First episode of The Two Ronnies

The Two Ronnies, Barker and Corbett, began their television double act on 10 April 1971 in a show on prime time Saturday television. Both were established solo stars and had previous been part of the ensemble of The Frost Report (1966), but the BBC brought them together following an impromptu performance at the BAFTA Awards.

After the duo improvised for ten minutes during a technical glitch, Bill Cotton, Head of Light Entertainment turned to Paul Fox, Controller of BBC1 and remarked "How would you like those two on your network?". The programme was an immediate hit which ran for 12 series and at its height attracted audiences of 17 million.

The show always ran along the same lines, opening and closing with the news headlines. Ronnie Corbett delivered a monologue from a battered armchair. Ronnie Barker demonstrated his verbal dexterity in a sketch. There was a filmed serial such as "The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town", and a comic musical finale. There was never a shortage of material from top quality writers such as Barry Cryer, David Renwick, Spike Mullins, David Nobbs, Peter Vincent, and assorted Pythons. Barker contributed sketches under the name Gerald Wiley, a ploy he used to ensure his scripts were accepted on their own merits.

In 1988 Ronnie Barker surprised everyone by retiring. The pair reunited in 2005 for The Two Ronnies Sketchbook, but Barker died soon after. Corbett celebrated his 80th birthday in 2010 with The One Ronnie, a special made with the biggest names in British comedy. He died in 2016.