The Laughter Show

The Laughter Show is a BBC comedy sketch show, which featured Dustin Gee and Les Dennis (along with Roy Jay and Caroline Dennis in 1984), from 1984 to 1986 and then just featuring Dennis until 1991.

The Laughter Show
Directed byJohn Bishop Series 1-3, 6 Michael Leggo Series 4-5
Starring
Theme music composerBobby Gubby
Ending themeBucks Fizz - Series 1
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series8
No. of episodes51 (including. 3 Christmas specials)
Production
ProducerJohn Bishop
Running timeAverage 34 minutes
Production companyBBC
Release
Original networkBBC1
Original release7 April 1984 (1984-04-07) –
27 July 1991 (1991-07-27)

History

Dustin Gee and Les Dennis both started their TV careers on Who Do You Do? in 1975, forming their partnership then.[1] The pair went on to appear on stage and TV including Russ Abbot's Madhouse. In 1984, BBC 1 gave the pair their own show, The Laughter Show, whilst they continued to work on Russ Abbot's Madhouse.

This was the show that included their most notable impressions, as Coronation Street's Vera Duckworth in two-handers with Mavis Riley.

On 3 January 1986 Dustin Gee died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack[2] shortly before transmission of the third series (which had already been recorded) was due to start. The series continued with Les Dennis, retitled The Les Dennis Laughter Show, until 1991.

Series

1984 - The Laughter Show - Series 1

1985 - The Laughter Show - Series 2

1986 - Les & Dustin's Laughter Show - Series 3

1987 - Les Dennis's Laughter Show - Series 4

1988 - The Les Dennis Laughter Show - Series 5

1989 - The Les Dennis Laughter Show - Series 6

1990 - The Les Dennis Laughter Show - Series 7

1991 - The Les Dennis Laughter Show - Series 8

References
  1. Dustin Gee. The Times (London, England), Monday, January 6, 1986; p. 12
  2. Glasgow Herald 4 Jan 1986 p4 " Comedian Dies after Collapsing at theatre
  3. "BBC Programme Index: The Laughter Show", BBC Programme Index, BBC, [Programme record taken from Radio Times listings digitised by the BBC for The Genome Project], First broadcast: Sat 9th Mar 1985, 18:40 on BBC One London ― More fast-moving comedy and music featuring Les Dennis and Dustin Gee with their impressions and characters. They are joined this week by comedian Gary Wilmott and music is provided by the talented newcomer Jani
  4. "Films, TV and people – Mark Walker: Filmography". BFI. bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023.

Further reading
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