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
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
