Billed as the story of radio comedy in 11 parts, this was a comprehensive look at the history of radio comedy from the pen of author and broadcaster Denis Gifford, and based on the book by Barry Took (published by Robson). The first 6 editions were presented by Dickie Henderson, then Bernard Cribbins took over for 4 parts & Barry Took presented the final instalment. Production was by Bobby Jaye and Martin Fisher. Each edition was an hour long and the series was broadcast on a Tuesday evening at 10pm on Radio 2.
When this series was archived at the request of the Light Entertainment Department, episode 7 was inadvertantly lost. Subsequently a copy has been located and is now in the archive, but not with the original run. The series is currently enjoying an airing on the digital channel BBC7, so it will be interesting to see if the edition broadcast on the 15.2.04 will in fact be episode 7.
| Tx. date | Rec. date | Title | Tape No. | Participants/Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1.79 | 5.12.78 | The Cat's Whiskers | T54378 | Leslie Sarony & Billy Carlyle |
| 9.1.79 | 6.12.79 | Ladies & Gentlemen - Music Hall | T54379 | Charles Shadwell, Elsie Waters, Sandy Powell, Cyrill Fletcher, Nan Kenway |
| 16.1.79 | 8.1.79 | Hello Playmates, It's That Man Again | T54380 | Arthur Askey, Richard Murdoch, Vernon Harris, Maurice Denham, Molly Weir |
| 23.1.79 | 9.1.79 | Shows, Comical, Servicemen for the use of | T54381 | Ben Lyon, Jack Warner Charlie Chester, Jon Pertwee, Richard Murdoch, Sam Costa, Maurice Denham. |
| 30.1.79 | 15.1.79 | Pardon Me, Your Sitcom's Showing | T54382 | Edward Taylor, Richard Murdoch, Deryck Guyler, James Casey, Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Molly Weir, Ben Lyon, Peter Brough, George Cole, Leslie Phillips, Jon Pertwee |
| 6.2.79 | 16.1.79 | Is There An Audience in the House | T54383 | Deryck Guyler, Eric Barker, Peter Jones, David Hatch, Joyce Grenfell, Douglas Adams, Bernard Braden, Barbara Kelly, Benny Lee |
| 13.2.79 | Goon, But Not Forgotten | T54384 | Prog num: 5Y 09177 Cat num:136411 | |
| 20.2.79 | 1.2.79 | Scriptwriters - Comedians Labourers? | T54385 | Sid Colin, June Whitfield |
| 27.2.79 | 22.2.79 | The Cambridge Connection | T54386 | David Hatch |
| 6.3.79 | 28.2.79 | Comedy Off the Cuff | T54387 | Barry Took |
| 13.3.79 | 7.3.79 | Smile, Darn Ya, Smile | T54388 | Eric Morecambe, Roy Hudd, Jimmy Jewel, Ronnie Taylor, Ken Dodd |
A further series called Laughter In The Air was broadcast on Thursday evenings (7.00pm) on Radio 2 in 1996. This consisted of 4 editions, each 30 minutes long, and was hosted by Barry Took. This was also based on his book, but was nowhere near as comprehensive as the first version.
| Tx. date | Details |
|---|---|
| 29.2.96 | Prog num: 2:LF 95149 Cat num: 1479755 |
| 7.3.96 | Prog num: 3:LF 95149 Cat num: 1479756 |
| 14.3.96 | Prog num: 4:LF 95149 Cat num: 1479757 |
| 21.3.96 | Prog num: 5:LF 95149 Cat num: 1479758 |