| The Lenny Henry Show | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sketch comedy,sitcom |
| Written by | Lenny Henry Chris Reddy (1985) Stan Hey (1987–1988) Andrew Nickolds (1987–1988) |
| Directed by | Geoff Posner (1984–1988) Juliet May (1995) Michael Cumming (2004–2005) |
| Starring | Lenny Henry |
| Theme music composer | Simon Brint |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 48 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Kevin Lygo (1995) Polly McDonald (1995) Clive Tulloh (2004–2005) Mark Freeland (2004–2005) |
| Producers | Geoff Posner (1984–1988) Geoff Atkinson (1995) Lissa Evans (2004–2005) |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | Crucial Films (1995) Tiger Aspect Productions (2004–2005) |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 4 September 1984 (1984-09-04) – 24 June 2005 (2005-06-24) |
| Related | |
| Lenny Henry in Pieces (2000–2003) | |
The Lenny Henry Show is a comedy sketch show (and in its 1987–1988 incarnation, asitcom) featuringLenny Henry. It was originally broadcast between 1984 and 1988, and was later revived twice, in 1995 and 2004–2005.[1][2][3]
The original version of the show ran for two series onBBC 1 in 1984 and 1985. Each series had six episodes. A 40-minute special was aired in December 1987. Recurring guests includeNicholas Lyndhurst (3 episodes) andRobbie Coltrane (2 episodes). Bands featured on the 1984 series includedMusical Youth andSecond Image.[4]
Two further series broadcast in 1987–1988 kept the same name,[5] but followed asitcom (rather than sketch-based) format. This version starred Henry asDelbert Wilkins, a well-meaning but trouble-prone pirate radio DJ at the fictional Brixton Broadcasting Corporation. At the end, Wilkins went "legit", gaining a job with theBBC World Service, and a son.[6]
The show was revived for one series in 1995; it failed to pick up audiences and was cancelled after its first run.[7]
Lenny Henry revived the format once again in 2004 for two series of 8 episodes, containing stand-up and recurring sketches with recurring appearances byGina Yashere.[8]
The show was revived for a six-partBBC Radio 4 series in 2020.[9]
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBC One | |||
| 1 | 4 September 1984[10] | 9 October 1984[11] | 6 |
| 2 | 5 September 1985[12] | 10 October 1985[13] | 6 |
| 3 | 27 October 1987[14] | 1 December 1987[15] | 6 |
| 4 | 15 September 1988[16] | 3 November 1988[17] | 6 |
| 5 | 1 April 1995[18] | 6 May 1995[19] | 6 |
| 6 | 30 April 2004[20] | 18 June 2004[21] | 8 |
| 7 | 6 May 2005[22] | 24 June 2005[23] | 8 |
| BBC Radio 4 | |||
| 1 | 25 August 2020[24] | 29 September 2020[25] | 6 |
| Date | Entitle |
|---|---|
| 28 December 1994[26] | Christmas Special |
| 28 December 1995[27] | Christmas Special |