Week Ending - Revision history

Kurt at 18:12, 5 January 2023

2023-01-05T18:12:21Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:12, 5 January 2023
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	{{Short description\|Satirical British comedy radio programme}}		{{Short description\|Satirical British comedy radio programme}}
	~~{{Use British English\|date=July 2014}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=April 2020}}~~

	{{Infobox radio show		{{Infobox radio show
	\| show_name = Week Ending		\| show_name = Week Ending
	\| format = [[Satirical]] [[sketch comedy]]		\| format = [[w:Satirical\|Satirical]] [[w:sketch comedy\|sketch comedy]]
	\| runtime = 25 mins<!-- See BBC Genome/Radio Times website before changing. -->		\| runtime = 25 mins<!-- See BBC Genome/Radio Times website before changing. -->
	\| country = United Kingdom		\| country = United Kingdom
	\| language = English		\| language = English
	\| home_station = [[BBC Radio 4]]		\| home_station = [[w:BBC Radio 4\|BBC Radio 4]]
	\| starring =		\| starring =
	\| creator = {{ubl\|[[Simon Brett]]\|[[David Hatch]]}}		\| creator = {{ubl\|[[w:Simon Brett\|Simon Brett]]\|[[w:David Hatch\|David Hatch]]}}
	\| writer =		\| writer =
	\| first_aired = {{start date\|1970\|04\|04\|df=y}}<ref>{{Cite magazine \|title=Week Ending... 4 April \|date=1970-04-02 \|magazine=[[Radio Times]]\|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/992af4efa4cd40dba08158334beca893 \|page=23 \|access-date=2021-04-02 \|issue=2421 \|edition=London/South East \|volume=187 \|issn=00338060 \|publisher=[[BBC Magazines]]}}</ref>		\| first_aired = {{start date\|1970\|04\|04\|df=y}}<ref>{{Cite magazine \|title=Week Ending... 4 April \|date=1970-04-02 \|magazine=[[w:Radio Times\|Radio Times]]\|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/992af4efa4cd40dba08158334beca893 \|page=23 \|access-date=2021-04-02 \|issue=2421 \|edition=London/South East \|volume=187 \|issn=00338060 \|publisher=[[w:BBC Magazines\|BBC Magazines]]}}</ref>
	\| last_aired = {{end date\|1998\|04\|03\|df=y}}<ref>{{Cite magazine \|title=Week Ending \|date=1998-03-26 \|magazine=[[Radio Times]]\|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/c5c96f893578423eaf75af1f3a6f7532 \|page=125 \|access-date=2021-04-02 \|issue=3868 \|edition=London \|volume=296 \|issn=00338060 \|publisher=[[BBC Magazines]]}}</ref>		\| last_aired = {{end date\|1998\|04\|03\|df=y}}<ref>{{Cite magazine \|title=Week Ending \|date=1998-03-26 \|magazine=[[w:Radio Times\|Radio Times]]\|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/c5c96f893578423eaf75af1f3a6f7532 \|page=125 \|access-date=2021-04-02 \|issue=3868 \|edition=London \|volume=296 \|issn=00338060 \|publisher=[[w:BBC Magazines\|BBC Magazines]]}}</ref>
	\| num_episodes = 1,132 <ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/radio/week_ending/\|title=Week Ending\|access-date=2021-04-02\|website=[[British Comedy Guide]]}}</ref>		\| num_episodes = 1,132 <ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/radio/week_ending/\|title=Week Ending\|access-date=2021-04-02\|website=[[w:British Comedy Guide\|British Comedy Guide]]}}</ref>
	\| opentheme = {{hlist\|"Smokey Joe"\|"[[Party Fears Two]]" by [[Associates (band)\|The Associates]]\|}}		\| opentheme = {{hlist\|"Smokey Joe"\|"[[w:Party Fears Two\|Party Fears Two]]" by [[w:Associates (band)\|The Associates]]\|}}
	}}		}}

	'''''Week Ending''''' was a [[satire\|satirical]] radio current affairs sketch show broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4]] between 1970 and 1998. It was devised by writer-producers [[Simon Brett]] and [[David Hatch]] and was originally hosted by ''[[Nationwide (TV series)\|Nationwide]]'' presenter [[Michael Barratt (television presenter)\|Michael Barratt]].		'''''Week Ending''''' was a [[w:satire\|satirical]] radio current affairs sketch show broadcast on [[w:BBC Radio 4\|BBC Radio 4]] between 1970 and 1998. It was devised by writer-producers [[w:Simon Brett\|Simon Brett]] and [[w:David Hatch\|David Hatch]] and was originally hosted by ''[[w:Nationwide (TV series)\|Nationwide]]'' presenter [[w:Michael Barratt (television presenter)\|Michael Barratt]].

	The show's title was always announced as "Week Ending..." followed by the broadcast date, although the [[ellipsis]] was dropped from its billed title in ''[[Radio Times]]'' during the mid-seventies. The show was written and recorded shortly before the first broadcast (which was usually on a Friday evening) and satirised events of the week. Each show concluded with "And now here is Next Week's News", although this collection of one-liners was abandoned in the early nineties. Short gags were thereafter scattered throughout the show.		The show's title was always announced as "Week Ending..." followed by the broadcast date, although the [[w:ellipsis\|ellipsis]] was dropped from its billed title in ''[[w:Radio Times\|Radio Times]]'' during the mid-seventies. The show was written and recorded shortly before the first broadcast (which was usually on a Friday evening) and satirised events of the week. Each show concluded with "And now here is Next Week's News", although this collection of one-liners was abandoned in the early nineties. Short gags were thereafter scattered throughout the show.

	Relatively few editions survive in the BBC archives, and they are rarely repeated. There is an obvious issue of topicality, but this did not prevent annual ''Year Ending'' compilations or the re-recording of sketches for a 1989 cassette release.		Relatively few editions survive in the BBC archives, and they are rarely repeated. There is an obvious issue of topicality, but this did not prevent annual ''Year Ending'' compilations or the re-recording of sketches for a 1989 cassette release.

Kurt: /* External links */

2022-12-27T03:53:10Z

External links

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:53, 26 December 2022
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	*[http://www.angelfire.com/pq/radiohaha/WE.html from "The Encyclopedia of Radio British Radio Comedy"]		*[http://www.angelfire.com/pq/radiohaha/WE.html from "The Encyclopedia of Radio British Radio Comedy"]

	~~{{Authority control}}~~
	[[Category:1970 radio programme debuts]]		[[Category:1970 radio programme debuts]]
	[[Category:1998 radio programme endings]]		[[Category:1998 radio programme endings]]

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2022-10-04T02:33:51Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 21:33, 3 October 2022
(No difference)

en>Sahaib: Importing Wikidata short description: "Satirical British comedy radio programme" (Shortdesc helper)

2022-02-14T14:47:07Z

Importing Wikidata short description: "Satirical British comedy radio programme" (Shortdesc helper)

New page

{{Short description|Satirical British comedy radio programme}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}

{{Infobox radio show
| show_name = Week Ending
| format = [[Satirical]] [[sketch comedy]]
| runtime = 25 mins
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| home_station = [[BBC Radio 4]]
| starring =
| creator = {{ubl|[[Simon Brett]]|[[David Hatch]]}}
| writer =
| first_aired = {{start date|1970|04|04|df=y}}<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Week Ending... 4 April |date=1970-04-02 |magazine=[[Radio Times]]|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/992af4efa4cd40dba08158334beca893 |page=23 |access-date=2021-04-02 |issue=2421 |edition=London/South East |volume=187 |issn=00338060 |publisher=[[BBC Magazines]]}}</ref>
| last_aired = {{end date|1998|04|03|df=y}}<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Week Ending |date=1998-03-26 |magazine=[[Radio Times]]|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/c5c96f893578423eaf75af1f3a6f7532 |page=125 |access-date=2021-04-02 |issue=3868 |edition=London |volume=296 |issn=00338060 |publisher=[[BBC Magazines]]}}</ref>
| num_episodes = 1,132 <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/radio/week_ending/|title=Week Ending|access-date=2021-04-02|website=[[British Comedy Guide]]}}</ref>
| opentheme = {{hlist|"Smokey Joe"|"[[Party Fears Two]]" by [[Associates (band)|The Associates]]|}}
}}

'''''Week Ending''''' was a [[satire|satirical]] radio current affairs sketch show broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4]] between 1970 and 1998. It was devised by writer-producers [[Simon Brett]] and [[David Hatch]] and was originally hosted by ''[[Nationwide (TV series)|Nationwide]]'' presenter [[Michael Barratt (television presenter)|Michael Barratt]].

The show's title was always announced as "Week Ending..." followed by the broadcast date, although the [[ellipsis]] was dropped from its billed title in ''[[Radio Times]]'' during the mid-seventies. The show was written and recorded shortly before the first broadcast (which was usually on a Friday evening) and satirised events of the week. Each show concluded with "And now here is Next Week's News", although this collection of one-liners was abandoned in the early nineties. Short gags were thereafter scattered throughout the show.

Relatively few editions survive in the BBC archives, and they are rarely repeated. There is an obvious issue of topicality, but this did not prevent annual ''Year Ending'' compilations or the re-recording of sketches for a 1989 cassette release.

==Contributors and cast==

''Week Ending'' was considered a "training ground" for a large number of comedy writers, performers and producers. Many young BBC production recruits were given the programme for a month or so in order to get to grips with scripted comedy and working with performers, while the writers' meetings welcomed anyone who cared to wander in off the street. The programme also accepted material by post, fax and e-mail. This open door policy, which it shared with Radio 2's long-running ''[[News Huddlines]]'', made it a point of entry for writers who went on to successful careers in British radio and television.

Script contributors included [[Andy Hamilton]], [[Mark Burton (writer)|Mark Burton]], [[John O'Farrell (author)|John O'Farrell]], [[Terence Dackombe]], [[Guy Jenkin]], [[Bridget Leathley]], [[Iain Pattinson]], [[Ged Parsons]], [[Simon Bullivant]], [[Mark Brisenden]], [[Andy Riley]], [[Kevin Cecil]], Clive Coleman, [[Richard Herring]], [[Debbie Barham|D.A. Barham]], [[Peter Baynham]], [[Julian Dutton]], [[Harry Hill]], [[Al Murray]], [[Ben Moor (writer)|Ben Moor]], [[Tony Lee]], [[Rich Johnston]], [[Lee Barnett]], [[David Baddiel]], [[Robert Newman (comedian)|Rob Newman]], [[Graeme Sutherland]], [[Kim Morrissey]], [[Barry Pilton]], [[Paddy Murray (journalist)|Paddy Murray]], Mark Griffiths, [[Ivan Shakespeare]], Alan Stafford, [[Barry Atkins]], [[Stewart Lee]], Martin Smith, [[Will Adams (writer)|Will Adams]], [[Colin Bostock-Smith]], [[Peter Hickey]], [[Craig Robins (producer)|Craig Robins]], John Random, [[Brendan Martin]] and [[Martin Curtis]], Bob and Barbara Boulton, Nick R. Thomas, Chris Stratford and Dave Morley, Andrew Whelan, Mark Perkins, Gill Perkins and John Handley.
Regular performers during the run included [[David Jason]], [[Bill Wallis]], [[Nigel Rees]], [[David Tate (actor)|David Tate]], [[Jon Glover]], [[Sheila Steafel]], [[Alison Steadman]], [[Tracey Ullman]], [[Toby Longworth]], [[Chris Emmett]] and [[Sally Grace]].

For several months during 1997, ''Week Ending'' carried a musical number written by [[Gerard Foster]] and performed by [[Richie Webb]]. This broke a lengthy hiatus for musical content, which until 1982 had involved [[Bill McGuffie]], [[David Firman]] and [[Steve Brown (composer)|Steve Brown]].

Amongst the producers were [[John Lloyd (writer)|John Lloyd]], [[Douglas Adams]], [[David Tyler (UK)|David Tyler]], [[Jimmy Mulville]], [[Harry Thompson]], [[Gareth Edwards (producer)|Gareth Edwards]], [[Armando Iannucci]], [[Jon Magnusson (producer)|Jon Magnusson]], [[Geoffrey Perkins]], Louise Coats, [[Alan Nixon]], [[Griff Rhys Jones]], [[Sarah Smith (producer)|Sarah Smith]], [[Diane Messias]], [[Maria Esposito]], Kathy Smith and [[Adam Tandy]]. There were over 40 in all.

==Broadcast==

Until 1983, ''Week Ending'' was taken off the air during election campaigns. As sensitivities eased, it was allowed to remain on air during the 1987, 1992 and 1997 elections, albeit with rigid levels of political balance.

During the 1980s and 1990s the [[BBC World Service]] broadcast a highlights programme once a month. This would include sketches from ''Week Ending'' episodes transmitted during the previous four weeks, more usually the items that could easily be understood by an international audience. This was broadcast by the World Service, usually on the last Friday of the month, under the title of "Two Cheers for ''[month]'' ". For many years, there was also an annual highlights show, akin to ''Year Ending'', called "Two Cheers for 1982" (etc.).

From the early 1980s, the theme tune was a loop of the instrumental section of [[Associates (band)|The Associates]]' 1982 hit "[[Party Fears Two]]", which replaced the original 'whistled' flute piece, "Smokey Joe". Over the years, the tune changed a number of times – totalling four pieces, the third debuting in 1993 and the fourth in 1997 – but the final edition in 1998 finished with the original (each of the others having been heard briefly in sketches set in earlier decades).

==Tie-ins==

Series writers [[Ian Brown (comedy writer)|Ian Brown]] and [[James Hendrie]] wrote a book based on the series in 1985, ''The Cabinet Leaks''. ''Ten Years With Maggie'', a cassette compilation of sketches written during Thatcher's tenure as Prime Minister, emerged in 1989 and was reissued on CD as ''Week Ending with Maggie'' in April 2009.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* ''Prime Minister, You Wanted To See Me? – A History of Week Ending'' by Ian Greaves & Justin Lewis, {{ISBN|1900203294}}.

==External links==
*{{British Comedy Guide|radio/week_ending/}}
*[http://www.angelfire.com/pq/radiohaha/WE.html from "The Encyclopedia of Radio British Radio Comedy"]

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1970 radio programme debuts]]
[[Category:1998 radio programme endings]]
[[Category:BBC Radio comedy programmes]]
[[Category:BBC Radio 4 programmes]]
[[Category:British satirical radio programmes]]