2. The Goon Show & The Navy Lark

BBC Comedy Controllers from across the decades look back at radio shows from the past.

Clocking up over 150 years on the job between them, Paul Jackson, Beryl Vertue, John Lloyd and Jimmy Mulville reveal what they do, why they do it and what makes them laugh.

From London's iconic BBC Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House - the home of British Radio comedy.

In the second of three programmes, our foursome discuss the 1950s and a Golden Age of BBC radio comedy.

Featuring:

* ‘THE GOON SHOW: The Phantom Head Shaver (of Brighton)
As baldness breaks out in Brighton, is there a connection to a glut of cheap tobacco? From 1954.

* ‘THE NAVY LARK: The Multiple Mines.
A drunken night out sparks chaos when an old mine used as a collection box is set adrift. From 1959

Plus extracts from:

Al Read
Chic Murray

Series Producers: Paul Kobrak and Dixi Stewart.

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in March 2017.