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John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme

CD cover showing the cast, l-r: Carrie Quinlan, Simon Kane, John Finnemore, Lawry Lewin, Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Genre	Sketch show
Running time	30 minutes
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language	English
Home station	BBC Radio 4
Starring	John Finnemore Carrie Quinlan Simon Kane Lawry Lewin Margaret Cabourn-Smith (Series 2 onwards)
Written by	John Finnemore
Produced by	Ed Morrish
Original release	2011 (2011)
No. of series	9
No. of episodes	56
Opening theme	"Do It Your Own Way" by The Voodoo Trombone Quartet

John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme is a sketch comedy series broadcast onBBC Radio 4.^[1]John Finnemore is the sole writer and performs withMargaret Cabourn-Smith,Simon Kane,Lawry Lewin andCarrie Quinlan. The first series was broadcast onBBC Radio 4 in 2011, and further series have followed annually.^[2][3] A special edition recorded at theEdinburgh Festival Fringe was broadcast in 2012. A 45-minute special containing new material was broadcast on 27th May 2023 and a second was broadcast in 2024.

All nine series have been released on CD.

Each episode ofSouvenir Programme is made up of largely unconnected sketches, often either dealing with awkward social situations or comic takes on classic literature, history, fairy tales, or children's stories. Most episodes have a running sketch that recurs a few times throughout, such as an episodic story about the Royal Air Force training cats as navigators during World War II. Comedic songs often appear with lyrics by Finnemore and music by show pianist Susannah Pearse and cellist Sally Stares.

A pilot programme with a different supporting cast, titledJohn Finnemore, Apparently, was broadcast in 2008, starringTom Goodman-Hill andSarah Hadland. Many of the sketches in the pilot were subsequently remade for the series.

• "Since You Ask Me": Finnemore closes most episodes in the role of an eccentric old storyteller (also named John Finnemore) sharing an unusual story full of puns and anachronisms. These are parodies of various genres and tropes, and are largely unconnected save for a few covering Finnemore's adventures with his horse Mr. Floofywhiskers. They occasionally serve to connect several sketches throughout an episode, such as various cons in preparation for a heist.
• The Interview Sketch: Carrie Quinlan plays an unnamed presenter later namedPatsy Straightwoman, who interviews various people (usually played by Finnemore) on a variety of subjects and bemoans her purpose of only giving setups to jokes. In series 6, she hosts a program calledBehind Closed Doors where she investigates closed-off societies; in series 7, she "runs out of people" to interview and starts interviewing animals.
• Mr Frint: Finnemore plays a pedantic older man who complains about people using language improperly, such as a movers' with a sign saying "no job too big" despite their refusal to help him move a killer whale.
• Animal Designers: The cast play employees of an unnamed organisation that designs and manufactures animals. These sketches usually depict the flawed design processes that led to the creation of odd animals, such as a designer's troubled marriage inspiring him to design theangler fish or an emergency brainstorming session that was held in response to a bar on animals incorporating fire.
• Mulligan's: Finnemore plays the spokesperson for a company called Mulligan's, appearing in advertisements which satirise companies' relationships with their customer bases. Various companies called Mulligan's have featured in unrelated sketches, such as a department store commissioning an overly-sentimental Christmas advert or as a conglomerate responsible for the invention of the unpopular autociter.
• The Archers Accidentally: The cast performs scenes from long-running Radio 4 programmeThe Archers the way it sounds to people who don't really listen to it, playing generic characters like "one of the men who always sound tired" or "one of the insufferably wry women" caught up in completely inconsequential problems. One sketch in series 7 gives this treatment toSouvenir Programme itself.
• The Voice in John's Head: Simon Kane plays Finnemore's intrusive thoughts that get him into trouble by overthinking things like tipping, ordering coffee, or asking someone on a train to play a game.
• Cast Complaints: Starting in series 5, sketches are occasionally followed or interrupted with the cast "breaking character" to berate Finnemore for their writing. These are, of course, also scripted by Finnemore.
• Stand Up: Finnemore delivers a comic monologue as stand-up comedy about a topic he found funny but couldn't fit into a sketch.
• Roger Wattis: Finnemore plays a man who claims to speak for "Britain's silent majority" and shares with the audience his highly conservative views, which are often based on anecdotes and misconceptions or his aversion to personal responsibility.

Due to thecoronavirus pandemic, the ninth series, broadcast in 2021, was not performed before a live audience or accompanied by live music. The series focused on five generations of a family and their collective lore and traditions (such as the song "Woof, Woof, Woof Goes the Wolfhound") whose developments and origins are explored in and connect several scenes across different episodes. The series' main characters were Russ Golding (Lewin), Deborah Golding née Wilkinson (Cabourn-Smith), Jeremy 'Jerry' Wilkinson (Kane), Vanessa Wilkinson née Noone (Quinlan) and Oswald 'Uncle Newt' Nightingale (Finnemore). The first three episodes acknowledge the pandemic, with Russ, Deborah and Jerry navigating it in present day. The sketch format was modified, with the first five episodes focusing on each of the main characters with scenes from their lives being depicted in reverse order, whilst the sixth depicts their shared experiences told in nonlinear order. Homages are made to the original format, for example most episodes end with 'Uncle Newt', who is analogous with Finnemore's storyteller character, telling a story to, or being told a story by, the main character of that episode (who is a child at the end of the episode because of the reversed chronology), starting them with the catchphrase "Well, since you ask me for...".

Following the ninth series, the programme witnessed further format changes. In 2023, a single 45-minute special episode of theSouvenir Programme was broadcast instead of a six-episode series, albeit returning to the regular sketch format of the pre-pandemic series. In 2024, another 45-minute special episode was broadcast focusing on John Finnemore's experiences after moving to the village of Allwyn, featuring vignettes from the lives of its eccentric residents and recounting the developments of a local referendum on how to pronounce the village's name (either traditionally as "Alan" or phonetically as "All Win"). The 2025 special saw a return to the regular sketch format, albeit with a "Cast Complaints" sketch where Lawry Lewin questions John about constant format changes and the "Since You Ask Me" sketch taking place in the middle of the episode.

John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme was voted Best British Radio Sketch Show in the British Comedy Guide Awards 2011.^[4] In 2014, it was awarded Silver for Best Comedy at theRadio Academy Awards.^[5] It was also shortlisted for Best Radio Comedy in the 2014Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards.

The show has been released in both Audible audiobook format and on CD, with physical releases published byBBC Physical Audio.

• BBC Radio comedy programmes
• BBC Radio 4 programmes
• 2011 radio programme debuts

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