British Comedy (late 1950 - 60's)
 Beyond Our Ken is much less firmly etched
on the minds of the public than its more successful
successor. However it ran for twice the length- a
total of eight series spanning seven years. Almost all
cast members later went on to star in Round the Horne, which differed little in style and
content. In fact many of its characters later metamorphosed
into Round The Horne
favorites. Writers Barry Took and Eric Merriman saw Kenneth Horne as the perfect example of respectability around
which to devise a comedy programme. They began writing
it in 1957 and it was first broadcast on Tuesday 1st
July 1958.
It is frightening to think that the series almost never
started,
as Kenneth Horne suffered a major stroke in
1957 which caused him to lose the ability to speak.
Thankfully he made a speedy recovery.
Beyond Our Ken’s cast was made up of
Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty
Marsden, Ron Moody, Patricia Lancaster and Stanley
Unwin. In 1959 both Moody and Unwin left, and the
cast was joined by Bill Pertwee. They quickly established
themselves as one of the most successful radio ensembles,
and it was this core of actors (with the exception
of Lancaster) who went on to form Round
the Horne after BOK’s demise in 1964.
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