''Canned Carrott'' is a

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

stand-up Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...

and sketch-show by

Jasper Carrott Robert Norman Davis (born 14 March 1945), known by his stage name, Jasper Carrott, is an English comedian, writer, actor, singer and television presenter. His credits include '' An Audience With Jasper Carrott'' (1978), '' The Secret Policeman ...

. It gave rise to a spin-off series, and made the names of regular contributors

Steve Punt Steve Punt (born ) is a British comedy writer, comedian and actor. Along with Hugh Dennis, he is part of the double act Punt and Dennis and was presenter of BBC Radio 4 satirical news programme '' The Now Show''. He is also a writer and programm ...

and

Hugh Dennis Peter Hugh Dennis (born 13 February 1962) is an English comedian, presenter, actor, Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist and writer. He was a panellist in every episode of the comedy show ''Mock the Week'' (2005–2022) and is one half ...

. Two of the regular sketches were "Wiggy" and "The Detectives". "Wiggy" followed the adventures of a man with an unconvincing

wig A wig is a head covering made from human or animal hair, or a synthetic imitation thereof. The word is short for "periwig". Wigs may be worn to disguise baldness, to alter the wearer's appearance, or as part of certain professional uniforms. H ...

(played by Carrott). It was a

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

comedy in which the characters were silent except for the narrator, similar in style to

Mr. Bean ''Mr. Bean'' is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside ...

or ''

The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketch comedy, sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and ...

''. The most popular sketch segment was "The Detectives", featuring two mediocre

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

officers, Briggs and Louis (played by Carrott and

Robert Powell Robert Thomas Powell ( ; born 1 June 1944) is an English actor who is known for the title roles in '' Mahler'' (1974) and '' Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977), and for his portrayal of secret agent Richard Hannay in '' The Thirty Nine Steps'' (1978) ...

), who tried unsuccessfully to emulate the actions of television detectives. Such was the popularity of this sketch that it became the basis of another television comedy series, '' The Detectives''.

and

subsequently joined the cast of '' The Mary Whitehouse Experience'', and later got their own sketch show, called ''

The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show ''The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show'', known simply as ''Punt and Dennis'' throughout its second series, is a British stand-up and sketch show written by and starring comedians Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. The first series of 6 episode ...

'', which ran for two series.

Cast

– Himself/Various Characters (including Bob Louis in "The Detectives" and Wiggy) *

– Various Characters * Nosher Powell *

– Dave Briggs (segment "The Detectives") *

– Various Characters * Enn Reitel – Narrator (segment "Wiggy") (voice) *

George Sewell George Sewell (31 August 19242 April 2007) was an English actor, best known for his television roles, but also active on stage and in films. Early life and early career The son of a Hoxton printer and a florist, Sewell left school at the age o ...

– Supt Cottam (segment "The Detectives")

Transmissions

* Series 1: 6 episodes, 3 October 1990 to 7 November 1990 * Specially Selected Canned Carrott: 3 and 10 September 1991 * Series 2: 6 episodes, 21 November 1991 to 2 January 1992 * More Specially Selected Canned Carrott: 15 September 1992 * The Juicy Bits: 24 May 1994 * More Juicy Bits: 1 July 1995 * Extra Juicy Bits: 26 August 1995

DVD release

In 2011, Canned Carrott received a DVD release comprising all the episodes from the first series. The DVD was titled as ‘Canned Carrott Volume 1’ and inside the DVD Case on the inlay was a promotion stating that Canned Carrott Volume 2 was coming soon, although it was never released.

References

BBC television comedy BBC television sketch shows 1990 British television series debuts 1995 British television series endings 1990s British comedy television series Television series created by Steven Knight {{UK-comedy-tv-prog-stub