Julian and Sandy were characters on theBBCradio comedy programmeRound the Horne from 1965 to 1968 and were played byHugh Paddick andKenneth Williams respectively, with scripts written byBarry Took andMarty Feldman.[1] According to aBBC Radio 4 programme on the characters, they were named after the writersSandy Wilson andJulian Slade.[2]
Although no longer referred to as such, the various characters played by Williams and Paddick in a section ofStop Messing About were in all but name Julian and Sandy.
Barry Took describes the original conception of Julian and Sandy as two "old theatrical chaps" who were doing housework in the flat ofKenneth Horne (the "straight man" in the sketches), while waiting for their next acting job. However, the producer ofRound the Horne, John Simmonds, did not like them and viewed the characters as "too sad" and suggested making them younger "chorus boy" types. Their first appearance was in episode four of the first series, and – althoughMarty Feldman apparently "got tired of them" – Julian and Sandy proved to be the most successful part of the show, and appeared in every episode thereafter.[3]
As well as being a successful comedy act, Julian and Sandy were notable for being two stereotypicalcamphomosexual characters in mainstream entertainment at a time when homosexual acts between men wereillegal in the United Kingdom.[a] The writers and cast thought the characters worked very well as they were not simply there to be the target of a joke: in fact most of the sketches revolved around Kenneth Horne's presumed ignorance being the target of their jokes. Paul Baker writes that these sketches, while mocking an oppressed gay identity, present gay people as cheerful, rather than "indexing unhappy, ashamed identities like those in films such asVictim (1961),A Taste of Honey (1961) andThe Boys in the Band (1970), or the openly politicised identity adopted by members of theGay Liberation Front".[4]
Their use ofPolari in sketches introduced the gaycant to a mass audience, and identified them as gay to those in the know. Although this prompted a brief revival,Round the Horne ultimately led to Polari's near-demise as a means of communication between gay men.[5]
Horne would start off usually by mentioning that he had found an advertisement in one of a selection of risqué magazines, which he would insist he bought for innocent reasons. This would lead him, more often than not, to a business inChelsea starting with the word "Bona" (Polari for "good"). He would enter by saying, "Hello, anybody there?", and Julian (Hugh Paddick) would answer, to a round of applause from the studio audience, "Ooh hello! I'm Julian and this is my friend Sandy!"[6] – only once, on their second appearance, does Sandy start by introducing his friend Julian.
This quote illustrating the use ofdouble entendre is from the sketch "Bona Law" (itself a pun on the name ofBonar Law, a formerprime minister of theUnited Kingdom), featuring Julian and Sandy as lawyers:
Here, the "criminal practice" refers to both the fact that Julian is a "practising homosexual" and also the law practice where he is currently employed. Suchinnuendo and double entendre was the predominant form of British humour at the time, with theCarry On Films – in which Kenneth Williams featured prominently – being an iconic example of such.[7]
At other times, Horne's character would pretend not to understand the more risqué meanings in Julian and Sandy's dialogue, although it was always hinted that he was secretly in on the joke. A good example was Horne attempting to use Polari himself:
The sketches also often had Horne drawing out more about Julian and Sandy's personal lives than he intended, as the two would misunderstand his meaning. In one sketch, discussing Julian and Sandy's time out travelling the world aboard ship, Sandy reveals Julian was swept overboard in a storm:
A recurring comedic theme of the series was Sandy (Williams) archly disclosing, or drawing out, a hinted-at salacious detail from Julian's (Paddick) past.[8] Apparently Julian had had an "experience up the Acropolis" and a tale about "Bognor" had apparently been divulged by Julian after he had "been at the gin". There would then always be an anguished complaint from Julian of "You traitor - you swore you'd never tell!", before Sandy would prompt him to explain all by imploring him to "Go on - purge yourself!" On a rare occasion Julian turned the tables on Sandy, and after bellowing the "purge yourself!" line, he then ad-libbed "I've been dying to say that for years!"
Ad-libs were a prominent part of the sketch (although on 'That Reminds Me', Barry Took denied this,[9] saying that most of what seemed to be ad lib was scripted), and were one of the reasons for how well the humour worked, as both Paddick and Williams were accomplished and very familiar with Polari in real life conversation. Williams, in particular, would add many lines of his own ("Lau your luppers on the strillers bona"(play the piano) being his most extreme use of obscure Polari).
Another catchphrase often used by both characters was "That's your actual French", although Barry Took acknowledged thatPeter Cook had claimed to be the first to use "your actual ...." as a format phrase.
The humour acquired a real edge with jokes that were both risqué and controversial. Lines such as the following were very daring for their period:
In the last episode of Series 4 in 1968 (which turned out to be the last ever episode of the show, due to Horne's sudden death) Julian and Sandy are revealed, very incongruously, to be "married" to a pair of "dolly palones" named Julie and Sandra. Also, Julian's full name is revealed to be Julian Mungo Lestrange.
On 30 December 1987, a special edition ofWogan calledRadio Fun paid tribute to BBC radio comedy. Hugh Paddick and Kenneth Williams appeared as Julian and Sandy, withTerry Wogan doing Kenneth Horne's lines, as Horne had died in 1969. Williams himself died shortly afterwards in April 1988.
In the stage showRound the Horne ... Revisited, which ran from 2003 to 2005 and was filmed forBBC Four, Paddick and Williams (and therefore Julian and Sandy) were played byNigel Harrison andRobin Sebastian.