Latest news with #TheMaryWhitehouseExperience
Daily Mirror
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
BBC hit comedy set for return after 18 years - but with a huge twist
The cast of a popular TV and radio series are set for a big reunion after it the BBC show unexpectedly axed over a decade ago - but there is a twist in its return A popular BBC comedy series is set to make a return after 18 years off air. However, fans won't take in the show in the same way as bosses have announced a big change. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, a former BBC Radio 4' show is taking to the road. The multi-award-winning topical satire show Dead Ringers is heading on full UK tour for the first time. The tour will feature long-standing cast members Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Lewis McLeod, and Duncan Wisbey. It will take its audience on a journey through a quarter century of classic sketches, uncanny impressions, and the cutting-edge political and cultural satire that has defined the series. While the format's stars have previously performed together on stage shows, including in London and at the Edinburgh Festival, the upcoming tour will be the first of its kind for the show. The tour will be a tribute to Dead Ringers creator and producer Bill Dare, who died suddenly in March. In a statement Dare's agent JFL Agency confirmed he died, with has spokesperson saying at the time: 'We are shocked and greatly saddened to have to announce the death of our brilliant client Bill Dare, who died at the weekend following an accident overseas. 'Our thoughts are with his wife Lucy, daughter Rebecca, and with all of Bill's family and friends who will be devastated by his loss. Bill was a truly legendary producer and writer, and his comedy instincts were second to none.' Bill was a legendary figure in radio & TV comedy having also been behind such classic series as The Now Show, Spitting Image, and The Mary Whitehouse Experience. Now, the Dead Ringers team say they are honoured to hit the road to celebrate his work in this way. Audiences are set to watch the trademark Dead Ringers mix of wit, mischief, and impressions when it hits the road in September. Before that, the radio show returns in all its topical glory this June on BBC Radio 4 as part of Friday Night Comedy. This tour is a special event and will not be for broadcast. The TV series of the show was axed in 2009 after seven series. Star Jan Ravens revealed at the time: "It's bizarre, there was no announcement or anything. "The producer just rang me and said it's not going to be re-commissioned. It would be nice to make an announcement or do a farewell edition of the show." Jan took on the mimicking roles from characters including Amy Winehouse to Ann Robinson during its nine years on air.
Sky News
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Bill Dare: Spitting Image producer dies after accident abroad
Comedy writer Bill Dare, - who worked on shows including Spitting Image and Dead Ringers - has died after an accident overseas, his agent said. Described as a "super producer" by his peers, Dare, 64, worked on eight series of hugely popular satire puppet show Spitting Image. Airing on ITV during the 1980s and 1990s, the show delighted in lampooning public figures including politicians, celebrities and royalty, winning BAFTAs and Emmys. It was rebooted in 2020. Dare also created Dead Ringers, a comedy impressions show broadcast on BBC Radio 4. He also produced The Now Show, a satirical take on the news which ran on Radio 4 from 1998 to 2024. Dare worked on a wide range of comedy shows during his career, including the radio production of The Mary Whitehouse Experience in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He had also written several novels. In a statement released on Monday, his agent JFL Agency confirmed he died at the weekend. A spokesperson said: "We are shocked and greatly saddened to have to announce the death of our brilliant client Bill Dare, who died at the weekend following an accident overseas. "Our thoughts are with his wife Lucy, daughter Rebecca, and with all of Bill's family and friends who will be devastated by his loss. "Bill was a truly legendary producer and writer, and his comedy instincts were second to none." Colleagues were quick to pay tribute and reflect on his talent. Impressionist Jon Culshaw wrote on X: "It's impossible to express the unreal sense of loss at the passing of the incredible Bill Dare. The wisest comedy alchemist and the dearest, dearest friend. Much love to Lucy and all Bill's family and friends. We shall all miss him more than we can say." David Baddiel posted on the social media platform: "Just heard that the original producer of The Mary Whitehouse Experience on radio, Bill Dare, has died. Bill was an amazing creative force. I owe him much. RIP." Former EastEnders actress Tracy-Ann Oberman said she was "devastated" and that her "entire comedy career was down to Bill". She wrote: "When I was on the BBC Radio 4 rep company early on in career - I ran into Bill in the corridors - He asked if I was good at accents. I said yes. "He cast me in a sketch show. I had to do about 15 different accents. We recorded in front of a live audience at Broadcasting House - afterwards Bill said 'Why have I never met you - you're going to have a big career'. "He was incredibly loyal and supportive and really opened a path for me into the R4 comedy world and then TV having come out of the RSC and theatre it was all new. I will always be grateful. Fly high Bill." Comedian and writer Mark Steel wrote: "This is so grim. Bill was a compassionate hearty soul with the ability to be beautifully grumpy, a marvellously thoughtful comic mind. "He'd argue but always listen and you'd always laugh, he made a million shows and wanted them all to matter and would have made a million more." Have I Got News for You writer Pete Sinclair said: "I am utterly devastated by Bill's death. I still can't believe it. He was a comedy genius. A hugely talented writer as well as a brilliant producer. A close friend and co-writer. I cannot begin to say how much I'll miss him." Julia McKenzie, comedy commissioner for Radio 4, said: "I am so terribly sorry to hear this tragic news and my thoughts are with Bill's wife, family and friends. "Bill has been a huge part of Radio 4 comedy for decades, as a writer and producer, and listeners will have heard his legendary name at the end of many of their favourite shows. "Bill was a comedy obsessive, and very instinctive about making the funniest choices when it came to writing, directing and editing. "He cared so much about his work that in the production booth during Dead Ringers you'd see him crouched over the script, utterly focused on the show. "He was funny and very dry in person, amusingly cynical when he needed to be and always pushed to keep the comedy he made, and particularly satire, spiky. "I've known and worked with him for 18 years and like many I can't believe he has gone, he will leave a big hole in the comedy world and in our hearts."
