''The Lenny Henry Show'' is a comedy sketch show (and in its 1987–1988 incarnation, a

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

) featuring

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in '' The Le ...

. It was originally broadcast between 1984 and 1988, and was later revived twice, in 1995 and 2004–2005.

History

Original version (1984–1985)

The original version of the show ran for two series on

BBC 1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

in 1984 and 1985. Each series had six episodes. A 40-minute special was aired in December 1987. Recurring guests include Nicholas Lyndhurst (3 episodes) and

Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor and comedian. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. H ...

(2 episodes). Bands featured on the 1984 series included

Musical Youth Musical Youth are a British-Jamaican reggae band formed in 1979 in Birmingham, England. They are best remembered for their 1982 single " Pass the Dutchie", which was a number 1 in multiple charts around the world. Their other hits include "Yout ...

and Second Image.

Sitcom incarnation (1987–1988)

Two further series broadcast in 1987–1988 kept the same name, but followed a

(rather than sketch-based) format. This version starred Henry as Delbert Wilkins, a well-meaning but trouble-prone pirate radio DJ. At the end, Wilkins went "legit", gaining a job with the BBC World Service, and a son.

1995 revival

The show was revived for one series in 1995; it failed to pick up audiences and was cancelled after its first run.

2004–2005 revival

Lenny Henry revived the format once again in 2004 for two series of 8 episodes, containing stand-up and recurring sketches with recurring appearances by

Gina Yashere Regina Obedapo "Gina" Iyashere is a British comedian who has made many appearances on British and American television. Early life Yashere was born and raised in Bethnal Green London to Nigerian parents. Before becoming a comedian, she worked ...

2020 Radio 4 revival

The show was revived for a six-part

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

series in 2020.

Transmissions

Series

Specials

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lenny Henry Show, The BBC television sketch shows 1984 British television series debuts 2005 British television series endings 1980s British television sketch shows 1990s British television sketch shows 2000s British television sketch shows English-language television shows British television series revived after cancellation Television series by Tiger Aspect Productions Television series about radio 2020 radio programme debuts 2020 radio programme endings BBC Radio comedy programmes British radio sketch shows Lenny Henry Show