Phillips Don Reid Mike Reid Al Robbins George Roper Harry Scott Paul Shane Sammy Thomas Johnny Wager Roy Walker Jos White Charlie Williams Lee Wilson Lenny Windsor
Composer	Derek Hilton
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	12
No. of episodes	81 (including 3 specials)
Production
Producers	Ian Hamilton Johnnie Hamp
Production locations	Granada Studios, Manchester
Editors	D .L. Hayes Ron Swayne
Running time	30 minutes (including adverts)
Production company	Granada Television
Release
Original network	ITV
Original release	12 June 1971 (1971-06-12) – 28 December 1993 (1993-12-28)

Working men's clubs were numerous in Britain, especially in the North of England and have been a useful training ground for artists, especially comedians. Most of these clubs are affiliated to the CIU (Working Men's Club and Institute Union) founded in 1862 by the Rev. Henry Solly. There are also political clubs, as well as Servicemen's Clubs affiliated to the Royal British Legion.

The Comedians began as an experiment for Granada TV and was popular during the earlier series, with an LP recording of the show reaching the best-seller charts, and several sell-out national tours following, including a season at the London Palladium. The programme won the Critics' Circle Award.

The comedy frequently took the form of anecdotes or jokes and often involved racist or sexist stereotypes. Like other British comedy successes of the day, notably, Love Thy Neighbour, this kind of entertainment was acceptable on British television during this period but would not be so today. Viewing the series in retrospect it stands as a major social document of the times.